Saw this back when it was still in process, so what I saw may not have been everything that made it in the film, and the effects weren't close to being done outside of a handful of scenes...

But I really enjoyed this. I thought it was the funniest Disney movie I've seen in quite some time, mainly due to Hei Hei and the Grandmother. There is some crass humor thrown in that's fine. I really loved Moana's story. She's very well written, and comes off as a strong character. The animation I did see was beautiful.

The story is not overly unique, but the fact that the "villain" of the film is no villain at all really made the ending work. The Rock does pretty good work here, and even gets some vulnerable moments that I think sell his character. Overall I thought the songs on a whole are fine, with a few standouts, but the more I remember them, the better they get. They really connect with the story. I think How Far I'll Go is an Oscar contender.

Auli'i Cravalho is such a delight. And the "Mad Max" scene was a pleasant surprise.

A-

It's cute and enjoyable. It really benefits from some strong comedy and vocal work, because I found the story a bit pedestrian. It hits all the familiar beats of this sort of film and doesn't bring a whole lot that's new to the table. I also found the songs largely mediocre (the worst is the crab song "Shiny," which is basically a second rate "Poor Unfortunate Souls," and that whole scene in general was so pointless), with one exception. "How Far I'll Go" is actually quite good and grows on you as the movie goes along as it's basically the central theme. The animation is expectedly gorgeous and first-rate across the board - it's a visually stunning film. I thought Auli'i Cravalho and The Rock both did really good work here and had a nice chemistry, and the comedy (from the "Mad Max" spoof that was mentioned above to Hei Hei to the general banter between the two characters) really lands. This is far from classic Disney but it's definitely worth checking out. B

It's funny because I wasn't a huge fan of "Shiny" but some of the voice actors fans LOVE it.

Oh well.

Yeah it's probably because it's like a "Flight of the Conchords" song with Jemaine doing vocals. It's just not very good and I thought the movie stalled completely when it happened. The visuals were also fairly ugly during that sequence in my opinion. I don't know what they were going for.

I just listened to the soundtrack after torturing myself trying to wait for the movie.How Far I'll Go/Reprise, You're Welcome, I Am Moana, Know Who You Are, and We Know the Way/Reprise are very good.

Shiny is weird and I can't decide if it's a good weird or not.

Where You Are sounds like the songwriters were sleepwalking.

So it's very good for the most part.

Edit Where You Are is better on second listen though it's definitely the one that's trying the most to sound t like Hamilton.

Oh, I forgot about "Where You Are." I hated that one.

Still 100% through 48 reviews!

I've listened to the soundtrack several times now and love every song except Shiny which isn't terrible, just not up to snuff with the other songs. I can't wait to see it!

Will write more later, but my reaction will be HIGHLY positive.

Moana is the best Disney film since Aladdin. It may even be better than Aladdin storywise, but that had better songs.

What makes Moana feel so fresh is that unlike the films that have come out from the studio in the turn of the century which either tried to avoid Disney formula altogether (most of their failed early 2000's projects, Wreck It Ralph, Big Hero 6) or made fun of it in a satirical way (Tangled, Frozen) Moana fully embraces its roots and is all the better for it. There is humor here, but it's not the meta self deprecating humor of Frozen (you can't marry a man you just met!), and the humor isn't even really the center of the film; it's much more of a drama. How I would explain it is how Pocahontas should have been. I like Pocahontas, but the main issue with that film is the lack of energy and fun. It works as a serious film, but the historical inaccuracies if you care about them lose it credibility. Moana is brimming with life, from the characters to the fresh take on the epic journey story to the songs to the animation.

The characters of Moana and Maui are the finest creations of the studio in quite some time. The fact that they carry most of the film on their shoulders allows for much greater character development than in an ensemble piece like Frozen. Even Tangled which also featured two main characters never felt as fully fleshed out and real as the lead characters in this film. The supporting cast here is fine, with the standout being Tamatoa the crab and Pua the pig. Moana's grandmother is also likable, and it is refreshing that her parents are both alive (her mom is a MILF)

Moana isn't completely original; I'd say it feels like Pocahontas with all the epic grand scale and significance of The Lion King. But there are plenty of new and fresh thing that it finds to do with the genre that it never feels like you are watching a remake of anything else that came before.

The songs here are very good. After listening to the songs once, I really liked How Far I'll Go, You're Welcome and We Know the Way. It took a few more listens, but now I also really like Where You Are and Shiny. Really those are the only songs in the movie, the rest are reprises, tribal chants, and one mashup of Where You Are and How Far I'll Go called "I Am Moana". Overall, I'd say it's not the best Disney soundtrack, but that's only because the others have been so good, It's certainly the best score since Hunchback of Notre Dame (excluding Frozen, which was a tad better as well song wise).

And the scope of this film is probably the biggest they've ever done. You really feel like you are out there on the boat with Moana and Maui and it's thrilling. All of the action set pieces are huge in scale and very exciting to watch. My favorite scene is the one in the Realm of Monsters where they must retrieve Maui's hook from Tamatoa. Gorgeous animation, and it's so campy and ridiculous that it works. And the CGI animation is the best the studio has done as well. I used to think that CGI could never approach the abstract possibilities of songs like Friend Like Me or Friends on the Other Side, but You're Welcome manages it. All of the land and the water and the tress and the plants and the characters look very detailed and gorgeous. Not a frame is wasted.

I am so excited to watch this again. This is probably the best animated film since Toy Story 3, and certainly my favorite film of 2016.

A+

I'm glad you loved it!

This movie is overrated already. Frozen was SO much better.

Zwackerm's dick must be all raw from all the rubbing over this film.

Naw. Frozen had slightly better songs. Moana is superior in every other facet.

The story of this movie sucks. It's Pocahontas-lite. It's saved by how good the animation and vocal performances are.

"How Far I'll Go" is great and a grower. But "Shiny" is not That scene sucks and that crab character sucks - he's a lame excuse to throw in a Little Mermaid element to the story which is probably because it's Lin's favorite Disney film. And the other songs aren't memorable at all.

There is only ONE thing that is truly great about Moana and that is the animation.

Classy.

Frozen is X-Men meets Wicked starring a brunette Rapunzel with Wreck IT Ralph's villain twist and the twist from the season one finale of Once Upon a Time.

And In Summer, the reindeer song and Fixer Upper are worse than anything in Moana.

I don't know what point you're trying to make Frozen isn't some masterpiece of originality but this sure isn't either.

Then don't use the originality argument to say this is way worse. ALL movies, not just Disney movies, borrow elements. Moana is nothing like Pocahontas once she leaves the island.

It's not a bad movie. But it doesn't touch the upper echelon of Disney movies for me. Both Tangled and Frozen are better films for recent examples.

And Brave is probably a better example of a film this movie mirrors.

It's just very episodic. The general storyline and dramatic conflict about the heart of Te Fiti is not interesting.

To each his own. I'm not saying you're wrong, just defending my opinion. And it seems I'm in the majority looking at reactions elsewhere.

But you and I both know you're just bitter about waiting 4 more months for Beauty and the Beast

Also, Lin stated Shiny was intended as a reverse Les Possions. Besides the fact it's a villain song, what does it have to do with Poor Unfortunate Souls?

It's a villain song that is set in an underwater lair and is unabashedly flamboyant?

None of that has to do with the song itself. It was written with Flight of the Concorde and David Bowie in mind.