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Is Moana the best animated film Disney has ever made?

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Oersted

Member
I've seen it several times. It's excellent, but noticeably dated in several spots and not really approachable to a young audience.

Waltz with Bashir is not approachable for young kids.

Persepolis is not approachable for young kids.

Princess Mononoke is not approachable for young kids.

I wish I would care.
 

HStallion

Now what's the next step in your master plan?
I've seen it several times. It's excellent, but noticeably dated in several spots and not really approachable to a young audience.

That's why its as interesting as it is. They really tried to do something interesting with Fantasia and pandering to children with easy jokes and the like was not their goal. Its one of the reasons I think its funny people want them to match something like Studio Ghibli when that doesn't really seem to be at all in Disney's interest in terms of animated cinematic fare. They want to make children's movies and are geared entirely to do that.

We have only really just started to see Pixar do things that are not aimed entirely at a younger audience like the short film Borrowed Time but again, its only a short film. It would be great to see them do more of this stuff and maybe this is the baby steps towards something more mature and nuanced than their usual stuff.

For example, while I really enjoyed Up, imagine if the whole movie was like the intro section that had everyone's tears flowing so quickly and easily instead of sticking in talking dogs, a big dumb bird thing, a little kid and so on. Not something Disney or Pixar or any of the other major western animation studios really seem all that interested in doing.
 
Waltz with Bashir is not approachable for young kids.

Persepolis is not approachable for young kids.

Princess Mononoke is not approachable for young kids.

I wish I would care.

Good for you. I, however, have a young daughter that I'm experiencing these films with, so I care.
 

Oersted

Member
Good for you. I, however, have a young daughter that I'm experiencing these films with, so I care.

So this thread is actually about Disney movies which appeal to the modern day sensibilities of young children?

Then, yes, the most recent Disney movie, Moana, does a better job.
 

Ninjimbo

Member
Crap on what grounds?
He didn't elaborate beyond calling it kinda bland and boring. I don't really expect him to go into detail but we do share similar tastes in movies so I trust his reaction. He likes Disney movies and was excited for it so to hear him calling it crap, well, that's enough for me to go 'nope'. I feel like Disney Animation is kinda overrated anyways. None of their recent stuff (minus Pixar) has been able to capture my imagination in the same The Lion King and Tarzan did back in the day.

I don't want write the movie off completely though. But is there anything in the movie that Disney hasn't done before and that an adult can chew into? By that I mean is it something like Fantastic Mr Fox or Inside Out?
 

HStallion

Now what's the next step in your master plan?
Good for you. I, however, have a young daughter that I'm experiencing these films with, so I care.

Just pointing out that being approachable to children does not equate to the best ever animated films, let alone best animated Disney movie.
 
So this thread is actually about Disney movies which appeal to the modern day sensibilities of young children?

Then, yes, the most recent Disney movie, Moana, does a better job.

Just pointing out that being approachable to children does not equate to the best ever animated films, let alone best animated Disney movie.

For me personally, a film being relatable and approachable to all ages and backgrounds is one of many important aspects of a good film. It's not always a necessity, but it very often is unquestionably a positive.

Bambi, Beauty and the Beast, and The Lion King, for example, all have a timeless, universal appeal. These films will be just as relatable to moviegoers 100 years from now as they are today. Moana arguably achieves that feat as well. I can't say the same about Fantasia. It's a beautiful film, but in my opinion, it's not Disney's greatest.
 
For me personally, a film being relatable and approachable to all ages and backgrounds is one of many important aspects of a good film. It's not always a necessity, but it very often is unquestionably a positive.

Bambi, Beauty and the Beast, and The Lion King, for example, all have a timeless, universal appeal. These films will be just as relatable to moviegoers 100 years from now as they are today. Moana arguably achieves that feat as well. I can't say the same about Fantasia. It's a beautiful film, but in my opinion, it's not Disney's greatest.
You certainly have some strange and very limiting parameters.
 

Viridian6

Member
It's very good but I wouldn't rate it as one of their greatest. Doesn't quite have the emotional impact of their best films.

