There’s just one more movie to add to the list – and how
does it stack up to the rest of the films in the canon?
Moana admittedly has a generic storyline, of a young girl
who feels she doesn’t belong, who goes on a journey to find herself and save
the day. But it makes up for this is spades with some unique twists, genuine
emotional sincerity, stunning animation and fantastic music, even outside of
Disney finally adding some cultural diversity to their line-up.
The most striking thing about Moana is how incredible the
visuals are – the water animation needs to be seen to be believed and the whole
film has a lovely colour palette. The two leads are also really fun and the
bond they form throughout the film adds the sincerity I mentioned earlier. This
is also helped by the twists in the story, which add a tone of originality to
what is otherwise a rather unoriginal storyline.
The music, penned by
Mark Mancina, Opetaia Foa’I and Lin Manuel Miranda, has all of the latter’s
signature flair and quick wit. It’s also incredibly catchy, with Maui’s solo You’re
Welcome being a particular highlight.
Another very enjoyable character is the villainous crab
Tamatoa, but I do wish that this character was developed in a bit more detail.
As enjoyable as the character is, his scene does end up feeling a bit like an
extended cameo!
Other than that, Moana is a really enjoyable film, with
great music, an often beautiful (if sometimes formulaic) storyline and some
fantastic animation.
Ratings
Good guys: Two
great leads with great chemistry mean that the good guys get 7/10
Bad guys: Te Ka’s
storyline is beautiful and Tamatoa is really fun, so the bad guys get 7/10
Animation: Some
of the best animation in the canon gets 10/10
Music: I wouldn’t
expect anything less than a stellar score from these writers, so unsurprisingly
the music gets 8/10
Plot: In spite of
genuine emotional sincerity and some really good twists, the storyline is
pretty generic, so the plot gets 6/10
Overall score: 38/50
Next time: The Top 10
Worst Movies in the Disney Animated Canon (to be closely followed by the best)
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