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Is Moana the best animated film Disney has ever made?

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HK-47

Oh, bitch bitch bitch.
It was good and people have a propensity to call the latest thing they enjoyed as BEST EVER. I felt like it had some pacing and world building issues, but its taken some nice cues from Miyazaki films.

The Disney library is too big and robust to call any new movie the best after 4 days lol.

Man I'm still waiting for the Disney film that matches a great Miyazaki movie in depth and maturity.
 
As I've stated earlier, the greatest films don't need a lot of time before they're considered great. Films like Beauty and the Beast and The Lion King were considered all-time greats pretty much immediately after release. Moana is no different in my eyes.
The funny thing is there was absolutely cynicism/skepticism about the 90s films back when they came out. My theatre professor told me once that a friend of his saw B&TB and told him "You need to see the new Disney movie, instant classic" and his response was just "yeah right." He was a believer after he went to see it though.

I think Tangled, Frozen and now Moana will be held up as classics by the next generation the same way we look at B&TB, Aladdin, Lion King etc. They feel a bit too contemporary for my taste to be quite at that level, but then again Lion King and especially Aladdin are plenty of their time.
 

HStallion

Now what's the next step in your master plan?
Man I'm still waiting for the Disney film that matches a great Miyazaki movie in depth and maturity.

Maybe when they stop aiming to make kids movies which I doubt will happen any time soon if ever. Even though Ghibli's stuff is animated and some of it is aimed at children, stuff like Princess Mononoke or even Grave of the Fireflies are not what I'd consider "kids movies".
 
JC spitting facts. Fighting the good fight in here.

I haven't seen Moana yet and I'm sure I'll enjoy it somewhat but what you said about clements and musker (sp?) rings so damn true. Actually it feels like the case with most Disney movies now in general.
Yeah, 100% agree with what he wrote. I do love Genie though.

(I haven't seen Moana yet either because it hasn't released here)
 

Malyse

Member
The worst is Aurora from Sleeping Beauty. I don't think she does a significant thing in the entire movie. The side characters are given more time than her.

Aurora isn't an active danger to her companions.

Ariel almost gets her entire supporting cast killed. Flounder almost gets eaten by a shark, Sebastian almost becomes dinner, Eric damn near gets his head taken off and nearly gets into a very bad carriage wreck, and Triton has to take a fate worst than death to save his dumb daughter. Ariel is literally the worst princess and a threat to everyone she interacts with.
 

kruis

Exposing the sinister cartel of retailers who allow companies to pay for advertising space.
Basically everything about Maui is an anachronism. He uses modern slang and turns of phrases and self-aware gags(see the OT title) and I feel that cheapens the movie. Clements & Musker's films always do this shit, like the very 90s Robin Williams Genie or Hercules being in a Air Jordan ad and dialing 9-1-1, and I find all that stuff anti-Disney. It encases them in ember, beholden to that particular point in history and pop culture, instead of feeling like a movie that could have always existed barring in mind the technology of the time like Beauty and the Beast, The Little Mermaid, Dumbo, etc

Clements & Musker are actually channeling classic cartoons in these segments. You can find tons of similar gags in classic Bugs Bunny and Tom & Jerry cartoons of the forties and fifties. Quite a number of those cartoons have become dated because modern audiences don't understand references to now forgotten movie stars, singers and sports heroes and are rarely shown, but at the time the jokes were understood and appreciated by contemporary audiences and that's what counted.
 

HK-47

Oh, bitch bitch bitch.
Maybe when they stop aiming to make kids movies which I doubt will happen any time soon if ever. Even though Ghibli's stuff is animated and some of it is aimed at children, stuff like Princess Mononoke or even Grave of the Fireflies are not what I'd consider "kids movies".

Well something like Spirited Away is a movie that can be enjoyed by kids but is much more than that.
 

BkMogul

Member
This whole "best ever" stuff has to be just a knee-jerk reaction. Hell, I said almost the same thing about Zootopia before I got my bearings. Granted, it's an opinion but give it a time and come back to it before making such a declaration.
 
