Moana Live-Action Can Disney Recapture the Magic? Blu-ray Review

Automatically transcribed; may contain errors.

Hey everybody and welcome back to the channel. Izola here with FlickDirect and I got my hands on the Blu-ray release of the live action film Moana. I have lots to discuss with you, so grab your popcorn, sit back, relax, and let's get this started. Okay, so since I am almost positive most of you, if not all of you, have seen Moana, I'm just going to kind of skip the synopsis because it's pretty much the same exact thing.

It's just live action. This production cost over $250 million. Huge for a production, but also if you think about what you're trying to get and you don't want to film in Hawaii because it probably costs even more, you're going to build sets and scenes and things like that. And also CGI. There's, there's a lot that goes into it, but it's just a lot of money with spending that much money.

You can understand that they were really trying to translate the magic of the 2016 film into real life. And it does a mid-level job, in my opinion, to do that. I still don't understand why Disney continuously tries to make live action films out of these movies when we have a great animated movie sitting right there. And this one's not even 10 years old.

Well, it is now, but it came out in 2016. But still, like when it originally, anyway, it doesn't matter. It's like, it's barely 10 years old. Okay, let's give it some time. But anyway, I mean, I do get it because there is an appeal. You know, people gravitate towards this movie. It was fun, you know, so why wouldn't you want to see a live action version?

Okay. So what worked? For the most part, all the performances worked. We had newcomer Catherine Laga Aia. She stepped into the title role as Moana, did an absolutely beautiful job. The voice, fantastic. Really enjoyed it. I don't really have too many issues with her performance, except for there are these more quiet, emotional scenes. it just felt a little more stiff but other than that everything was great and then of course we have Dwayne the Rock Johnson and he just brings the same high energy charm charisma that he did in the animation so there's not much of a difference there except for it's live action And, you know, it works.

Their chemistry is also great together. It's adorable. And it just makes you love the characters all over again. So with that, I have no issues. I think what kind of bugged me was actually the pacing. Like, it's almost two hours, and it feels a lot slower than the animated version. I don't know. Maybe... I can't put my finger on it, but it just felt slower.

And then looking at public opinion, critics are saying, why was it even made? It's not that it's bad. It's just, was it necessary or relevant? Audience have been more forgiving and i think it's more of the building of the sets and things like that it's just they think they did a great job and you know again you have the rock playing maui so that's always going to win it as well because he just did such a great job and he is that character but i do have to say that when you go and doom scroll on the interwebs they have been having a field day with Maui's bodysuit and the wig.

And it really, I would say it takes some getting used to, but with me doing cosplay and having endless amounts of wigs, I know when one works and when one doesn't, it's hard to get around. So, but kids don't care, right? And this is more for the kids anyway, so it's fine. But because of all of this, I'm going to give the actual movie a three out of five.

Okay, now let's get down to the nitty gritty. We're going to talk video here. And you know, when these releases come out, that's my primary focus. Yes, I do focus on the movie as well, but I really want you to know what you're getting for your money. So here we go. Now, this is the blu-ray disc and disney shot this on a grand scale i mean they even built these massive 10 acre i mean they built the village like mata uni was real like that's that's built so there are a lot of visuals that you are going to be very happy with but this is a standard 1080p Blu-ray and it's kind of a mixed bag for the pros the color palette so vibrant it's stunning and you have these lush green island landscapes that just it's hard to describe it's just so beautiful and really makes me wish I was in Hawaii there are extremely rich textures especially from all the costumes they made and i swear it was like 2 000 costumes that were handmade traditional they made sure that it was as traditional as possible which i appreciate you have beautiful blue skies you have the contrast levels that are extremely stable and the daytime ocean just crisp and clear super sharp you're not going to have any issues with uh what you're actually looking at and now for the cons the movie relies heavily on dark cgi environments in like the second half again if you've seen the movie you know even in the animated movie you'll know in the second half.

And this is where they venture into the monster realm. And you need that to be dark and spooky. And I get it. Or let's also say when they face the lava monster. Okay. So it's just in the standard high definition, some of these darker scenes suffer from minor crushing. And this is primarily because the deep black levels really swallow up the finer details that are in the background.

