‘Moana’ succeeds once it hits the open sea

Disney’s decades-long struggle with its princess addiction finally reaches the acceptance stage in “Moana,” the latest satisfying musical from the animation giant.

“If you wear a dress and have an animal sidekick, you’re a princess,” the God Maui, voiced by Dwayne Johnson, tells the reluctant heroine midway through the movie — stopping just short of turning to the audience with an animated wink.

A slow start keeps “Moana” from reaching “Frozen” or “Beauty and the Beast” levels of excellence.

[...] the comic self-awareness, engaging songs and a fulfilling finish are enough to merit a strong recommendation.

With her island suffering from a curse and the crops barren, Waialiki goes on a mythic voyage with Maui, whose powers are matched by his ego and insecurity.

“Moana” is guided by “The Little Mermaid” and “Princess and the Frog” directors Ron Clements and John Musker, whose Disney pedigree goes back to “Pete’s Dragon” in 1977.

The action gets much, much better when the three best characters — Moana, Maui and an unintelligent-beyond-description rooster named Hai-Hai (“voiced” by Alan Tudyk) — leave everyone else behind.

The story finds its sea legs, and the voyage starts to feel like a worthy update of an old Ray Harryhausen “Sinbad” movie.

[...] the lively Johnson-sung “You’re Welcome” and Bowie-esque “Shiny” — voiced by “Flight of the Conchords” co-star Jemaine Clement as a disco crab monster — are top-shelf Disney soundtrack material, contributing to the story as much as album sales.

Maui’s animated tattoos are nature-focused movies-within-the-movie, giving Musker and Clements a throwback 2-D palette to work with.