Moana (2016)

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A young woman uses her navigational talents to set sail for a fabled island. Joining her on the adventure is her hero, the legendary demi-god Maui.

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Directed By: Ron Clements, John Musker

Written By: Ron Clements, John Musker, Jared Bush, Pamela Ribon

Starring: Dwayne Johnson, Alan Tudyk, Jemaine Clement, Temuera Morrison, Rachel House, Jenica Bergere, Oscar Kightley, Auli'i Cravalho, Nicole Scherzinger, Louise Bush, Puanani Cravalho, Troy Polamalu

Genres: Comedy, Musical, Family/Kids, Adventure, Animation

Country: USA

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Moana belongs to 38 collections

1. Official Disney Animated Canon (collaborative: moderated by Filligan - 35 stars)

2. Passed the Bechdel Test (collaborative: moderated by geohawk - 32 stars)

3. Female protagonist (collaborative: moderated by djross - 25 stars)

4. Humanity and the Natural World (collaborative: moderated by paulofilmo - 18 stars)

5. Women+ (collaborative: moderated by paulofilmo - 18 stars)

6. #1 at the US Box Office (collaborative: moderated by BeeDub - 10 stars)

7. Extra scene after credits (collaborative: moderated by djross - 7 stars)

8. Capsules, guest reviews, list candidates... (366weirdmovies) (collaborative: moderated by sesito71 - 5 stars)

9. Disney+ (collaborative: moderated by saudade - 5 stars)

10. Top 3000 movies with the most votes on IMDb (public: fanfic - 5 stars)

11. Directed collaboratively (collaborative: moderated by djross - 3 stars)

12. Worldwide box office over $500,000,000 (collaborative: moderated by djross - 3 stars)

13. 50 Movies All Kids Should Watch Before They're 12 (Common Sense Media) (collaborative: moderated by BeeDub - 3 stars)

14. Top 1000 movies with the most votes on IMDb (public: fanfic - 3 stars)

15. The Next Picture Show Podcast (collaborative: moderated by trippingly - 2 stars)

16. Cinema Sins (collaborative: moderated by Phantom Nook - 2 stars)

17. 89th Academy Awards Nominees (collaborative: moderated by SpeedlimiT - 2 stars)

18. Academy Award Nominees for Best Animated Feature (public: gcat - 2 stars)

19. 89th Academy Awards: Nominees (public: okayfrog - 2 stars)

20. Top 2000 movies with the most votes on IMDb (public: fanfic - 2 stars)

21. 74th Golden Globe Nominees - 2016 (collaborative: moderated by BeeDub - 1 star)

22. 89th Academy Reminder List (2016) (collaborative: moderated by cowfrappe - 1 star)

23. Availability: Disney+ and Star Canada (collaborative: moderated by geohawk - 1 star)

24. 2016 Films to Watch (public: kendell - 1 star)

25. Best of 2016 (public: kendell - 1 star)

26. Nostalgia Critic - Disneycember (collaborative: moderated by Phantom Nook)

27. One Word Titled Films (collaborative: moderated by Dunstan-xxx)

28. Children's Movies Without Evil Villain (collaborative: moderated by timeTraveler)

29. DtC Doubling the Canon 2021 Nominees (collaborative: moderated by lineuphere)

30. Disney Animation (collaborative: moderated by JJJensen)

31. zae's DVDs & Blurays (public: zae)

32. Movie Collection (public: BeeDub)

33. 2017: Complete Watchlist (public: SageSledge)

34. My Favourite Films (public: BriRam)

35. The Best of 2016 (public: SageSledge)

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37. Walt Disney Animation Studios (public: kahu)

38. Official Canon Disney Princesses Feature Films (public: gcat)

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All Ratings | With Reviews

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TCI | Percentile | Date Rated | # Stars (Reviews)

