My Review of Moana · 6:24pm Sep 27th, 2022
Rating Scale:
12/10—a complete masterpiece; flawless and outstanding
11/10—Excellent, near-perfect film
10/10—the standard rating; awesome film with a couple of flaws
9/10—a wonderful film with several flaws
8/10–a great film with numerous flaws but not enough to ruin it
7/10—a fun and entertaining movie; not great but still enjoyable
6/10—a slightly above average film; it is something I might watch again
5/10—mediocre movie; not awful but not great either
4/10—a below average film; it could have been much better
3/10—a bad film; poorly written and poorly executed
2/10—a very bad movie; the few good things in the movie overshadowed by the bad things
1/10—a terrible movie; a total waste of time
0/10—a worthless piece of abomination; should have never been made
Greetings, everyone! This is Mr. J back with another movie review for today! This afternoon, I will be reviewing Disney's Moana from 2016! This is one of the few 3D Disney films I have never seen before and was somewhat not interested in checking out since the time I first started my hobby as a movie reviewer. However, since I have been watching a lot of Disney movies since I first watched Wreck-It-Ralph at the beginning of this year, I just recently checked out Moana for the first time. Having seen it twice now, I must say....it was a fun experience! I actually found myself enjoying the movie twice in a row as it contains solid character development, great story-telling, beautiful animation, and wonderful voice acting.
The movie tells us a story about an island being slowly corrupted by darkness thanks to a legendary demigod who stole the Heart from Te Fiti that grants the power of creation to anyone who wields it. With it gone, all life will be consumed by death. One thousand years later, a young girl is determined to find Maui, help him restore the heart to Te Fiti, and thus save the world from darkness.
As I already mentioned, the voice acting was truly flawless. Auli'i Cravalho did a terrific performance as Moana with her voice of optimism, determination, bravery, and cheer for the titular character. Very rarely would I ever say this, but she is one of the very few Disney princesses I actually like and can relate to as opposed to most of them who have generic personalities. I really liked Moana and enjoyed her chemistry with her family and the interaction between her and Maui. Speaking of which, Maui himself was a really great character as well. His tragic backstory, character growth, and amusing quips were all traits I found to be well-written and well-executed. Dwayne Johnson honestly did very well in his voice acting for the character here.
All the songs were actually pretty cool to listen to from start to finish. They all served a purpose in the story and made excellent additions within a long list of memorable Disney songs. My favorite song of the movie would be "Shiny", sung by Jemaine Clement. Why is it that villains always have the best songs in almost every animated movie?! Tamatoa was a great villain even though he wasn't actually the main villain in this; I really wish he was though. He basically stole every scene he was in and proved to be a formidable foe regardless of how little his screen time was. Oh, and he seems to break the fourth wall too. Hey, Tamatoa, have you ever heard of Deadpool?
Anyway, all the other characters were pretty much enjoyable to watch too, especially the grandmother. It was really sad when she died though. But hey, Disney just loves upholding its classic tradition of killing off parental figures.
However, the only issues I have with the movie are just minor nitpicks. I didn't like how the Heart could easily be stolen by anybody because if it's that important to sustain all life, shouldn't it be under heavy protection? Or, you know, make it so that it would be extremely hard to get to? Also, how does anyone absorb the power within the Heart exactly? Everybody was craving for the power within, but how does one obtain it though?Because we don't see it actually play out. That relic was touched by almost everyone and nothing happened. Should you perform a spell to gain it? Do you just place it on your chest? How does it work? Again, those are just nitpicks, nothing more.
In conclusion, this film was quite an amazing story and deserves to be recognized, praised, and well-known for the wonderful piece of art it really is. With that said, I will rate it a 9/10!
Peace!
Glad you decided to review this beautiful movie. It´s one of the best modern movies Disney has done. Moana is a great female character, I loved that she broke the super skinny body mold (nothing against skinny girls though, but it was nice seeing a change). And she has a great personality too! Maui was a pretty solid character too. While his actions were selfish, he had a relatable reason to do so.
This movie had some powerful scenes. The scene of Know who you are is a MASTERPIECE, easily my favourite part of the movie. The slow motion, the detail in animation, and most importantly, the lyrics, it speaks volumes to people who are going through a rough time. I am Moana was very amazing.
Schrafillas Productions would be proud
(don´t know if you know who he is). Jemaine Clement is amazing.
Who doesn't love Dwayne Johnson, aka The Rock, in a movie (be it live action or animated) though? :D
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I'm not a big fan of him, but he is a very solid actor.
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Indeed. ^^
"Moana" is definitely another one of Disney's best movies.
When Disney announced a while back that they were planning on making a Disney+ television series based on the show, I wasn't sure what to think. But, then I remembered something that the film's ending openly brought to the table:
With the seas no longer cursed, and the villagers free to travel across the waters, Disney can take the characters anywhere by providing them with endless adventure-possibilities.
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Based on the movie, you mean?
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Yes. Sorry about that.
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No worries.