Moana

[Elton John]

I listened to snippets of the full soundtrack on itunes.

Holy *insert explative here* I was wrong. Soundtrack is gonna be good.

[Marizzle]

I've just finished listening to the complete OST of Moana and, in all honesty, I don't need to see the movie to know that I will cry. To me, Moana's OST is definitely one of the best I have heard from Disney, together with The Lion King and Frozen. Most tracks were simply overwhelming and I couldn't help but feel like some were an attempt to leave a powerful statement to the world. The 'cultural environment' that they transmit is also splendid. Also, there is clearly a lot of Miranda's doing in this soundtrack as I felt like I was seeing a Broadway show throughout the whole thing - the emotional roller coaster I felt was impossible to escape from.

Regarding their voices, I had a few surprises...
Auli' i was a surprise to me. After the 'powerhouse voices' given to the previous princesses, I wasn't expecting to hear such a calm and...pure voice. There is something different about Auli' i. She doesn't need a very high and long note like Elsa did in Disney's 'Let It Go' to stand out or leave some statement in her movie, her voice alone does that and, IMO, this is heard in "I Am Moana".
Dwayne Johnson was just priceless - is there anything he can't do? - yet, I had already heard a part of his song before, so I knew what to expect.
Jemaine Clement was another surprise. In all honesty, I did not know who would be voicing the villain and couldn't help but grin throughout all of his song. His voice just fits so well with his character, in such an odd way! He doesn't sound 'scary', yet, at the same time, there's this tone that makes him easy to identify as the villain!
Overall, the whole cast was amazing, in my opinion. They definitely fit their characters, but in a way that they are not the 'clichés' we are used to hear. They are a different approach to the character they are supposed to be (princess, sidekick, villain, etc...), yet they're effective. It's nearly impossible to explain.

Of all the soundtrack, I have a few favourite tracks:
"An Innocent Warrior" - Although I do not understand the lyrics, this song is simply haunting. It gave me chills, as soon as it began.

"We Know the Way" (Regular and Finale) - The mix between the foreign and the English languages was a great choice. The upbeat rhythm of this song just makes me want to stand up and 'get out there'. I also love how it's 100% related to the Polynesian culture.

"How Far I'll Go (Reprise)" - Moana's "main song" as a character. It allows us to know her, for once, IMO. I love how different this song is from the typical princess songs. Moana seems to be far more tough and brave than the rest and this song reflects that.

"I Am Moana (Song of the Ancestors)" - I can't avoid noticing this song's connection to "How Far I'll Go", yet, this one has such a depth that is impossible to explain. It starts with a "broken soul needing fix" and it ends with that very same soul finding itself again and leaving a statement to everything and everyone. The final line ("I AM MOANA!") just reminds me of the "Let the storm rage on!" from the end of Frozen's "Let It Go".

Overall? I cannot wait to get my hands in the CD. That says it all.

[Gemini]

I'm seeing this movie in about three and a half hours. Super stoked!

[Elton John]

Seeing it tomorrow morning.

[Squeely]

Probably gonna see it tonight!

[TheLionPrince]

I saw it a few hours ago, and here are my thoughts in my rather lengthy review.

Ron Clements and John Musker have come a long way in their careers. They started out as apprentice animators on The Rescuers and The Fox and the Hound before teaming up on The Great Mouse Detective. With The Little Mermaid, they ignited a new creative era of Disney animation and reached an apex with Aladdin. Sad but true, Hercules and Treasure Planet were less creative efforts, but they had their moments. Continuing from The Princess and the Frog, both directors are very much in their comfort zone with Moana telling of a female protagonist exploring her place in the world, comedic relief sidekick voiced by a celebrity, vivid visuals, and an enjoyable musical score.

Moana (Auli'i Cravalho) is a young chief's daughter on the island of Motonui who dreams of exploring the seas forbidden to her by her father. However, when her island home begins to decay, she must make a fateful choice to leave her island to find the demi-god Maui, and restore balance back to the world.

This film is very much in the traditional mold of Disney's renaissance during the late 1980s and early 1990s. It doesn't carry the inventiveness of Zootopia nor the plot-twisting surprises of Frozen, but it's a good film in its own right. It doesn't help when even this film is very reflexive of the Disney formula. At one point in the film, Maui says, "If you're going to start singing, I'm going to throw up" and remarks that every princess comes with an animal sidekick.