I thought the movie was fantastic, but lets not be too hasty here. It's going to take a lot for one of their films to gain as much prestige as the Walt pre-WWII films and the little mermaid to lion king stretch. I'm still trying to see if I put it as their best film of the decade competing with tangled and zootopia.
 

Oersted

Member
Walt Disney Animation Studios have been making films since 1937. Including several of the greatest American movies of all-time, that have held up oiver generations of audiences, such as Snow White, Pinocchio, Fantasia, Dumbo, Bambi, The Three Caballeros, Sleeping Beauty, and Beauty and the Beast

but yea that movie they released last weekend is the best one ever

It only needed 90 posts to namedrop Fantasia. Better than I expected.


OP, may I ask, which Disney movies did you see?

not to be that guy but the movie is barely a week old. calling it one of the all time greats makes me go
5aa5d6321cf7e5c16bef7f4ae6644980.jpg


when you described Moana to back up your claim you pretty much described all the other Disney movies we got in the past 7 years.

Tangled
Frozen

both movies with great animation, singing, and lovable sidekicks.

That has been their main formula since the 80ties, with a short break at the beginning of this century.


Edit:

Beauty and the Beast wasn't any less brilliant a week after it came out than it is today. True classics don't take a lot of time to be recognized. Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin, and The Lion King were all recognized very quickly in the 90's as the masterpieces they were.

This notion spreads across genres. Everyone knew Schindler's List was one for the ages the first time they saw it. Everyone knew Inside Out was some of the best work Pixar has ever done right after the final frame ended. Everyone knew Saving Private Ryan would go down as one of the best depictions of war ever put on film.

We don't always need to wait 20 years before we can declare something as "great".

You almost had me till you called Alladin a masterpiece. Its not even the best Alladin movie by Disney.
 
Do you think it's also the best animated princess movie ever made? Or just Disney?

Cause I don't think anything will top The Tale Of Princess Kaguya, and that's my hyperbole on the matter.

Like, holy shit. OP, if you showed that to your daughter next, her mind would be blown.
b56de9cd1f236592581ec2c15ab07263.gif

ff5d26c76a4e7617c045ca4168237318.gif

tumblr_mv6jiaFdtr1sdgpnmo3_500.gif

Cause that might hit harder because it deals with the treatment of women over the ages than some feel-good adventure with funny sidekicks and songs.

Big Hero 6 winning against Kaguya is still one of the worst decisions the academy ever made. Of course though, the academy voters would have pull their heads of out Disney's ass to notice other animation studios, or even like animation.
 

Malyse

Member
Big Hero 6 winning against Kaguya is still one of the worst decisions the academy ever made. Of course though, the academy voters would have pull their heads of out Disney's ass to notice other animation studios, or even like animation.

It's not even that.

Academy members don't *have* to watch all the films they are sent. And with the attitude many people have toward animated films (it's just kid's stuff) they don't watch it and vote for the name they now/the movie they actually bothered seeing. If Zootopia, Dory, and Moana all get noms then the voting could go plenty of ways, but if only one of the three shows up it's theirs. And since the duo that brought you The Little Mermaid, Aladdin, Hercules, Treasure Planet, The Princess and the Frog and Moana has never won an Oscar, plus the fact that they are saying that Moana is going to be their last film? There's only one way that ends. But back to the point, they are voting based on name recognition. You have to absolutely murder in animation to take attention from Disney.
 
I don't think any of that second Disney era holds up. Lion King is a good movie but looks terrible these days, very dated look. Same with Beauty & the Beast and the rest.

The original stuff (Sleeping Beauty, Pinnochio, Snow White, Robin Hood, etc) is timeless.
 
I'm comparing it to Tangled and Frozen. Nothing else.
On that basis alone, it's the best of the bunch.
Moana>Tangled>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Frozen
Moana really captured what a strong Disney princess should be. It was also great not to have a single hint of a love interest at all in the movie, something Frozen ended up having despite trying to be kinda anti-trope, but failing.
 

