Moana

What do you think the best movie of 2016 was? Rogue One? Moonlight? La La Land? No, the best movie of 2016 was Moana and you want to know why? Moana is single handedly the best movie of 2016 because of a few reasons: it has a great story with well-developed characters based on Polynesian culture; stunning music that could alone tell the story and actors that you can tell put their heart and soul into this movie. Starting with the background of the movie and it’s basic plot, Moana is about a Polynesian girl who lives on island in the Pacific who goes on a quest to get the demi-god Maui and have him return the stolen heart of Te Fiti. On her journey, she is accompanied by two side characters Hei Hei and Maui, who play a large role throughout the movie. They also encounter villainous obstacles she must get through which include her overprotective father, Tomatoa the collective crustacean, and Te Ka a demon of fire and earth. These characters both help and fight against Moana but she struggles most with inner conflict and trying to do what is right even with the world against her. The characters would be themselves if it were not for their actors that bring them to life. First we

Disney did their research down to the heritage to find actors and songwriters people who were of Hawaiian or Samoan descent. The design of Maui and the villagers are the only ones that are based off of Hawaiian and Polynesian culture. The rest of the movie was created to look like it was part of the culture from Tafiti to Lolotai and even Tamatoa. You can see the influence the culture had on the character designs, their homes and even their boats and fishing traps. All of these are examples of how Disney used the culture of the Pacific Isle to create a adventurous movie to make you feel like you were there and understand how these people lived way back