The voice acting was also top-notch. In her first role, Auli'i Cravalho has tremendous talent in her vocals that carries the soul, dignity, and the dedication to her familial heritage most important to the nature of the eponymous character. Dwayne Johnson was most impressive as Maui serving as a great cynical foil to Moana's optimistic nature. Despite that both actors recorded their lines separately, the two share chemistry with each other in which you can hear the frustration in their voices. Jermaine Clement voices Tamatoa, a greedy giant hermit crab who harbors the Realm of Monsters, who almost single-handedly stole the show. Much like Smaug from The Hobbit, he guards the prized possession of Maui's fishhook where he exhales an inventive cross between Tim Curry and David Bowie-like vocals. Alan Tudyk, returning in his fifth consecutive role in a Disney animated film, clucks as the rooster Heihei serving as the oligarchy comedic animal sidekick that's worth a few laughs here and there. Rachel House turns in soulful, wisdom-esque work as Gramma Tala.

The secondary characters are very much in the Clements and Musker mold. Her father, Chief Tui Waialiki, is very much like King Triton with a backstory explaining his restrictive authority. Her mother, while supportive, was just there. Maui is basically a more arrogant version of Aladdin's Genie with his shape-shifting abilities and an introductory song where he boasts of his mystical abilities. Moana's grandmother, Gramma Tala, has the wackiness of Mama Odie, the knowledge and guidance-serving of Grandmother Willow from Pocahontas, and even the spirituality of Mufasa.

Lin-Manuel Miranda came onto the project a few years before his breakout Broadway musical Hamilton became the shot heard around the world. His musical talent is all over this soundtrack, which sadly, I cannot quite consider as one of Disney's best. His rapid-fire, freestyle rapping lyrics is instantly recognizable, which is married with the tribal music similar to that of The Lion King and Pocahontas. Miranda was assisted by songwriter Opetaia Foa'i and score composer Mark Mancina of Lion King and Speed fame. The songs are rather catchy (especially "You're Welcome") with the breakout "I want" song being "How Far I'll Go", which is a cross between "Just Around the Riverbend" and "Part of Your World".

Additionally, the visuals are worth the price of admission. The character are stylized almost realistically without becoming too cartoony. The rendering of the ocean waters was also spectacular feeling fluid and painterly becoming a character in itself. Overall, Moana has the goods for those nostalgic for Disney's musicals of the past balanced with elements of storytelling and character depth of the modern age. You may not walk out humming a tune, but it's well worth the voyage on the ocean blue.

[Squeely]

Worst Godzilla film ever.

A lot of people complain that Godzilla is often not in his films very much, but here, he was in it for literally two seconds.

0/10.

I'm kidding by the way. Moana was outstanding, I daresay better than Tangled and Frozen.

[Elton John]

I really adore the soundtrack.

I am Moana, Shiny, and Know Who You Are....are my favorites.

[Marizzle]

I don't have enough words to say how much I loved this movie. It is literally one of the best Disney movies I have ever seen in my life. Everything about it was just mind blowing, especially that scene where Moana returns the "Heart of Te Fiti", which I found really emotional, in some strange way. I absolutely love we learn about the Polynesian culture in a non-obvious way, not only through the storyline and characters, but also through all the details, such as clothing, patterns, dances, actions, their surroundings (plants, food, etc.) and so much more.

Also, I can't avoid pointing out, again, how much I love this movie's OST. I daresay it is one of Disney's best soundtracks. It truly felt like I was watching a Broadway show & Disney movie mix, which, IMO, was due to the outstanding soundtrack. In my opinion, it's as good as the soundtracks of The Lion King or Frozen.

[FlipMode]

[quote="Marizzle"]I don't have enough words to say how much I loved this movie. It is literally one of the best Disney movies I have ever seen in my life. Everything about it was just mind blowing, especially that scene where Moana returns the "Heart of Te Fiti", which I found really emotional, in some strange way. I absolutely love we learn about the Polynesian culture in a non-obvious way, not only through the storyline and characters, but also through all the details, such as clothing, patterns, dances, actions, their surroundings (plants, food, etc.) and so much more.

Also, I can't avoid pointing out, again, how much I love this movie's OST. I daresay it is one of Disney's best soundtracks. It truly felt like I was watching a Broadway show & Disney movie mix, which, IMO, was due to the outstanding soundtrack. In my opinion, it's as good as the soundtracks of The Lion King or Frozen. [/quote]

Yo could you guys please use spoilers if you're going to talk about plot points, I haven't seen this yet and thought I'd see what people thought of the film.

I like the soundtrack though and I'm glad people seem to be really diggin' this film. I was going to just wait for the Blu Ray release but I'm considering watching it in cinema now lol