Shaanyboi

Banned
I'm comparing it to Tangled and Frozen. Nothing else.
On that basis alone, it's the best of the bunch.
Moana>Tangled>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Frozen
Moana really captured what a strong Disney princess should be. It was also great not to have a single hint of a love interest at all in the movie, something Frozen ended up having despite trying to be kinda anti-trope, but failing.
How did Frozen fail at being anti-trope?
 
How did Frozen fail at being anti-trope?
The message that I extracted from the movie is that you don't need a significant other to be happy, but one of the characters ended up being with a guy that she was on the adventure with anyway? I don't know. It seemed counterproductive to the message they wanted to convey.
 

Oersted

Member
You have to absolutely murder in animation to take attention from Disney.

If with murdering you mean dominating the market and bullying competition out of screenings, than yeah.

I don't think any of that second Disney era holds up. Lion King is a good movie but looks terrible these days, very dated look. Same with Beauty & the Beast and the rest.

The original stuff (Sleeping Beauty, Pinnochio, Snow White, Robin Hood, etc) is timeless.

Did you ever watch Robin Hood? Its boring. And badly animated.

That's the sweetest thing anyone's ever said to me.



I've seen just about every Disney movie ever made.

Watch Fantasia again.
 

Shaanyboi

Banned
The message that I extracted from the movie is that you don't need a significant other to be happy, but one of the characters ended up being with a guy that she was on the adventure with anyway? I don't know. It seemed counterproductive to the message they wanted to convey.
That's not at all the point. The movie presents a notion that "love" in Disney terms isn't solely defined as romantic, and the classic Disney trope of "love at first sight" is incredibly lame. A character starting a relationship based on a mutual partnership throughout the movie doesn't distract from that.

Kristoff isn't the one to save Ana, Elsa is.
 
That's not at all the point. The movie presents a notion that "love" in Disney terms isn't solely defined as romantic, and the classic Disney trope of "love at first sight" is incredibly lame. A character starting a relationship based on a mutual partnership throughout the movie doesn't distract from that.

Well Tangled then conveys they same message, but not as blatantly. Flynn and Repunzel didn't have that love at first sight moment.
Whatever the message was, I found the movie a severe disappointment and highly overrated.
 

Shaanyboi

Banned
Well Tangled then conveys they same message, but not as blatantly. Flynn and Repunzel didn't have that love at first sight moment.
Whatever the message was, I found the movie a severe disappointment and highly overrated.

Frozen also goes out of its way to make fun of the trope. The whole "Love is an Open Door" is played incredibly ironically.
 
I don't think any of that second Disney era holds up. Lion King is a good movie but looks terrible these days, very dated look. Same with Beauty & the Beast and the rest.

The original stuff (Sleeping Beauty, Pinnochio, Snow White, Robin Hood, etc) is timeless.
Is this serious?

This can't be serious.

Claiming that Lion King and BatB don't stand the test of time, while fucking ROBIN HOOD does?

I refuse to believe that someone can actually think this.
 
Do you think it's also the best animated princess movie ever made? Or just Disney?

Cause I don't think anything will top The Tale Of Princess Kaguya, and that's my hyperbole on the matter.

Like, holy shit. OP, if you showed that to your daughter next, her mind would be blown.
b56de9cd1f236592581ec2c15ab07263.gif

ff5d26c76a4e7617c045ca4168237318.gif

tumblr_mv6jiaFdtr1sdgpnmo3_500.gif

Cause that might hit harder because it deals with the treatment of women over the ages than some feel-good adventure with funny sidekicks and songs.


I thought Kaguya was okay. I wasn't aware of the story it was based off of, so the whole
moon people
twist made me go "... the fuck?" and threw off the rest of the movie for me. Such a massive and jarring shift. Guess its better if you knew the story in advance.
 

Crazyorloco

Member
That's an odd way to spell The Lion King.

This.