God tier Disney (out of the ~30 I've watched): Beauty and the Beast, Lion King, Hunchback, Zootopia. Moana's about the same level as Aladdin/Mulan/Tangled/Frozen.
 

HStallion

Now what's the next step in your master plan?
For me personally, a film being relatable and approachable to all ages and backgrounds is one of many important aspects of a good film. It's not always a necessity, but it very often is unquestionably a positive.

Bambi, Beauty and the Beast, and The Lion King, for example, all have a timeless, universal appeal. These films will be just as relatable to moviegoers 100 years from now as they are today. Moana arguably achieves that feat as well. I can't say the same about Fantasia. It's a beautiful film, but in my opinion, it's not Disney's greatest.

The bolded is BS. Being approachable to all ages, even for animated fare, is not required or essential what-so-ever. No Country for Old Men is one of my favorite films ever and it is by no means approachable or even appropriate for children. If we want to stick to animated movies, Grave of the Fireflies is not at all something I would think would be appropriate for a lot of younger kids even though its all about children and its animated.

I get where you're coming from but its an arbitrary measure of how good something is though I'm glad you're experiencing all these Disney films with your daughter.
 

Oersted

Member
For me personally, a film being relatable and approachable to all ages and backgrounds is one of many important aspects of a good film. It's not always a necessity, but it very often is unquestionably a positive.

Bambi, Beauty and the Beast, and The Lion King, for example, all have a timeless, universal appeal. These films will be just as relatable to moviegoers 100 years from now as they are today. Moana arguably achieves that feat as well. I can't say the same about Fantasia. It's a beautiful film, but in my opinion, it's not Disney's greatest.

Given that technology improves and the most recent movie will be most likely the most modern one, doesn't that most likely result in the most recent Disney movie being always the greatest Disney movie?
 

Veelk

Banned
The bolded is BS. Being approachable to all ages, even for animated fare, is not required or essential what-so-ever.

It's not always a necessity

I feel like some users on gaf can be so argumentative that they don't care that the person their arguing with is essentially agreeing with them. The only disagreement digital relic has is that it's a positive when it's there, not that it's a negative when it's not.
 
I feel like some users on gaf can be so argumentative that they don't care that the person their arguing with is essentially agreeing with them. The only disagreement digital relic has is that it's a positive when it's there, not that it's a negative when it's not.

Thank you. There are of course plenty of masterpieces that aren't accessible to all. My favorite film of all time is extremely inaccessible to the average moviegoer.
 

HStallion

Now what's the next step in your master plan?
I feel like some users on gaf can be so argumentative that they don't care that the person their arguing with is essentially agreeing with them. The only disagreement digital relic has is that it's a positive when it's there, not that it's a negative when it's not.

And I disagreed with him even with the caveat its not always necessary. I also said I understood where he was coming from in terms of catering to his daughter and was glad he was enjoying the Disney classics with his daughter.
 
I'm seeing it tomorrow. Please tell me Pua the Pig gets some good scenes. He looks so adorable and I already bought a huge plushie of him for my gf (though part of me did just buy it for myself cause it's so cute) so I hope he gets his time to shine!

tumblr_o8ou48yXe81r8ux4io2_250.gif
 
I'm seeing it tomorrow. Please tell me Pua the Pig gets some good scenes. He looks so adorable and I already bought a huge plushie of him for my gf (though part of me did just buy it for myself cause it's so cute) so I hope he gets his time to shine!

tumblr_o8ou48yXe81r8ux4io2_250.gif

:(

Pua is barely in the movie. I don't think he's ever on-screen at the same time as Maui.
 

TheFlow

Banned
It's very good but I wouldn't rate it as one of their greatest. Doesn't quite have the emotional impact of their best films.

God tier Disney (out of the ~30 I've watched): Beauty and the Beast, Lion King, Hunchback, Zootopia. Moana's about the same level as Aladdin/Mulan/Tangled/Frozen.
Zootopia is tangled/frozen tier.