Stars	User	Rating
8	bakcheia	81 _71st
Moana shows how Disney is about to overshadow Pixar, who's in a repetitive dry spell. Moana is a great role model, while also being fairly complex, but a delight to travel with. I get so excited because she is nicely fleshed out and avoids the right tropes. She's willing to undertake duty, and she lacks not the agency to chart new territory, just the knowledge. It's a graceful spin on the "chosen one" plot line, and while dull in its predictability and genericism, it's a stunning film to behold.
7	BeeDub	88 _75th
The story hits a lot of familiar beats - you can practically feel the plot gears grinding during the third act - but the characters and music are decently fun, and the whole thing is absolutely gorgeous to look at.
5	Alex Watkins	3 _38th
Disney has all but eliminated whatever quality gap existed between its own animation division and Pixar at this point. Moana is absolutely beautiful to look at, for starters, and while its tale of finding your place in the world against the odds and the belief of others is nothing new, it's executed with verve, flair and humor. The Rock is of course great.
5	PeaceAnarchy	80 _61st
I'm kinda tired of chosen one arcs. but this is a pretty fun take on it thanks to Moana being a really good lead character and The Rock being a good complement that brings some humour.
5	Beer94	74 _83rd
Stunning animation, pretty solid soundtrack and a Disney princess that continues the trend of breaking the mould. Moana seems to be more proof that Disney are on the rise during Pixar's slightly rocky spell. This doesn't quite sail to the heights of Zootopia in terms of its creativity and script and I have no idea where those coconut pirates came from really, but it's still plain sailing for Disney at the moment.
5	guy piranha	55 _30th
An extraordinarily polished turd. I'd rather have my kids watch cannibal holocaust. Again.
5	Leonardis	94 _80th
I loved this! Disney's 3D animated cannon seems to just get better as the years go by. Moana surfs up really catchy and amazing music, beautiful animation, and good character development. Dwayne Johnson's singing voice isn't actually too bad. The story is pretty good in itself as well. This serves as a small, albiet very well-done animated film to add on to the Disney collection. If you haven't seen this yet, you need to.
5	mattorama12	76 _80th
Really fun adventure with an art/culture that I haven't seen much of in film before. The music was also some of Disney's best in a long time. I was a little annoyed with Maui's facial animation, which is a nitpick I have with a lot of Disney's funny/sarcastic characters, but otherwise nothing to complain about.
4	Kojiless	28 _28th
I can appreciate the animation quality in this film like I can appreciate the beauty of a diamond ring shat out by a wombat that swallowed it the night before. Some may ask if this is a roundabout way of me saying I thought the cliched story, the blueberry pop tart script, and the uninspired "message" were somehow comparable to wombat shit. To those people, I would reply with an actual song from Moana: "We make baskets. Baskets are good. They hold fish. I like fish. Baskets. Fish. Moana!"
4	twincinema	80 _75th
I have seen this film twice with my niece and it is the perfect viewing experience. It's kind of amazing how many times a kid can watch the same film. Like, I think she's seen it a hundred times. It's been on the last two times I came over. I think this is why I can't become a parent. I'd be like, "sure, Moana is great? But what about all the deep cuts you're missing out on?"
4	Barthalen	70 _55th
Cute and colorful and predictable aaaand not much else.
4	Luna6ix	89 _96th
I swear that not one week ago I was complaining that the days of spectacular computer animated movies were over. There was a time when they seemed like they were out to prove something, prove the animation style as a serious art form, but people really only need to see one or two of the spectacular animated movies to be convinced. I thought that the industry let their guard down, but "Moana" proves that Disney can still make a phenomenal movie that appeals to adults as well as kids.
4	bof	71 _62nd
Typical latter-day Disney movie: some heartfelt moments, some good slapstick, some good songs, annoyingly perfect CGI, and a plot so flat you almost don't notice it.
4	Groovy_Souls	95 _97th
Moana knocked me off my feet. Its a spellbinding journey of friendship and self discovery with a beautiful voice cast, fantastic animation, and whimsical scenes throughout. Not to mention the sure to be fan favorite characters. Its like Wind Waker by Disney, with beautiful music by the immaculate Lin Manuel Miranda. What is there to hate?
3	joseywales	75 _73rd
Bright, colorful, exciting from start to finish. There's a really good message in this movie and The Rock is great too!
3	kljnsclkn	70 _24th
Disney. Princess, adventure, songs. Points for Lin-Manuel Miranda lyrics on some songs.