So, kind of lost me on that one. You know me, I'm going to tell you that if you want the crisper, finer details, it's obviously better to go with the 4K. But I do want to stress that the Blu-ray still holds its ground. And because of all of this, I'm giving the video a four out of five. Next up is the audio. And this is where Disney truly excels when it comes to the discs.

This literally brings the ocean right into your living room. It's amazing. I love it. It's, there are a lot of scenes where you can just literally listen to the swaying of the ocean and it's just so relaxing. I just love it. So I have to say the biggest pro for this is the musical mixing. We have those iconic tracks from Lin-Manuel Miranda. And look, if you guys don't know who he is by now, if I say Hamilton, you should know who he is.

So you know he knows what he's doing. Now, again, I'm going to talk a lot about surround sound, but I do want to preface that if you don't have it, this is not ruined. you're still getting high quality audio. Okay? So, but if you do have a subwoofer, just be prepared because you're going to get these drums that have this aggressive, clean thud that just run through it brilliantly.

And the Polynesian vocals that wrap around all of this, oh, so great. so great dialogue is completely centered crisp clear clean you will not have any issues trying to understand what is coming out of your television or your surround sound but primarily the television my only minor complaint and if you guys have been watching you already know disney audio tracks never have it to the right volume it is always super low and you got to find that sweet spot.

Again, that's my only complaint. I just don't know why it's set super low. So just know, and you probably are aware of this, that when you put on the movie, you just, you know, you're going to have to turn it up until you find the sweet spot and then you'll be good to go. But that's literally my only complaint. Because of all of this, I am getting, giving the audio quality for the Blu-ray, a four and a half out of five.

So now let's talk about what you actually get in the box. The Blu-ray release obviously comes with a Blu-ray DVD and your digital code, so you can take it with you everywhere. Now there is also a 4K release, but like I said, there's not a huge or significant difference depending on who this is for so but again we're only talking about the blu-ray right now if you're a 4k person obviously i can't talk you into buying a blu-ray but again this gives you options so disney did a pretty solid job with the bonus features you're going to get up close look at the film's uh choreography showing of how they translated traditional dialogue or sorry dances and movements onto the screen which I really appreciate that they put a lot of thought into that and then actually show you how they did it.

You also get a featurette building Mata'uni and that's really cool because it shows you the five-month progress like it's a progression of how they built the village so I think you'll really in you know be interested in that. This was outside of Atlanta. I would have preferred them filming it in Hawaii because you have so much to work with, but you know what?

It's totally fine. I get that. You sometimes have to spend money in different places and Atlanta is a lot cheaper to film. Hence why The Walking Dead was filmed there for probably its entirety. Then you have Along the Way, which is really cool because you have the original voice of Moana with the new voice of Moana singing together. And it's just really sweet.

So I think you'll enjoy that as well. And then finally, there are some deleted scenes and they offer some little minor jokes and extended interactions. So those are always fun. We enjoy those again. Yes, there are some bloopers, but not a ton, But that's okay. You know, they're all in the deleted scenes. You'll still enjoy it. And that's why I think it's a pretty well-rounded package for physical media fans.

So overall, the live-action version of Moana is visually gorgeous. There's no ifs, ands, or buts about it. Beautifully mixed home release, but it does feel a little slow and redundant, especially if you've watched the OG. I mean, only if you've watched the OG. If you haven't watched either, then you're good to go. Performances are fun. Music sounds incredible.

The sets are extraordinary. Again, pace. I just overall felt like it was a little mid-level for the movie itself. But everything else makes up for it for audio, video, and extras. Because of all this, I am giving the Blu-ray live action of Moana a 3.8 out of 5. Now, you are in luck. This comes out today. So you can run to your stores, go online, order it, whatever tickles your fancy, however you want to get this.

Do I think it's worth it? I would say so, especially if you are a fan of the movie or physical media, especially if you have kids. Kids love it when it's animated, but they love it even more when it feels like it's real life. They're going to have a real-life Moana right in front of them, and they are just going to be so ecstatic. I know kids can watch this movie a million times.

It's a lot. So, if you get a physical copy, it's really gonna be worth it. You also get the digital copy too, so you're set! And with that, this concludes my review of the Blu-ray release of the live-action Moana. Please be sure to like and subscribe to all of our channels so you never miss out on any entertainment news. Thanks for watching, and we'll see you next time. Bye! .