The songs, characters, and story destroy Moana. The Lion King is epic ten seconds into the film with one of the greatest intros in movies ever.

Moana is good though for our current times. And the CG is the best out there currently. Dat water. Dat hair. Dat rope.
 
Clements & Musker are actually channeling classic cartoons in these segments. You can find tons of similar gags in classic Bugs Bunny and Tom & Jerry cartoons of the forties and fifties. Quite a number of those cartoons have become dated because modern audiences don't understand references to now forgotten movie stars, singers and sports heroes and are rarely shown, but at the time the jokes were understood and appreciated by contemporary audiences and that's what counted.

But see that's Looney Tunes. That kind of manic energy and anarchic spirit is great for those 7-minute, smaller budget cartoons. But I find that attitude antithetical to the discipline of Disney animation. The only time I've really gone for that Chuck Jones in my Disney is The Emperor's New Groove because of how well-matched the flatter character designs and specific comedic timing rhythms were to that style. By and large im not a fan of the contemporary snarkiness and self-awareness in what should be classic adaptations and fairy tales.
 
But Frozen sucks.

SpimnYb.jpg



Do you think it's also the best animated princess movie ever made? Or just Disney?

Cause I don't think anything will top The Tale Of Princess Kaguya, and that's my hyperbole on the matter.

Like, holy shit. OP, if you showed that to your daughter next, her mind would be blown.
b56de9cd1f236592581ec2c15ab07263.gif

ff5d26c76a4e7617c045ca4168237318.gif

tumblr_mv6jiaFdtr1sdgpnmo3_500.gif

Cause that might hit harder because it deals with the treatment of women over the ages than some feel-good adventure with funny sidekicks and songs.

I watched this a few weeks ago and found it incredibly average. Apart from the art style (which did nothing for me anyway) the movie is so bland and boring. I expected SO MUCH more.


What a great year. Can't wait to see who the academy awards pick. Zootopia, Moana, Kubo, or Dory.

If I had to guess, I'd say it'll probably go to Zootopia, but then again, animated movies winning Oscars means nothing.


I don't think any of that second Disney era holds up. Lion King is a good movie but looks terrible these days, very dated look. Same with Beauty & the Beast and the rest.

The original stuff (Sleeping Beauty, Pinnochio, Snow White, Robin Hood, etc) is timeless.

Nonsense.
 
It's great and looks great.

Charming and timeless:

robin-hood-disney-males-25833669-1280-720.jpg


Dated 90s airbrushy crap:

tumblr_mwnbbl75861rum68mo8_1280.jpg
I still don't believe that this is serious.

Even if you forget that Robin Hood is garbage-tier Disney with parts cribbed piecemeal from earlier films, that screen grab does not in any way look better than the Lion King shot you provided.
 

Diamond

Member
Walt Disney Animation Studios have been making films since 1937. Including several of the greatest American movies of all-time, that have held up oiver generations of audiences, such as Snow White, Pinocchio, Fantasia, Dumbo, Bambi, The Three Caballeros, Sleeping Beauty, and Beauty and the Beast

but yea that movie they released last weekend is the best one ever

I agree it's too quick, but classic movies aren't always some kind of unmovable perfect things. For instance I really like Fantasia but some elements of it strike me as really old fashioned, like the whole centaur seduction scene (without even talking about the racist elements that were removed). These are pretty much products of the time during which the movie was made, as much as the twitter joke in Moana is.
 

HK-47

Oh, bitch bitch bitch.
Frozen also goes out of its way to make fun of the trope. The whole "Love is an Open Door" is played incredibly ironically.

Even if they are being ironic with the romance in that movie, its still terrible. Easily the worst part outside of the rock trolls.
 

Diamond

Member
It's either timeless or crap. You don't have to be extreme for people to get what you mean.
Some will prefer the "rough", pencil-like lines of Robin Hood, others will appreciate the cleaner look of Lion King, in which the colored lines and shadows give the characters a smoother feeling to them.
 
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