What do you guys think of Moana?

[gotomu212]

I thought that this movie was on the same level as some of the newer "classics" (Beauty and the Beast, Lion King, Aladdin). It was such a beautifully animated film too. I loved the colors and scenery.

We had people from 8-70 in our group and every single person loved it.

 

[kmb584]

I just wanted to pop back in to say that I saw it this afternoon, and absolutely LOVED it! The animation was incredible and beyond gorgeous, the music was excellent, and the storyline was fantastic. My daughter initially didn't want to see it (hence why we saw Trolls yesterday) and while in the car after Moana she goes, "I cannot believe I wanted to see Trolls instead of Moana! It's my new favorite movie! Can we go see it again tomorrow?" (she was 4 when Frozen came out and we saw it 4x in the theater ).

 

[Pugsly]

I thought that this movie was on the same level as some of the newer "classics" (Beauty and the Beast, Lion King, Aladdin). It was such a beautifully animated film too. I loved the colors and scenery.

We had people from 8-70 in our group and every single person loved it.

I too, thought the scenery and the colors were fantastic!

DH and I went without our grown kids or DGD (who's too young to sit through a movie). We both loved it! And DH is not a huge Disney fan.

 

[OhioWDWDuo]

We LOVED it!!! The story, animation, music, everything was fantastic! We've actually seen it twice (2D and 3D). One of Disney's best!

 

[SeaPic]

DS12 and DD15 and I saw it yesterday. DH was upset because he thought we were going to see Fantastic Beasts and didn't leave work early. Everyone said they would see it again.

Just one negative we can't seem to stop singing the songs - Thanks! No really "You're Welcome".

 

[Teresa Pitman]

I thought the animation was very impressive. We took six of my grandkids, and the four-year-old and three-year-old were a bit scared in parts, but they did still like it, and the older kids liked all of it.

 

[Saimaeve]

We saw it Thursday and loved it. I'm a huge Lin-Manuel Miranda fan and he did phenomenally. I'm thinking this most definitely will secure his PEGOT.

I didn't find any faults in it. (Then again I also felt the Zootopia message was perfect and not pushy...)

I bought the soundtrack before we even left the theater. Definitely excited about seeing it again.

 

[Wishing on a star]

I am back!
Loved the animation and some of the characters! Including Moana and the grandma!
The scenery and animation in the whole first part of the movie put me right back onto the North of Kauai!!!
We enjoyed it!

The music, for me, was a weak spot. Sorry Lin, but I am one who is familiar with some true Hawaiian artist.
If course, there has to be a song that younger kids can identify with and sing, so I kind of get that about the one song.
But, the rest of the music and soundtrack didn't do a lot for me.
(NOTE: having said that, I am not a huge Lin-Manuel fan... I did not see too much PC 'stuff' in the movie... So, to the one poster, I wouldn't let that keep me from seeing Moana. Believe me, with the theme of native polynesians, there could have been some very very heavy PC messages there. I didn't see that.)

The reason that I don't think that this measures up to some of the other good Disney classics is the lack of character development with some of the characters, the ocean, and the so called side-kick chicken. Definitely not the monkey or magic carpet, or the sidekicks from Beauty and the Beast. (IMHO one of the absolute BEST of these Disney movies) The chicken left me kind of like

 

[Toon crazy]

My family loved it.

 

[cdnjason]

We saw it on Friday. My wife and daughters loved it. I didn't know what to expect, and was pleasantly surprised. Another Disney hit animation.

 

[Twende]

The Grandma and the chicken stood out for me. I could so relate to the characters. The animation and scenes were magnificent. I wished now I had seen it in 3D. I guess I will have to go back and watch it again!

 

[Mokat76]

I saw it today in 3D and thoroughly enjoyed it. It was beautifully made and I liked the story line. I didn't fall in love with it like I have some other Disney animated films, but it certainly was in my "above average" group.

