Disney does it again with their new animated film, Moana. “ It went against cliches that are present in almost every Disney movie,” says Eli Piccone (iSchool sophomore) describes the movie. We see a Disney film feature the Polynesian culture for the first time in years, the last time being Lilo and Stitch in 2002.

The character Moana (voiced by Auli’i Cravalho ) is an enchanting girl who constantly bounces back from the many setbacks during her self proclaimed journey. Moana sets out on a quest against her father’s wishes to fulfill an ancient prophecy: one person must find a magical artifact and return it to the goddess it was stolen from. Moana boards her boat and sets out to find Maui, a demigod who, through some early on mischievous behavior, sets up the plot for the rest of them film. Maui (voiced by Dwayne Johnson) is arrogant and unwilling to help her out, but through her virtue of compassion and understanding, Moana just might be able to convince Maui to help after all.

On another note the soundtrack of Moana is a key element for the success and reputation of the film. The lyrical writers ( Lin-Manuel Miranda, Mark Mancina and Opetaia Foa’i) succeeded at their attempts to genuinely grasp the culture by incorporating not only languages such as Samoan and the Tokelauan, but through using tribal instruments such as the drums and a chapel chants. Eli says, “I think the music was more realistic and relevant to the setting in which it was made. It was made on an island so all the instruments were tribal.”

Another sophomore student (Elise Hart) commented, “The music stuck to Hawaiian culture.” We see a Disney film feature the Polynesian culture for the first time in years, the last time being Lilo and Stitch in 2002.

Moana has been nominated for multiple academy awards, a eight out of ten from the NYC iSchool iNews Network.