“Moana” is an amazing movie that offers a refreshing twist on the classic Disney princess. The movie follows the same basic outline as any other Disney princess movie. A teenage girl, Moana (Auli’i Cravalho), goes on a journey where she finds herself and saves the planet. She has the classic animal sidekick, a clueless little chicken who got onto her boat by accident named Heihei (Alan Tudyk). It has an amazing and catchy soundtrack made by the trending broadway star Lin-Manuel Miranda, the man behind “Hamilton,” the hit broadway show.

Beyond that, Disney makes Moana a distinctly a 21st century princess. In the very beginning of the movie it is clear that Moana is not a princess sitting idly by waiting for some man to come save her. She is the chief’s daughter who will grow up to take her father’s position and lead the people of Motunui, her island. In a small scene before she embarks on her journey, it shows her leadership skills are beginning to develop when she solves the problems of her people like how to farm new coconut trees when the original trees failed.

Moana, however, doesn’t want to stay on the island because the sea calls her. She wants to travel and go out to sea. When she realizes that traveling would help her tribe, she goes on her voyage to save the island.

One of my favorite scenes is during her venture in the ocean. It is that point in every movie where the protagonist gives up before they have one last push and solve the biggest problem. When Moana gets to this point and both the ocean– yes, she does talk to the ocean–and her grandmother tell her that it’s okay, she did well and she can turn back. This positive message is great for anyone watching this young or old.

The two best things about Moana, however, are the animation and the fact that she is a Pacific Islander. The animation is so beautiful and realistic. The hair texture of Moana and the other characters particularly stood out along with the animation of nature as whole which is central to the story as it is vital for the village’s survival.

Moreover, it has been long overdue that we have a Pacific Islander princess. Disney handled the culture beautifully, making sure that most of the crew is from Pacific island descent and that the voice of Moana is also a native Hawaiian.

Overall, “Moana” was a beautiful movie that everyone should go watch.