 

[aristocatz]

We went today and other than the fact I was worried about the time (there were 25 minutes of previews and we had a boy that needed to be at work at a certain time), I liked it. One thing I liked about it was that it wasn't too stressful. Like in Inside Out where everything keeps going wrong forever...this didn't feel like that to me. There was enough happy mixed in throughout. Very beautiful animation as well.

Ooh this is good to know! I've been wanting to take my 4 year old to her first trip to the movies, but she gets very upset when too many things "go wrong" in a movie. This one sounds like a good choice for her for her first movie experience!

 

[Mokat76]

Ooh this is good to know! I've been wanting to take my 4 year old to her first trip to the movies, but she gets very upset when too many things "go wrong" in a movie. This one sounds like a good choice for her for her first movie experience!

There are some "scary" parts, but nothing too extreme or long-lasting. It's certainly not a movie where bad things keep smacking you. I'm not sure a 4yo would get into this movie as much as that age group did Frozen. It struck me as a bit less oriented toward little-bitties. I could be wrong; I didn't go with anyone that young.

 

[PollyannaMom]

I was just going to wait for Netflix on this one (no little kids in the house anymore) but these reviews are making me want to go!

 

[aristocatz]

There are some "scary" parts, but nothing too extreme or long-lasting. It's certainly not a movie where bad things keep smacking you. I'm not sure a 4yo would get into this movie as much as that age group did Frozen. It struck me as a bit less oriented toward little-bitties. I could be wrong; I didn't go with anyone that young.

Hmm....thank you for that. She saw Frozen at home & loved it & did ok with the suspenseful parts there....

 

[Caropooh]

We saw it tonight in 3D and loved it! The animation, story and everything about it was wonderful!
During the credits, I turned to my 17yo and said to her, 'I want to be Polynesian now!' She told me she didn't think that was possible, but that I could appreciate and embrace the culture!

 

[Dis_Fan]

I was not a fan of it. Although it certainly was not a terrible movie.

The main things I did not like were in the beginning. It was to cliche and to on the nose in both script and the songs really pounding in the "character wanting more from there life but forbidden from family, but ending up going out anyway" trope. The characters felt more like caricatures then anything.

Things picked up once Maui was introduced. He was breath of fresh air and brought along the first of the better songs as well as some very good moments and chemistry with Moana. He helped energize the movie for the rest of the runtime. He was very underused though.

Lastly the movie felt way to small for me. This is a movie about Moana saving her village once the "darkness" the was sweeping over the world got to her island. Yet for such a wide spreading calamity were are never introduced to anyone else affected by the problem. The coconut pirates seem be to be doing fine and the monster world seems unaffected. I know the ocean is made up of a lot of nothing (although Moana and Maui get to places pretty fast) but a little more scale to the movie would be nice. This is very much Star War: A New Hope (member Star Wars? member Chewbacca?) with the ocean replacing space but Star Wars brought weight and scope while Moana did not.

Good;
Maui
Maui and Moana interactions
Animation
Second half songs
The chicken

Bad;
First third songs
Cliche characters and tropes in the beginning
Underused Maui
Underused Piggy
Lack of scope and lack of threat.

My suggestion would be to hit Best Buy or Gamestop and picking up a Wii U (or used Gamecube if you want to go cheaper) and a copy of The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker. It does everything Moana should of done.

 

[L&Lfan]

I kept waiting for the hook in How Far I'll Go. You know, the song that was "guaranteed" to be Moana's Let It Go. It never came....totally forgettable, imo. I don't think any of these songs will become "classics".

 

[BrianL]

I loved it too. The animation is breathtaking and I really enjoyed the story (I love tales of sea voyages). I do feel like the songs weren't quite up to expectations, with the exception of "We Know the Way" which is fantastic. It's a bit like Frozen in that regard where "Let It Go" is the only real standout. Still, I wouldn't call any of the songs bad, just not that memorable. Overall, this was another home run for WDAS after a long string of them. I am glad they are back on top of the animation game!