3	nobamba	70 _76th
Beautiful visuals and a nice setting. I wish Maui looked more like The Rock. Good young lead in Cravalho. Good music. The climatic battle was relatively quick which I appreciated. Fav scene: in the lair of the sea hermit crab.
2	Filligan	92 _85th
The more I reflect on Moana, the more enchanted I feel. This isn't just Disney scratching at the ceiling of their 90s renaissance, this is a total resurgence -- a return to form. I cannot overstate how visually breathtaking it is, and how well honed Disney's animated department has polished its characterizations. It seems like the studio is still excited by new, energetic ideas. They're demanding quality these days - probably only for economic reasons, but it's producing majestic works of art.
2	Ytadel	5 _57th
Likable characters and fresh, interesting settings and aesthetics do all they can to rescue a pretty damn generic hero's journey narrative. The music by that Hamilton dude is also pretty disappointing, with "You're Welcome" being the only particularly memorable song; Frozen and Tangled both had way better songs. I'm also annoyed by the inconsistency with when the ocean reaches up and helps the heroes out, sometimes it's constant, sometimes they obviously need it and nothing.
2	Nathan S	4 _74th
Its general arrangement is familiar and unimaginative archetype, wherein a wunderkind must endure an obstacle-laden journey with the help of a mismatched companion on their way to fulfill destiny. Moana differentiates and excels with its post-gendered protagonist, who is not defined by her sex or romantic involvement, and for the sensitivity with which it depicts South Pacific mythology. And the music. The music is really good.
2	evrana	83 _81st
It is a pretty highpoint in Disney animation series. They let themselves go a bit with the Coconut pirate; but that worked out for me. They hit some great chords with the visuals (such as undrwater phosphorescence) and also Maui's moving tattos. No knight's in shining armour for the princess, a healthier message, a healtier body image. There was lot to like plus a great soundtrack (my daughter is humming it non-stop for a week now).
2	bowfinger	75 _76th
Haters gonna hate. This is one solid movie albeit the politically correctness and ripping off of Disney's own Fantasia for the third act. Loved the songs and the animated tattoo idea.
2	FrederikA	80 _86th
The best thing from the old studio since The Princess and The Frog (incidentally directed by the same people), Moana may not stray that far away from the tried and tested coming of age formular Disney loves, but it sure does it in style. And, I may be influenced by the fact that I've suffered through the Frozen OST in steady intervals these last few years, but this one actually had really good songs.
2	Velvet Crowe	50 _50th
A by the books "hero's journey" story that's has pretty much every shitty Disney trope you can imagine. I loved the Polynesian setting and the lead characters were fairly likable, however they don't really save what is a pretty basic Disney film that overuses songs at times.
2	ericambler	77 _69th
MOANA features drop-dead gorgeous animation--an impressive feat in a landscape plagued by CGI sameness--and an appealing buddy character dynamic that surmounts iffy jokes and repetitive story beats. However, there's little room for fairytale fatigue when the heroine's allies and adversaries are the forces of nature. Apart from a colorful introduction to the titular princess's Polynesian culture, it's a two-hander that mostly takes place aboard a modest canoe that nonetheless feels epic.
2	jthusky	82 _84th
Gorgeous, smart and thoroughly well-made. Lots of love in every single shot.
2	goremeat	60 _43rd
Inoffensive, politically correct and buoyed afloat by the Great One. Stupid drumstick survived.
2	myfavchords	74 _40th
This films looks stunning. The script is standard with not a lot of surprises. The voice work by the actors is done very well. Overall I would recommend this film especially for children.
2	FoxyRussian	94 _88th
Probably one of the most beautiful animated movies I've seen. From art to the quality. The songs are all solids, while there are no "Let it Go" songs, there are no stinker songs. Voice cast is talented and the characters are all likeable. The comedic relief chicken doesn't get annoying or feel like a toy being sold to children. Probably one of the strongest of the new Disney Golden Era
2	PluggedIN	80 _82nd
http://www.pluggedin.com/movie-reviews/moana-2016
2	Corbad	70 _54th
Gorgeous animation, catchy music, and fresh new mythology just form a robe over an absolutely ordinary, unexceptional story. It is easy to watch and sing along to, but has very little impact in the end.
2	Boxcars	6 _32nd
The comedy can be distracting, a couple songs are forgettable, and the abundance of familiar Disney conventions might distract some, but there's no question that 'Moana' is a breathtaking visual feast with fun characters and action set pieces, and a strong emotional crux.
