‘Moana’ on Blu-ray Combo Pack

Category: Blu-ray's and DVD's

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Moana is a delightful adventure that introduces the newest Disney Princess. With the Blu-ray Combo Pack, viewers not only get to relive the movie – over and over again – but also learn about how the film was made.

Watching the bonus features will give viewers a new respect for the filmmakers who made many trips to the Polynesian islands to make sure they accurately represented the people and their heritage. The goal was to portray the islands so that when the islanders saw the film they could see themselves and their villages in the movie. When viewers see the 30-minute documentary about the making of the film, they will see the depth the folks at Disney went to to create a culturally representative movie featuring a young girl named Moana, which actually translates to “ocean” or “from the ocean.”

The film was also made to represent respect for nature. And speaking of nature, they had to create new software to animate the ocean, which itself is described as a character, and the hair. Imagine the progress that has occurred in the animation industry over the past several years. This film truly brings the viewers into the story as well as makes them forget they are watching an animated movie. The realism is awesome.

Portraying the island cultures was not enough for the filmmakers. People with Polynesian roots voice all the characters, with the exception of Heihei.

Moana, Maui the Demigod (voiced delightfully by Dwayne Johnson), Pua the pig, and Heihei the rooster combine in a fun film featuring memorable (and Oscar-nominated) music. Besides the fun, interesting, and educational bonus features, there is a deleted song. Viewers can now experience a version of the song, “Warrior Face” sung by members of the Broadway cast of “Hamilton.” Too bad this little ditty didn’t make it into the film or even the soundtrack CD.

Casting Hawaiian native Auli’i Cravalho as the young adventurer was a coup. This young woman is only 17 years old and has already made her mark on pop culture and the entertainment industry. Director Ron Clements told the media, “She embodied the character.”

A feature about the costumes and a look at the various elements of the film (water, lava, hair, and Mini Maui) take viewers right into the movie-making process. Something that might come as a surprise to viewers is the fact that the integration of 2D and 3D animation is a new process. To animate Mini Maui, one of the tattoos on Maui, animator Eric Goldberg hand drew the character, who is basically Maui’s conscience. As Goldberg says, he’s “Jiminy Cricket with attitude.”

Deleted scenes and a cute little short with Maui, Moana, and a fish round out the bonus features.

Moana is rated PG for peril, some scary images and brief thematic elements.

Check out some of the bonus clips:

About the Author

Francine Brokaw has been covering all aspects of the entertainment industry for over 20 years. She also writes about products and travel. She has been published in national and international newspapers and magazines as well as Internet websites. She has written her own book, Beyond the Red Carpet The World of Entertainment Journalists, from Sourced Media Books.

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