Disney has shown time and time again how they’re the king of the animation world and they do it once again with Moana. A fantastic blend of humour, drama, music and a heartwarming story that everyone can relate to in one way or another.
The story in Moana is powerful and can have an effect on people at the youngest of ages to the oldest. It is a story of over coming the adversity of conforming to what others want you do. It demonstrates that it is okay to go outside of the box that you feel your constrained in. It is important for not only kids but people of all ages who are still trying to figure themselves out as a person. Moana is a great character as she shows the ups and downs to breaking out against the grain and how there can be a great pay off to achieving your dreams.
Auli’i Cravalho is the voice of Moana and absolutely crushes it whether it is just acting out her dialogue or singing a musical number. In every sense she nails it. Cravalho is supported by Dwayne Johnson who plays Demi-God Maui, who provides a wonderful sense of charisma to help elevate the movie and the character of Moana. That’s not to say Moana is dependant on Maui in anyway just rather that he compliments her character just as she compliments his. The relationship developed between the two characters feels natural to the world we are presented with and progresses at a good pace.
As mentioned Cravalho does a great job with all of her musical numbers and had me tapping my foot throughout the movie. I can’t wait to listen to some of the catchy songs on Spotify soon. Not only was Cravalho amazing but so was Johnson to my surprise. I didn’t realize he could sing like that, I was blown away by how much he crushed his musical segments. I would love to see him do a straight up musical eventually.
The visuals in the film are a nice compliment to the happy and optimistic tone of the music. The colours were all vibrant and really popped, which is something that I absolutely adored about this film. There are many moments through out the film that take my breathe away with the colours. Not only was the colour choices on point but as were all of the character designs and the look and feel of the world. This movie like many films to be released in the last quarter of 2016 are a feast for the eyes.
In terms of issues that I had with the film are more nit picks than anything. First there is one joke that relates to modern day terminology that really just didn’t work for me and made me cringe. Secondly without getting into spoilers I’ll say this, there is a magical aspect that is connected Moana that I feel didn’t have a good set of rules as to what its limitations were. There were many moments that I felt this movie could’ve been finished in a matter minutes but isn’t because of an inconsistency that could’ve been eliminated through a few lines of dialogue. Other than that though I have no real complaints, it was a fun, heartwarming, well paced movie filled with great characters and a terrific message. I highly recommend Moana it is a great time at the movies, it is great for everyone in the family and not just the kids.
I give Disney’s Moana 9/10
Before I get into my usual end of the review spiel I just wanted to mention that this is my first advance screening that I’ve ever been to. I’m so excited to be able to get this review out before the movie is released to the general public. Something about that excites me. I hope to go to more screenings in the future in order to get early reviews out to you all.
So what did you guys think of Disney’s Moana? Love it? Hate it? Who was your favourite character? Are you interested in a sequel? Let me know by leaving a comment or starting a conversation with me on twitter or instagram @nerdycasual. As always thanks for reading, take care.
Nerdy Casual 