BIG SCREENING: Moana

On the far away island of Motunui, the island provides for all its inhabitants’ needs… No one leaves the island, and no one wants to. But now their crops are failing, the fish are being driven away, and their trees are growing sick. An ancient curse has reached their shores, and a prophecy is about to come true – a hero will journey across the oceans to find the demi-god Maui, and save them all…

Moana can hold its own against many of the Disney classics. The animation is top-notch, and its experiments with its visual style are stunning. The songs rival any of the best in recent years; and are sparingly and skilfully deployed. Dwayne Johnson is absolutely charming as the shapeshifting and hilariously conceited demi-god, Maui. (But hey! It’s hard to be modest when you’re responsible for giving humanity such gifts as… the tides, the sun, the sky!) Though in the end, it’s Moana’s chicken, Heihei, that steals most of the belly laughs…

The perfect way to start the new year!

Natalie Tyldesley-Marshall