15 Best Original Movie Characters Of 2016
2. Moana - Moana
Narratively, Moana didn't break any new ground. A mundane story about finding your courage, it has the same problem most mainstream animated films do: A plot so malnourished that you don't even need to pay close attention to see all the plot points coming a mile away. Regardless of that, Moana does succeed in two key aspects: Its aesthetic & characters.
Disney has always experimented with setting their archetypal stories in exotic locations (like Arabia, China, and New Orleans), but this Pacific island-set tale gets incredible mileage out of its setting. But the visuals and music wouldn't work as well as they do if it didn't have such a magnetic central character. Moana (voiced by newcomer Auli'i Cravalho) is immediately likable in a way no other 2016 character was. She shoulders great responsibility as the daughter of a chieftain, but doesn't angst about it all the time (hear that, Elsa?). At the same time she is bubbly and outgoing without being completely carefree.
Moana's struggle to accept responsibility without letting it tie her down is a truly compelling character arc, and Cravalho does an incredible job bringing her to life. There's something undeniably fresh and new about this princess. She's the face of a new direction for Disney, bringing an archetypal story new life in a different hemisphere.