‘Moana’ entertains, but can’t compete with likes of ‘Zootopia’

Taken from Friday’s edition of Seattle’s Morning News on KIRO Radio.

Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson shows up in “Moana” a half-an-hour into the movie. He plays the demigod, Maui, who the island is allegedly named after.

I think people are going to be a little bit surprised because the cartoon character is less of a classic cartoon character than the real Dwayne Johnson is. He’s already a cartoon version of a human being with his strength and athleticism. And Maui is heavy. He is a big, beefy guy.

The song Maui sings, written by Lin-Manuel Miranda, is the big selling point. Of course, he’s the creator of “Hamilton” and “In The Heights.” He has a long-term deal with Disney and is doing the chimney sweep in the new Mary Poppins sequel.

The difficulty of the movie is that the point isn’t entirely clear. What is clear is they’re trying to move “Frozen” from Norway to the South Seas without any sisterly interaction. The main character, Moana, has a spiritual challenge. She’s been chosen by the ocean, and gets help from her grandmother, who is in touch with the spirits and the gods, to lead her people to voyage beyond the reef.

The implication is that they’re supposed to be going from Tahiti to Hawaii to discover the Hawaiian islands.

What it really is is an excuse for some okay music and some great animation. But none of it makes any sense and none of it really engages the emotions the way that the very best of animated films do.

Be aware that there is one scary part involving a volcano that may frighten very small children.

They’re billing this as from the makers of “Frozen” and “Zootopia.” It’s supposed to be competing with “Zootopia” for Best Animated Picture. But there’s no competition. “Zootopia” is a wonderful film.

I give it 2.5 stars for the 3-D aspects and the songs, which there are plenty of.

Taken from Friday’s edition of Seattle’s Morning News on KIRO Radio.

Follow @https://twitter.com/MedvedSHOW