2	ptravers2	7 _81st
The point here is Moana's growing independence, her lack of a love interest and the quietly revolutionary way her body differs from the skinny-Barbie image of most Disney princesses The snag is that her father has issued a decree forbidding all islanders to venture past the reef that surrounds Motunui. That stay-at-home policy comes through in the song "Where We Are," while Moana, born to disobey, issues a challenge in the ballad "How Far I'll Go."
2	Jimmy Suede	75 _58th
Yes, another animated story about throwing off the oppressive ways of your elders, not listening to your parents (esp. your dad), and discovering yourself, but also celebrating courage and self-sacrifice. In all it was a fun story, with good music and animation. The Rock makes everything better (loved his song) and I always enjoy Jemaine's voice coming from a random creature. Points for the main song making me misty-eyed because it reminded me of Hamilton.
1	SlrSoapbox	85 _86th
Gorgeous and creative movie. Fantastic soundtrack too! I'll happily rewatch this for years to come.
1	yoohoo	85 _82nd
Beautiful in every way, this is the new standard for animated films.
1	Kavu	74 _54th
A bit tacky and sappy at times, but quite funny and clever more often than not. The Rock and Jemaine Clement are great and Cravalho isn't bad either.
1	nuotio	64 _79th
This was a nice surprise. Polynesian setting provides a very colorful and fresh background. The mythology is used to good effect and it actually results in content that would probably be considered too strange as an original story. Vaiana/Moana is a good role model for girls and there's plenty of action to entertain other audiences as well. The main song is rather catchy, but I'm not the biggest fan of the mandatory musical numbers in these films and would have enjoyed it more without.
1	cagedwisdom	75 _65th
The first act is fantastic. The animation, setting, and atmosphere is stunning. The actual voyage was a bit hit and miss for me, but for every time it falls through a bit the music brings it back to life two times over, coming very close to Princess and the Frog-quality. Disney's songwriters are actual geniuses, seriously.
1	cowfrappe	61 _35th
Beautifully animated but overall somewhat bloated and forgettable.
1	maddog	93 _97th
It seems cliche- hero(ine) given a task as a 'chosen one', and you're expecting some kind of amazing fight or cleverness for the underdog to actually do it. It's not cliche at all. It's far more a story of self-discovery, of accepting failure, and most of all, it's about understanding that the face of negativity doesn't always need a sword-slash to 'fix' it. The music is hearty and inspired from Hawaiian culture, the animation is beautiful, and it truly is different.
1	Koalafish	55 _18th
Way too many songs and all of them crap. The ending is cringeworthy. Nice colors though.
1	KasperL	55 _39th
This had potential. The animation is incredible, and I liked the titular lead. But the guy who is voiced by The Rock is unforgivably annoying (I blame both the writing and the character design), and overall, the film was too broad for me as well. Too bad.
1	muutanet	74 _72nd
I just loved the Ancient Polynesia visuals. The demigod Maui was great! The story was colorful though cheesy too often. I excepted more. Still well done.
1	BillyShears	70 _53rd
Weird videos of the Rock talking about mana and other pandering nonsense while he sips champagne out of a jumbo jet
1	TangVampire	92 _73rd
This film is gorgeous, Lin knocks it out of the park with the music, and I felt that it had an important message. It definitely made me cry a few times. :')
1	chemical404	39 _23rd
Did I just see vagina on a pedestal?
1	CosmicMonkey	85 _86th
There's a beautiful, wondrous, imaginative world that's richly (and respectfully) rooted in Polynesian mythology, and more importantly, a story arc that isn't confined by the traditional formulaic arc that plagues most Disney films (and family films in general.) It feels so freeing to watch an animated film and actually be genuinely surprised by the directions the plot takes me in, and between Moana and Zootopia, I am very excited by the directions that Disney is going.
1	jfen	86 _47th
This movie is very pretty.
1	fenixdown	82 _83rd
Instant classic imo.
1	BionicNinjas	95 _92nd
It's really nice to see Disney go from movies about stereotypical princesses to movies about fully realized female characters who aren't negatively defined their gender.
1	hellboy76	70 _79th
Really an amazing soundtrack and voice acting support a fairly familiar feeling story with the neat Pacific Islander twist.
1	Jerky	75 _93rd
The role of a lifetime for The Rock. Seriously, he killed it. The animation looks great and has an interesting ending, which I didn't see coming. There are three standout songs here...You're Welcome, Shiny and the amazing How Far I'll Go (which has been stuck in my head all day)
