Reviews For Kids By Kids
Moana
Arjun N, Age 14
Moana is an excellent movie that is a colorful visual treat with lots of creativity. The voice acting, stellar animation and good message impressed me. However, I didn’t care for the slow exposition. Despite this flaw, this movie is still a fun experience to watch.
The story is about Moana (Auli’i Cravalho), the daughter of the respected chief on Motunui Island, wanting to venture out into the sea. One day, danger faces Motunui Island and Moana must go out to save it. Moana is chosen to reunite the Heart of Te Fiti, which was stolen by the legendary demigod, Maui (Dwayne Johnson). Moana teams up with the arrogant Maui in order to reunite the Heart of Te Fiti and both face various dangers.
Auli’I Cravalho delivers an excellent first performance and steals the show as Moana showing her adventurous and determined side, distinguishing Moana from the rest of the Disney characters. It is surprising that this is her first performance because of how well she performs. Dwayne Johnson also steals the show in his charismatic and funny performance as Maui. Dwayne Johnson, as usual, puts his best work into his characters. Rachel House delivers an outstanding performance as Gramma Tala, who is important in Moana’s call to adventure.
John Muskers and Ron Clements’ direction keeps the movie flowing from one place to another, whether it is a lush island or the windy seas. The animation is some of the best I have seen, particularly the water effects. The bright colors of the various locations also impressed me. I have rarely seen a movie with such good use of colors. My favorite scene in the movie is the fight scene between Maui and a giant crab. I can’t spoil it, but it is uniquely creative. The movie is not all perfect. The exposition showing Moana growing up is a little slow and drags, but this is only 10 minutes of the movie. The rest of the movie is amazing.
The movie has a great message about how Moana never gives up. She is constantly reminded that she can’t perform such adventurous tasks, but she always tries her best to face the challenges. I give this movie 4 1⁄2 out of 5 stars and recommend it for ages 5 to 18 years old.
Finding Dory
Morgan B. Age 12
I loved watching the brand new Blu-ray DVD Combo of Disney Pixar’s film, Finding Dory, which is the sequel to Finding Nemo. Fans of Finding Nemo will absolutely love this sequel. The animations in this film are amazing, the humor is hilarious and witty, and the plot is so heartfelt.
It does not disappoint. Dory, a forgetful but fearless blue tang fish (voiced by Ellen DeGeneres), suffers from short-term memory loss, and she has struggled with this for her entire life. Then one day something happens to Dory that triggers her memory and she remembers that she has a family. She tries to find them with the help of Nemo (voiced by Hayden Rolence) and Marlin (voiced by Albert Brooks). The question is will Dory find her family, or will she forget to find them?
In the Blu-ray DVD Combo, aside from having the film, there are many bonus features that talk about how Finding Dory came to be. In What Were We Talking About it shows us the difficultythe filmmakers had making a narrative that worked involving Dory and her short-term memory loss. There are also bonus features that have interesting facts about how this movie was made. For example, in Animating and Acting, it shows us how the director, voice actors and animators worked together to make the animations and performances believable. Another thing that is included is a theatrical short called Piper, which is about an adorable hatchling venturing from her nest for the first time to dig for food. Additionally, there are director’s commentaries, deleted scenes (which are fun to watch), and much more. You can also use the scene selection option, pick what language you want the movie in, and play the movie.
I give this Blu-ray DVD Combo of Finding Dory, 5 out of 5 amazing stars. I recommend this to kids ages 5 to 18 and I think adults might like this as well. I also recommend this to people who like action, adventure, animation, comedy, and family movies.