Don't ever put it on the same list tier the masterpiece that is hunchback
 

Pau

Member
I liked it more than Disney's 3D stuff like Tangled, Frozen, Zootopia, and Wreck-it-Ralph and on par with Big Hero 6. But Hunchback is still my #1 despite its flaws.
 

egruntz

shelaughz
Just watched this last night with my girlfriend.

Shiny is the GOAT. My new favorite Disney song. That entire crab scene was fantastic, wow. Typically I like a main villain in my Disney movies, but they handled this journey so well that it was perfectly fine without one. That said, the Crab has the best "villain" song ever in Disney history. YES EVER. IT'S THE BEST.

Shiny > You're Welcome > How Far I'll Go > The Opening Song
 

PsychBat!

Banned
I'm seeing it tomorrow. Please tell me Pua the Pig gets some good scenes. He looks so adorable and I already bought a huge plushie of him for my gf (though part of me did just buy it for myself cause it's so cute) so I hope he gets his time to shine!
Totally


I think his screentime is a total of a minute maybe two.
 
Saw this last night, finally.

I honestly don't think OP is crazy. Fucking amazing film. This and Zootopia are handidly the best films Disney has made this decade. I'm not sure if it's my number 1 of all time, but I wouldn't begrudge someone for having that opinion, honestly.
 
Saw this last night, finally.

I honestly don't think OP is crazy. Fucking amazing film. This and Zootopia are handidly the best films Disney has made this decade. I'm not sure if it's my number 1 of all time, but I wouldn't begrudge someone for having that opinion, honestly.

I agree 100%, I also saw it last night.


Incredible movie.
 
Nah. Tangled's better from the modern stuff, along with Zootopia. Still, it's very, very good.

Eh, I'd argue that Moana stands head-and-shoulders above the other two recent princess movies, and I'm saying that as someone who really enjoyed those movies. I'm often a Frozen defender when people start shit-talking that film. Moana is probably the best "princess" Disney film since, at least, Mulan.
 

Dai Kaiju

Member
I didn't like it at all. Couldn't stand Maui, though I know the intention wasn't to make him likeable. I don't like songs being shoehorned into movies (though I'll admit I kinda liked "shiny"). Antagonist was bland. I thought coconut pirates were stupid.

The water was really well done though.
 

Malyse

Member
Eh, I'd argue that Moana stands head-and-shoulders above the other two recent princess movies, and I'm saying that as someone who really enjoyed those movies. I'm often a Frozen defender when people start shit-talking that film. Moana is probably the best "princess" Disney film since, at least, Mulan.

Frozen isn't a Disney Princess movie, it's just a Disney movie that has Princesses. Elsa and Anna won't be part of the Disney Princess lineup.
 
Frozen isn't a Disney Princess movie, it's just a Disney movie that has Princesses. Elsa and Anna won't be part of the Disney Princess lineup.

That's only because the massive success of Frozen allows it to exist as it's own line of merchandise. There's no question that Frozen falls into the genre of the "Princess film", the entire film is built around the tropes of the genre, and subverting them. The villain is a clear-as-day subversion of the Prince Charming trope, and the ending is a clear subversion of the true love's kiss trope.
 
I didn't like it at all. Couldn't stand Maui, though I know the intention wasn't to make him likeable. I don't like songs being shoehorned into movies (though I'll admit I kinda liked "shiny"). Antagonist was bland. I thought coconut pirates were stupid.

The water was really well done though.

Not sure why you'd watch a Disney animated princess film then, considering they all have musical numbers.
 

Nephtis

Member
I just saw it.

I don't think I've ever danced along the music as much as I did with this movie. In the theater. To say that I enjoyed it is a misunderstanding.
 

Osahi

Member
It's just you OP. It isn't even the best of the new renaissance (by far), let alone it holds up to the second renaissance stuff
 
Just saw it. It was thoroughly ok. Could easily name a dozen movies I liked more. I liked the titular character and some of the music was good, and of course the film was gorgeous, but otherwise it was mediocre next to the classics.

It's just you OP. It isn't even the best of the new renaissance (by far), let alone it holds up to the second renaissance stuff

I haven't seen Frozen or Zootopia (no desire to change that), but none of the other movies from Tangled on struck me as true classics.
 
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