a review of 海洋奇缘

#16: Moana Decided to catch the early matinee of this one while it's still in theaters. My locally-owned multiplex puts most of its family movies that have already been out for a month or so in one of the smaller screens, which are only ~100 seats and wonderfully cozy. Even with other people in the theater, it's like getting your own private screening. All in all, I thought this was a wonderful effort on the part of everyone involved. Excellent animation (particularly enjoyed the 2D work on Maui's tattoos), voice performances, music, etc. But I felt like the story's pacing kind of dragged in places, with a lot of unnecessary repetition of character and theme that probably could have been tightened up. I'll be interested to read up on the production later, because I got the sense that this was a story that passed through a lot of different hands before it was finally locked down. But on the whole, I had a good time with it. I think it'll make an excellent impression on kids, seeing a tough, resilient heroic duo who are presented as such 100% on the basis of character and making good and moral choices, and not solely as a result of magical destiny.