'Moana' Film Review

Tears Shed: Emotional/Happy; 4 times or so

Story Plot: 10/10
Something After the Credits: Yes

- Lin-Manuel Miranda, the songwriter/actor of Hamilton, helped write the soundtrack for the film.  The songs were catchy, but my sister said the lyrics were a bit choppy to her.  You can tell Lin-Manuel Miranda wrote the songs because they had the same feel as some of Hamilton's songs, except the 'Shiny' song.

- It was fun to hear Dwayne Johnson's voice in the film.  He had some great lines and his song was catchy too.  I really like how he interact with the tattoo of himself.  Especially since we see 3D animation together with 2D animation during the end of Maui's song sequence and interacting with his tattoo self.

- I can relate a bit with Moana wanting to sail in the ocean.  That's me too, but I don't really like swimming since I would have to take another shower afterwards hehe~

- The Story pace was quick and to the point.  All the scenes had a reason to the plot and helped move to the next scene.  The Story was interesting to watch and touching.

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Contains Spoilers, so be careful if you haven't seen the film yet.

- The film explained why some of the Characters are the way they are, such as, Moana's Dad was against Moana going past the reef.  The reason was because the Dad was just like Moana when he was younger.  He secretly went out to the ocean, pass the reef, but he met a horrible storm which led to his Best Friend's death.  Another is why Maui stole the Heart, he wanted to give it to the Humans.  The reason is when he was a baby, his parents didn't want him so they threw him into the ocean.  Luckily, the gods saved him and turn him into a demigod.  After that, Maui has done so much for the Humans so he can gain the love that he didn't get from his parents.

- I love the dialogue between Maui and Moana, especially the bits were Maui is calling out on the typical trope of Disney Princess, for instance even though Moana says she's not a princess, Maui retorts back that if you're wearing a dress and have an animal pet, you're a princess.  But, some of the Disney Princesses do not fit this stereotype, like Jasmine from Aladdin, she didn't wear a dress.  Maybe I'll write a post about the Disney Princesses.

- I wish there was more scenes with Pua, the pig, but I was thinking since Pua was with Moana when she first tried to sail into the ocean, but failed.  Maybe Pua was scared of the ocean after that.  Also, it would be quite difficult to make sure if Pua is save since Heihei, the chicken, was a hand full.  I think Heihei was the best choice since he provides comic relief and helps a bit with Moana.

- The interaction between the Ocean with Moana, Maui, and Heihei was fun to watch.  It created comical scenes as Maui plays the reluctant hero, even though it was Moana who ended up as the Hero.

- I cried the most during the scenes dealing with Moana and her Grandma.  I love her Grandma, and how she picked the right tattoo~ 

- It was cool how they integrated that Moana's people use to be Voyagers, but after Maui's actions the ocean turn dangerous for them to sail.  The story plots all weaved together nicely.  I cried at the part where Moana's Grandma and her Ancestors helped encourage her when she was at her lowest.

- The reason the Ocean choose Moana since she will be the new Chief of her Island, and her Ancestors had a history with the Ocean.  Maybe the Ocean missed Moana's People and how they sailed across the Ocean in the past.

-  Interesting Story Twist on how the Demon Volcano was actually the goddess Moana was trying to save after all, she changed after her heart was stolen.  

- The Film had a nice theme on knowing who you truly are and staying true to yourself.

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After Credits:

They show Tamatoa still on his back as he complains that we would help him if his name was Sebastian and he had a Jamaican voice~ Reference to Little Mermaid~