In the past few years, Disney has been churning out quality animated movies with very little duds and misfires, releasing hits like “Tangled,” “Wreck-it-Ralph,” “Frozen,” “Big Hero 6” and this year’s “Zootopia.” Their latest, highly anticipated animated adventure was “Moana,” which furthered Disney’s hot streak incredibly.

“Moana” is the story of a young girl of the same name from ancient Polynesia. From a young age, Moana, played by Auli’i Cravalho, was fascinated by the ocean and its beauty, and despite the concerns of her father she was a very curious child. When a curse reaches their island, Moana sets off on a mission to find the ancient demigod Maui, played wonderfully by Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, and restore peace and nature to the island.

As the daughter of the island’s king, Moana is a princess, however I hesitate to label Disney’s latest feat as a “princess movie,” at least not one in the traditional sense. “Moana” is a very empowering film, with a female lead who embarks on her quest completely alone, and is never once presented with an obligatory love interest. The overall story of “Moana” is classic and simple, which is no fault, and early in the film it is paced a bit too quickly and it moves too fast, but it all pays off because we see the exciting adventure ensue even sooner. Another great thing about this film is that for a lot of it, there is no concrete villain that the characters are battling, which was refreshing as many animated movies fall back on the idea that you need a villain to tell a compelling story; “Moana” proves that notion wrong.

All of the characters in this film are incredibly well-realized and fleshed out, each with distinct motivations, histories and personalities. The two standouts of the film are by far Moana and Maui. They are both voiced excellently, especially Maui, and although many were afraid that Maui would simply be Dwayne Johnson playing himself, he is very distinctly his own character, although he carries all the best qualities of The Rock. Some of the best characters in the movie, however, are not even humans or animals. Maui’s tattoos come to life in the movie, having a personality of their own and reacting to the character as the audience would; they are behind some of the best laughs in the film. Another important character is the ocean itself, which, along with the rest of the film, is animated absolutely beautifully. The ocean acts as a sentient being, often speaking to Moana and helping her out in times of need. However, it is never a crux for the screenplay, and never feels like a cheap route out of trouble for the characters.

“Moana” is also the first musical from Disney since the hit “Frozen,” and with much of the music written by “Hamilton’s” Lin-Manuel Miranda, it is no surprise that the musical numbers in “Moana” are outstanding. One song in particular, sung by The Rock as Maui, is sure to be a hit being sung almost as much by kids as “Frozen’s” “Let it go.” Part of the reason for this is The Rock’s fantastic vocal talent, something that was a very pleasant surprise.

“Moana” is a simple, fun and empowering story with great characters, beautiful animation and fantastic music, and it will surely go down as a Disney classic.

Runtime: 103 minutes

Rated: PG

Rating: 4.5 stars out of 5