I’m the mom of a nine-year-old girl, and I got to see Disney’s Moana with both my husband and daughter.

Disney’s Moana is the story about 16-year-old Moana (Auli’i Cravalho), the daughter of the Chief Tui (Temuera Morrison) on the island of Motunui. Moana is dedicated to her people, and is being taught how to lead her people on the island but, she’s always felt a call to voyage beyond the reef, which is strictly forbidden. The island, however, is starting to grow bare, as their coconuts are dried up and the fish have disappeared. Believing that this is caused by the goddess Te fiti, whose heart was stolen by the demigod Maui (Dwayne Johnson), Moana determines that in order to save her island, she must sail across the ocean to find Maui and return Te fiti’s heart.

As a mom, I really loved the very empowering message about following your heart, but remembering where you come from. Also, the animation was spectacular. You will leave completely in love with this fictional Polynesian world through its sights and sounds (thanks to lyrics by Broadway sensation Lin-Manuel Miranda and music by Opetaia Foa’i). I dare you not to hum the music for weeks after.

My daughter really enjoyed not only the music, but how funny the movie was. She was laughing out loud thanks to Maui, and the “dumb chicken” sidekick, Hei-Hei (Alan Tudyk).

Concerns: Kids under the age of five may find the lava guardian Te Ka and the crab Tamatoa a little scary, but they are on par with other Disney movie villains, so it’s not too concerning.

Bottom Line:

Positive themes: 4/5. Empowerment, honoring your culture and believing in yourself are some of the wonderful messages included.

Violence/scare factor: 1/5. The two “villains” of the story may frighten some young kids.

Sex/Romance: 0/5. There is no “prince” or romance at all! Instead, there is a very healthy friendship between Maui and Moana.

Bad language: 0/5. No bad language here.