Movie Review: ‘Moana,’ Brave princess on a voyage with a chicken

THE NEW YORK TIMES
By A.O. Scott

In “Moana,” the title character travels with Maui (voiced by Dwayne Johnson), a muscle-bound demigod. Credit Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures

HOLLYWOOD---Moana is the daughter of a chief and will someday inherit her father’s position, but she’s furious when Maui, a tattooed, muscle-bound demigod, calls her a princess. Moana (MWAH-nah) is not only part of a dynastic line but also a girl off on an adventure in the company of a cute animal sidekick (a dimwitted chicken named HeeHee). So not just any princess, in other words: a Disney princess. She may be on a quest to save her island and restore ecological balance to the planet, but Moana (voiced by Auli’i Cravalho) is also upholding a brand. It is, as these things go, a pretty good brand. [link]