Hello guys!! To those who recognize me, I hope you're all doing well! I've been busy with college apps and life in general, but I've been well! To those who don't, nice to meet you! I used to frequent this site a couple years ago. :) Anyway I'm just going to go straight into the review! There won't be any large plot type spoilers, but if you want to go in knowing absolutely nothing, I would recommend not reading!

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I just got home from seeing this beautiful film and I need to let out all my feelings somewhere, but hopefully this will be somewhat coherent and not come across as a giant rant with paragraph breaks. I have such a huge smile on my face as I write this, because this movie just made me so damn happy!

The Soundtrack

Guys this movie sounds breathtakingly beautiful. The score, the songs, it all just creates an environment and immerses you immediately into the Polynesian culture. Getting some fresh blood with Lin-Manuel, the creator of Hamilton (which also has an 11/10 soundtrack), was such a great idea and it really brought a brightness that I loved. The entire soundtrack just put a smile on my face. There's a force that comes with these songs, a power behind them, that I really enjoy. There's also no shortage of reprises, and I love a good reprise. Even the songs that would generally read as filler like Shiny and You're Welcome just put a huge smile on my face (I loved the revisiting of you're welcome throughout the film, and I have to admit that song is still stuck in my head). Shiny could get some hate, but I don't think it's deserved. The song is showy and glamorous and totally ridiculous and I love it for what it is.

The way the film uses music to introduce us to the Polynesian culture through Where You Are and We Know The Way is so great. The songs, rather than sounding like filler, are so rich with culture and emotion that you feel immediate immersion into this rich and beautiful culture. Moana herself really carries this though, with How Far I'll Go being both beautiful and infectious, and the reprise being just as powerful. I love how the movie uses the music to show Moana's character growth. Moana's voice actress does such an incredible job emoting and I'm amazed that she's only sixteen (The Rock also did an incredible job). The score of course didn't disappoint either, adding to the ambiance.



The Animation

It's stunning. Moana is stunning. The ocean is stunning. The island is stunning. It's all just stunning! The bright colors are so vibrant and plentiful that it's impossible to not be mystified! The entire first half hour of the movie is animation-orgasm worthy! Moana herself is of course stunning. Her hair is so luscious and I love how Disney does different things with it. I definitely think she's the most beautiful 3D princess and Disney has really gotten the hang of animating these 3D beauties. She just radiates a certain happiness and loveliness that's infectious.

Disney is also willing to go many different places with the animation. Certain song scenes have different animation and mixes of animation and changes with light and texture and it's just really refreshing to see. The way Disney plays with light and dark and florescence and blackness is just incredible. There's a fluidity and naturalness to the animation that's really welcome to see in a 3D movie from Disney. The details are another aspect that I think really make the movie, given that they're all shown so much individualized care so that every little bit of it is perfect.



The Characters

I love Moana. She's just..so great! I feel like I need to watch it many more times till I can grasp everything that is Moana. She's so fascinatingly multifaceted and she certainly merges the headstrong female character with a welcome sense of insecurity and self doubt that reminds me of Rapunzel (though the characters have many differences). Seeing her journey and how she found her "way" really touched me. I liked seeing how driven she was, but how she was relatable in her wavering and doubt that followed her. The way she could always pick herself up and continue on with her dreams really made me smile though. She almost has to convince herself that she's strong, and she doubts it many times, but she kinda plays the whole "fake it till ya make it" and eventually does get there, which is so beautiful to see. She's stubborn, but not in a way where it endangers others. She's so extremely caring and will do anything for the ones she loves and before I rant on and on about her I'll end it here, but expect a character analysis of her soon! I need a whole article to express how much I love this beautiful girl!!

Maui was a lot better than I thought. I was slightly worried he would be unlikable, but that certainly isn't the case. He's a lot more than the lovable, slightly snarky sidekick. I loved how we got his backstory and also saw how he too had insecurities and doubts behind that demigod persona. He was so ridiculous and his chemistry with Moana was absolutely perfect. Grandma of course was also absolutely brilliant. I loved how she helped out Moana and led her to be able to find herself. She was a comedic relief type character, but she didn't read as one. She was able to balance both comedy and heart, which I really enjoyed. I'm glad that she played a larger role in the movie than I had thought, and thoroughly enjoyed every scene she was a part of!



Finishing Thoughts

I said this would be more or less spoiler free, so I won't get into plot, but that's probably where the movie struggles most. Moana isn't doing anything any other Disney movie hasn't done, but it's taking all those aspects together and doing something so great with them. Moana herself is so beautiful that the movie would've been great regardless of the movie she was put in, and I'm so hopeful that Disney will include her in the princess lineup. As I said, another article will be coming, one much more thought out and not written at 1 AM after getting back from the movie theater, but for now I'll end it on this: If you've seen this movie, please fangirl about it with me in the comments and if you haven't see this movie, please go see it and then proceed to fangirl about it with me in the comments. Thank you so much for reading, have a lovely day/night/evening/afternoon/etc. :)