1	NothingsGood	75 _83rd
The most beautiful Disney 3D animation since Tangled, if not ever. Not quite as resounding as classic Disney, but has some great songs and a better story than Frozen. That "Shiny" song is really bad though. They should re-edit the movie without that stuff. Have more of the manta-ray ghosts. That was cool.
1	damil	70 _67th
It's a pretty familiar, formulaic and predictable story overall. I didn't really care for Johnson and his character. Apart from that, it was great! I liked the character of Moana a lot. Jemaine Clement was absolutely hilarious. All of the songs were great. It was a beautiful looking film - bright and enchanting. t was really cool to this culture represented in a mainstream film, too. A lovely, emotional, well-made, entertaining movie and I recommend it.
1	Seethruskin	3 _25th
I liked the crab song
1	caramlefloat	90 _82nd
Really liked the story telling in this Disney. My favorite character was the grandma! Thought it would be like Pixar's Brave, but this was much better done. A tad annoyed about the stupid chicken and the shiny turtle, but maybe that's my old side soeaking. The kids probably love it.
1	JLFM	78 _77th
The real star is Rachel House as Gramma Tala. While the crazy old person full of wisdom isn't anything particularly new, House and the animators breathe life into this familiar character. The warmth, humor, and familiarity that Disney always strives for in these characters has never been better achieved then here. Hats off to the animators and bravo to House, delivering one of the best vocal performances of the year.
1	magdabag	93 _89th
I've been staring at the edge of the water 'Long as I can remember, never really knowing why I wish I could be the perfect daughter But I come back to the water, no matter how hard I try Every turn I take, every trail I track Every path I make, every road leads back To the place I know, where I cannot go Where I long to be See the line where the sky meets the sea? It calls me And no one knows, how far it goes If the wind in my sail on the sea stays behind me One day I'll know, if I go there's
1	moonsmilk	8 _59th
One of the best things Disney's done since the 90's. Real solid stuff.
1	le mami	45 _33rd
Story does not offer you something new but still Moana is a huge leap as we compare it with other Disney' animations. The characters are very nice, their relationships are pretty and there are some good musics and also some bad ones but who cares. Your kid gonna love this and that's enough I think.
1	joel-w-m	7 _64th
Rides a lot of very familiar story waves (see the unlikely duo, the parting, the return just in time) but they're beautifully animated, their sailors Moana and Maui are very likeable (also special shout-out to enigmatic Gramma: "Is there something you want to tell me?" "Is there something you want to hear?") and there's great splashes of music, mirth (the chicken is just fucking hilarious), and eco-feminist-tinged magic throughout. The pacif-ic/ist ending is stunning ("This is not who you are").
1	CStewart64	17 _94th
W4E1P1S2V2M2A2R3. One of the best I've seen in a long time, and absolutely glorious music.
1	elli0tt	100 _91st
Moana, for me personally, boosted my feelings towards Polynesian culture. Through primary school I never really enjoyed learning the culture but this film made it all exciting. Very well created and the creators got all the body features correct. Very much enjoyed the film.
1	Lilirose	80 _77th
Disney raramente delude e anche quest'anno ci porta un film divertente e appassionante, con una bella colonna sonora. Niente di sconvolgente, ma molto piacevole.
1	charlotte22	50 _10th
I like the fact that it's not about a prince but I was not entertained.
1	Zangin	63 _45th
In terms of story, there's not an original bone in this film's body. Because of that, I never really felt invested in it and found many scenes dull. Still, If you can get past that (or if you're a kid), this is a really good Disney film. The animation is breathtakingly beautiful (seriously, some of the best that I've ever seen) and most of the songs are way more fun than I would care to admit.
1	harshagp	90 _0th
Awesome visuals and cute story and humor to complement, worth watching!
1	vgnpwrz	52 _37th
Pretty middle of the road even for Disney. It had a couple catchy songs and the crab was pretty killer, but the film fell victim to the strong-headed woman vs. strong-armed man clicheeeee. As Disney usually does, it delivered on the feelz and gorgeous visuals but the story felt blandly common even in an uncommon setting. The reoccurring sentient ocean Deus ex Machina was beyond what I could tolerate. It missed a lot of marks for me, but I never felt like I was watching a full-on bad movie.
1	luord	71 _72nd
Catchy tunes, a spirited voice cast and great imagery taken from a mythology not many people are familiar with make for a very entertaining, if not particularly memorable, musical.

Average Percentile 58.16% from 2664 Ratings