In general, I truly enjoy Disney's most recent animated movies. I typically see the animated ones in the theater with my wife and kids. Aside from The good Dinosaur, which I think is one of the worst kids movies I have ever seen, I have been entertained by each movie. My kids liked them all to varying degree and by gender. My daughter liked Frozen more than my son and my son like Big Hero 6 more than my daughter. But each enjoyed all of the movies.
Moana continues this trend.
If I were to rank our family's enjoyment of the film, it would be as follows:
- MJ, my 9 year old daughter, loved it!
- My wife really liked it.
- I liked it.
- Timmy, my 11 year old son, liked it a bit less than me (and was clearly bored at times).
Although Maui is an awesome male character, Moana is the true star. Therefore, this movie's target was my daughter. It was a sensational hit with her. She loved it and said she would immediately watch it again. This is rather high praise form her.
Now on to the geeky dad's point of view. I really like this movie. The visuals are simply amazing. The animation of the characters is incredible. I was especially impressed with the ocean. Yes. The ocean is a character in the movie. You will simply have to see the movie to understand this, but it is brilliantly done... and pretty funny.
Although the movie starts out rather slow, once Moana leaves her island, it begins to pick up. Of course she has to disobey her parents (especially her father) in order to do this... so my daughter really loved it. I accepted it and told myself, "MJ isn't going to jump in a boat and head out on the ocean. It's fine."
Without giving away too much of the plot, Moana is the future chief of her island (does this make her a princess? That's debatable.) Unfortunately her island is dying and she needs to find a banished demigod in order to save her people... and all the people of the Pacific Islands. I absolutely loved this aspect of the plot. My daughter can never see too many strong female characters. I also think it is vital for my son to see strong female characters as well. This is precisely one of the reasons I love watching the new Star Wars movies with her. Those movies are filled with strong female characters. Let me tell you, Moana is STRONG.
The movie really picks up once Moana is on the ocean. I'm sure it won't ruin the surprise to inform you that she does indeed find Maui. My kids thought he was very funny. So did I. The scenes with Maui and Moana sailing on the ocean are my favorite in the movie. The battle scene with the Kacamora (adorable... yet fierce coconut creatures) was one of my favorite scene of any movie this year.
Then the movie slows down again. It slowed down so much, that my 11 year old son began tapping me with his foot. When he can't sit still, I know he is not engaged. He followed this up by actually whispering to himself "I am so bored right now". Luckily this did not last long and another very well animated battle scene fill the screen. It was exciting and he was happy once again.
Overall, It was an enjoyable experience. I laughed out loud at least four times during the move with several other minor snickers. The chicken is especially funny. The writers were very wise to make sure this comic relief was always close at hand.
I did have a few problems with the film. It gets very slow (especially for boys). Although my daughter was never bored, several of the children sitting around us clearly were bored during at least two stretches of the movie. So was I. But the visuals were enough to keep me interested during these times.
The second problem was the songs. They are sung well and have nice music... but they are not memorable at all. I honestly could not even sing one right now. I forgot them all the second they were finished. I think one of the songs was all about coconuts and what they provide for the inhabitants of the island. On the other hand, my daughter immediately asked if we could download the soundtrack the second we left the theater. These songs weren't aimed at me, but they clearly hit their target.
So should you see it? If you are the father of a daughter from age 7 to 100 and she will go with you... she must see it. If they are younger than seven, they might get bored. But if your daughter is old enough to appreciate Moana's courage, intelligence, perseverance, kindness, selflessness, humor, loyalty and strength, she will love it... and you will be happy to sit next to her and be reminded of all of those characteristics she shares with the star of the movie. This movie is a celebration of the greatness inside of little girls. I honestly can't imagine not seeing it with my daughter. I appreciate that the writers included enough fun stuff for my son to enjoy it too... but make no mistake, this one was for MJ.
Geeky Dad's Movie Guide
Number of times I fell asleep: 0
Number of eye rolls: 0 ( Nothing was bad... I just was bored a couple of times)
Number of face palms: 0
Number of times my kids asked to go to the bathroom or get food out of sheer boredom: 2 (My son only)
Number of times I checked steemit: 2 (Not literally... but I was bored enough to do it a couple of times)
Number of times I said "That's ridiculous": 0 (It's about a demigod... all bets are off)
Did my kids like it: My 9 year old daughter: YES!!!!!!!! My 11 year old son: a weak yes
Would I see it without my kids: I'd rent it.
Full price/Matinee/Rental/Free/Not worth the time: Full Price for my daughter. Rental of the rest of us.
You convinced me to watch this animation. :D Without reading your review I don't think I would have watched it. :D Nice movie guide and really friendly style of writing.
Thanks! I think you will like it. It was definitely good for my daughter to see such a strong female character.
Thanks for the review!
Best line:
High praise indeed, on the second day of the year! ;)
LOL. Nice catch! I actually wrote this one Saturday.
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Love the idea of giving movie reviews. Well done with this one, I already knew I wanted to see this one since my guilty pleasure is good animation films... Surf's Up is an all-time fav. Hope you continue to give these reviews! Upvoted and followed :)
Thanks! Even before I had kids, I really enjoyed animated movies. Now I have two excuses to see just about all of them. As long as they keep making ones worth my kids' time, I'll keep writing the.
Thanks for the review. We saw it last week and both my kids enjoyed it. The visuals are great. The movie wasn't too slow for them, but I agree it may be a better fit for girls than boys.
I'm happy you got to see it with them. I really get a kick out of watching my kids have fun. I hope you had a great time!
I love these reviews!!! Thanks for doing them.
Thanks! I am a kid at heart. It's great to have an excuse to see all of these.
the rock is on fire these days
That guy knows how to make money!
I can't wait to watch this!!
Awesome! I hope you enjoy!
Thank you , very interesting article , nice photos ! Now I have to watch this cartoon ! :)
Thanks!!!
good review. Thnks
Thanks. I really enjoy watching my kids have fun!
Great summary, and I primarily agree with almost all of it.
My eight-year-old son loved it, and we listened to Maui's song a few times on youtube on the way home.
It was a movie I was glad I got to see in the theater.
Yeah after I wrote this, my kids started listing to the "You're welcome song"... now it's stuck in my head. I am so happy your family enjoyed it!
Loved the movie, and the review :) One of the most positive "kids" movies I've seen in ages, this has been played a lot here the last few days
Thanks! Yeah, my true enjoyment of it came from knowing my daughter was watching a strong female role model. It was also visually awesome and I laughed out loud a few times.
Great feel-good movie! I also enjoyed "Brave", another very strong female personage