15 Most Critically Adored Films 2016 - Ranked
14. Moana
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 95% (208 reviews)
It’s been a big year for Disney. Not only have many of its 2016 releases been showered with praise, they also raked in billions and billions of dollars at the box office and they took a rather progressive step forward with Moana – the first of its movies to feature a Polynesian main character and one that’s a Disney princess whose end goal isn’t snagging the prince charming of her dreams.
Voiced by Auli'i Cravalho in her acting debut, Moana is the daughter of a Polynesian island chief tasked with the quest of returning an ancient, mysterious relic to its rightful goddess owner lest her island home and its people face almost certain extinction.
Though she comes up against opposition in the form of her over-protective father and arrogant demi-god Maui (Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson), Moana perseveres overcoming both her own and other’s doubts and successfully completes her mission.
Beautifully animated and with a positive pro-girl power message at its heart, it’s one of Disney’s most enchanting and inspiring releases this year.