Moana (2016) review

Soon-to-be island princess Moana (voiced by Auli'l Cravalhlo) has to leave the safety and comfort of her family and get on a raft (with a dopey but resilient chicken) to track down demi-god Maui (Dwayne Johnson), get Maui his magical hook back (which enables him to morph into various creatures) and defeat a lava monster. I can't believe it took eight screenwriters and four directors to basically staple together The Little Mermaid Redux with a few new songs - it, like so many animated movies of late, is (unfortunately) structured like a video game (acquiring new skills, defeating bosses) only not nearly as involving (I'm thinking of you, Kubo and the Two Strings): this is strictly For the Kids, a Tale of Going on Adventures But Knowing Where Home Is, Remembering What Grandma the Stingray Said, Honoring Thy Father and Mother, etc. (yawn). All those hands in the Disney Pot at least did two things right: Maui's 'animated tats' and the Coconut Pirates (!) are inspired inclusions.