In Ancient Polynesia, when a terrible curse incurred by the Demigod Maui reaches Moana's island, she answers the Ocean's call to seek out the Demigod to set things right.
When the newly crowned Queen Elsa accidentally uses her power to turn things into ice to curse her home in infinite winter, her sister Anna teams up with a mountain man, his playful reindeer, and a snowman to change the weather condition.
The magically long-haired Rapunzel has spent her entire life in a tower, but now that a runaway thief has stumbled upon her, she is about to discover the world for the first time, and who she really is.
Determined to make her own path in life, Princess Merida (Kelly Macdonald) defies a custom that brings chaos to her kingdom. Granted one wish, Merida must rely on her bravery and her archery skills to undo a beastly curse.
Anna, Elsa, Kristoff, Olaf and Sven leave Arendelle to travel to an ancient, autumn-bound forest of an enchanted land. They set out to find the origin of Elsa's powers in order to save their kingdom.
The special bond that develops between plus-sized inflatable robot Baymax, and prodigy Hiro Hamada, who team up with a group of friends to form a band of high-tech heroes.
Friendly but forgetful blue tang Dory begins a search for her long-lost parents, and everyone learns a few things about the real meaning of family along the way.
After young Riley is uprooted from her Midwest life and moved to San Francisco, her emotions - Joy, Fear, Anger, Disgust and Sadness - conflict on how best to navigate a new city, house, and school.
Moana Waialiki is a sea voyaging enthusiast and the only daughter of a chief in a long line of navigators. When her island's fishermen can't catch any fish and the crops fail, she learns that the demigod Maui caused the blight by stealing the heart of the goddess, Te Fiti. The only way to heal the island is to persuade Maui to return Te Fiti's heart, so Moana sets off on an epic journey across the Pacific. The film is based on stories from Polynesian mythology.Written by
Anonymous
Fifth Harmony member and pop star Dinah Jane auditioned for the role of Moana. See more »
Goofs
When Moana and Maui have escaped the pirates and Maui starts clearing away the darts, one shot in profile shows several darts behind Maui. However, these are suddenly gone in the next shot in profile even though Maui never turned around to grab them. See more »
Quotes
[first lines]
Gramma Tala:
In the beginning there was only ocean until the Mother Island emerged. Te Fiti. Her heart held the greatest power ever known. It could create life itself. And Te Fiti shared it with the world. But in time, some began to seek Te Fiti's heart. They believed if they could possess it, the great power of creation would be theirs. And one day, the most daring of them all voyaged across the vast ocean to take it. He was a demi-god of the wind and sea. He was a warrior. A trickster. A ...
[...] See more »
Crazy Credits
There is a post-credit scene where Tamatoa the Crab (Jemaine Clement) breaks the fourth wall by telling the audience that they would help him turn over if he had a Jamaican accent and was called Sebastian. A clear nod to the directors Ron Clements and John Musker's crab character "Sebastian" in The Little Mermaid, which they wrote. See more »
EDIT: Fixed a couple of grammatical errors, elaborated a bit in one section.
Let me be honest with you: there have only really been 3 Disney movies in this year and 10 years included and before it that really made me go "Wow! They DIDN'T just pull another Disney here". I say that very rarely because Disney has a particular formula that they know works and will give them loads of money... and BOY do they use it allot. If you don't believe me, think for a second: besides Wreck it Ralph, Zootopia, and Big Hero 6, what other PURE Disney (in no association with Pixar) animated movies HAVEN'T had numerous musical numbers, a female lead, a male supporting role, a comedic relief character, and some big journey to stop something bad from happening to the place that the main character lives in?
I know it sounds oddly specific, but it's been played so many times by Disney that's actually more mundane at this point. You've seen in in allot of their hits, and by the next, you probably go into the theater telling yourself the same thing as the last: "I'm ready for the new masterpiece!". Moana is just another one of these films. Is it well written? Yes! Is it culturally diverse? Why would it not be? Is the animation beautiful and breathtaking at moments? Again, the answer is a resounding YES. While all those things are a saving grace for the film, the biggest issue I have in my mind with it is that I will probably forget it's existence in the years to come, Oscar, Golden Globe, WHATEVER, or not! Moana is excellently produced, but none of that matters to me when the writing and overall story arc basically amount to clichés that have been beaten to death already. "Oh," I can hear you saying, "but they mock those cliches, therefore it's original!" Satire and self-loathing have been around for years. When it comes to the former, there's a line between making fun of something and indulging in the exact thing you're aiming to mock. Moana dives head first into the latter.
Listen, if you LOVE Disney and couldn't give a Rat's Tail about these clichés, go ahead and go see the film, you'll probably love it because it's Disney. That said, however, if you DO care for more than a small amount of originality like I do, then maybe it's worth a rental, but that's about it. Again, Moana is excellently produced and will most likely leave a smile on your face... but it's also a convincing case study for all the clichés Disney has been stuffing into their films as of late.
20 of 37 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful to you?
| Report this
EDIT: Fixed a couple of grammatical errors, elaborated a bit in one section.
Let me be honest with you: there have only really been 3 Disney movies in this year and 10 years included and before it that really made me go "Wow! They DIDN'T just pull another Disney here". I say that very rarely because Disney has a particular formula that they know works and will give them loads of money... and BOY do they use it allot. If you don't believe me, think for a second: besides Wreck it Ralph, Zootopia, and Big Hero 6, what other PURE Disney (in no association with Pixar) animated movies HAVEN'T had numerous musical numbers, a female lead, a male supporting role, a comedic relief character, and some big journey to stop something bad from happening to the place that the main character lives in?
I know it sounds oddly specific, but it's been played so many times by Disney that's actually more mundane at this point. You've seen in in allot of their hits, and by the next, you probably go into the theater telling yourself the same thing as the last: "I'm ready for the new masterpiece!". Moana is just another one of these films. Is it well written? Yes! Is it culturally diverse? Why would it not be? Is the animation beautiful and breathtaking at moments? Again, the answer is a resounding YES. While all those things are a saving grace for the film, the biggest issue I have in my mind with it is that I will probably forget it's existence in the years to come, Oscar, Golden Globe, WHATEVER, or not! Moana is excellently produced, but none of that matters to me when the writing and overall story arc basically amount to clichés that have been beaten to death already. "Oh," I can hear you saying, "but they mock those cliches, therefore it's original!" Satire and self-loathing have been around for years. When it comes to the former, there's a line between making fun of something and indulging in the exact thing you're aiming to mock. Moana dives head first into the latter.
Listen, if you LOVE Disney and couldn't give a Rat's Tail about these clichés, go ahead and go see the film, you'll probably love it because it's Disney. That said, however, if you DO care for more than a small amount of originality like I do, then maybe it's worth a rental, but that's about it. Again, Moana is excellently produced and will most likely leave a smile on your face... but it's also a convincing case study for all the clichés Disney has been stuffing into their films as of late.