Moana – Blu-ray Movie Review

Synopsis

Moana is the daughter of the chief of an island civilization in the South Pacific. She is next in line to be the chief herself. But a blight sets in on the island because a demigod named Maui stole the heart of the goddess Te Fiti many years earlier. The legend is that "someone" one day will journey forth to locate Maui and persuade him to return the goddess’ heart. Well it turns out Moana is the chosen one and she sets out on her own to find Maui and set evrything straight. This story is based on Polynesian mythologies.

Specifications

Disney
2016, Color, Rated PG, 1 Hrs 47 mins
DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1, 2.39:1 Aspect Ratio
Starring: Auli’i Cravalho, Dwayne Johnson and Rachel House
Directed by: Ron Clements and Don Hall

Rating

Entertainment:

Video:

Audio:

Extras:

Violence: No
Sex: No
Language: No

Commentary

This movie is bright, colorful and unapologetically optimistic. It was just what I needed when I put it on. So I enjoyed it immensely. Although this movie didn’t appear to light up the world the way Frozen did, I personally enjoyed Moana more than Frozen. Moana is a straighter, more formulaic approach to the Disney animated genre. It is uplifting, entertaining and adventurous. The music is a delight. Add that the Blu-ray is maybe one of the best refernce quality pictures on the format and there is little to complain about.

Technical

So the image quality on this disc completely blew my mind. I can’t think of how it could get any better and can only imagine what it would be like in 4K. The colors popped so much and the detail was truly incredible such that many scenes were impossibly photorealistic. This disc is a new reference for me in terms of image quality and will be the one disc I reach for to show off my system to visitors who come over and want a real treat.

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As good as the video quality was, I expected more from the audio but found myself disappointed that the audio was unduly compressed. I wish Disney would consider one uncompressed track for those with high end systems and then one lesser track for the usual direct view TV speakers you might find in a kid’s room. That’s not too much to ask, is it?

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Extras

This is two-disc set with the Blu-ray, a DVD and a Digital Streaming Code included. On-disc extras are plentiful and quite entertaining:

Maui Mini-Movie: Gone Fishing
Theatrical Short Film: Inner Workings
Deleted Song "Warrior Face"
Voice of the Islands (Short documentary on island life)
Things You Didn’t Know About (Featurette)
Island Fashion (Narrative on cosutumes)
They Know the Way: Making the Music of Moana
Music Video: "How Far I’ll Go" Performed by Alessia Cara
Deleted scenes, etc.

Jim Clements

Jim Clements has been an audio nut since childhood where you could find him underfoot at his local high end store on most weekends. (This particular shop was within walking distance of Jim's home, much to the chagrin of the owner and his staff.) Jim's audio journey started early because he loved great music of all kinds. And he still does. Like most audiophiles, Jim was not particularly inspired by a vast majority of the audio systems he encountered. So his quest grew through his efforts to recreate a live listening experience in the home. This has proven to be a never ending quest. One major offshoot of all this is that Jim has become something of a cinema enthusiast as well. So now he's working on the video and surround sound conundrums too. Since perfect recreation of sound and video is a goal to be pursued but never attained, Jim derives his pleasure from the journey itself. He wants to help our readers on their own personal quests by reviewing products thoroughly and objectively. On a personal note, Jim is a Professional Engineer, licensed in California and Texas. He currently has his own engineering practice in San Antonio, Texas. Jim is also part owner of a small chain of craft beer growler stations in South Texas.