Moana

A very imaginative story where the imagination has no limits. Of course, Disney has the classic elements here, like the entertaining character of the rooster, but the songs are great, and above all, the animation is absolutely captivating. Plus, it's quite scary at times and quite psychedelic at others. A great cartoon, maybe the cartoon of the year. (02/12/2017)

Let me try to get this straightened out a little bit. Was Moana better than Kubo and the Two Strings? I would not say it is. I think Kubo and the Two Strings had a much better vibe. Was Moana better than Zootopia? I would not say it was either because the adventure comedy had a much more sophisticated narrative. Was it better than Finding Dory? Yes, it was. So the result is obvious and now just a few words about what I have watched. There seem to be some interesting concepts behind the animation style and it is quite stunning. These include the combination of the animation with the illustrations during Maui's song "You're Welcome". There is a lot of singing, although the songs are good and suit the narrative. Also, they are simple and easy on the ears. The characters are also good, I quickly found Moana very endearing, and I thought Maui was quite charismatic. The comic relief was in the form of the "the village idiot" clueless rooster, and this worked quite well, I thought. Even though he is certainly no Scrat (of course, in truth, I am quite over that squirrel lately), he is quite hilarious. The main "bad guy" is formidable enough, although I was not as scared as I was by Kubo's wicked twin aunts. The setting is exotically gorgeous. The narrative is interesting enough, even though it is by no means original or unpredictable. So, in the end, this is the third-best experience I have had watching an American animated movie so far this year, and I am awarding a well-deserved and very strong four stars. 8.3/10. (12/05/2016)

On the one hand, the second half is excellent, delivering exactly what I expected from the beginning, under a rush of witty catchphrases and visual ideas about an appealing exotic mythology. On the other hand, however, there’s the insanely boring first half that piles one cliché on top of another, unnecessary overwhelms with annoying songs and an unsurprisingly formulaic plot. I had fun and I felt good with the characters (the heroine is clearly number one in the list of the most beautiful animated characters), but considering story-driven gems like Inside Out or Zootropolis, this is weak, although visually really very intoxicating and original. The chicken is awesome... 70% (04/27/2017)

Moana is a refreshing film that takes you to warm landscapes brimming with colour, diverse characters and a sweet story about the search for truth and self during the winter months. Once again, Disney has not disappointed and offers a quality film that is funny, serious, dynamic and full of unforgettable songs that you are happy to play after the screening. Plus point for the unexpected ending. (02/16/2017)

I have watched Walt Disney’s Pacific Moana right after Pixar’s Coco. I don’t want to create an impression that Moana was way worse by this review, but Coco’s story, surroundings and songs were simply closer to my heart. In my opinion it’s not exactly that kind of the fairytale which an adult could watch without falling into an intellectual coma. However, the best part of the story was the character of that idiotic little cock. (02/11/2019)