Moana

[Musical Master]

I agree Lady Cluck, as much as I have always admired Alan Menken's talent; I think at this stage of his career, he's done enough. He's made his historical mark, now it's time for people like Robert and Kristen Lopez, Lin-Manuel Miranda, and many more talented songwriters from theater to shine, it's their turn.

[dollover]

She looks great in the sketches. In CG, she looks like brown Elsa with a thicker nose and body. I hope future pics of her reveal that this is not the case.

She looks nothing like Elsa.

The shape of her face, the wide cheekbones, the thin mouth are a lot like Elsa's. The eyes are a bit narrower but the shape of the eyes are similar too. Just cuz her coloring is different doesn't mean they look nothing alike. In 2d form, I agree they look nothing alike, but in CG form, I do think they look alike.

[ce1ticmoon]

I'm not familiar with the songwriters, but from what I've gathered, they seem to be a good fit for this project. I'm liking the concept art. Not sure about the CG character models, but I'm not having a completely negative reaction to them like I did when the ones for Frozen first came out. They will surely look better in-film, just like with Frozen.

[Lady Cluck]

I can't believe how much information we have about this (and other films). Disney has been so secretive lately but not anymore! I definitely like what I'm seeing more than I liked the early Frozen designs (which I ended up liking anyway).

I'm really hoping they're going for a rap motif in the musical numbers. I'm sure some people here will scoff at that but it's hard to imagine there won't any based on Miranda's previous work, where it worked really well and wasn't as cheesy as rap can be when woven into some musicals.

[PatrickvD]

I like how Moana looks more curvy than other princesses. But it is suspicious that that is apparently how Disney sees Polynesians/Hawaiians since Lilo & Stitch is the only other film with a curvy female lead (Nani).

Either way, she looks lovely. And overall I'm really looking forward to this one. Mark Mancina I guess has experience from The Lion King combing tribal style music with Broadway style Disney. And Lin-Manuel Miranda should add something fresh to this for sure.

And I still have faith in Clements and Musker. They can come back from the ok-ish The Princess and The Frog.

[Sotiris]

It was a fake account, which is now gone from Twitter

It was not a fake account. It was the official D23 account. I saw it myself.

I like the villainess. She reminds me of the villain in the Firebird suite. I'm iffy about Moana's design. It looks like a watered-down version of Pocahontas. They could have done better. As usual, the CG model looks worse than the concept art.

[disneyprincess11]

It was a fake account, which is now gone from Twitter

It was not a fake account. It was the official D23 account. I saw it myself.

Is this what you mean?

https://twitter.com/allbymyidols/status ... 4395925505

I totally believe that you saw it, but if that was the Disney D23 Expo, VERY, VERY bizarre they didn't announce it right there.

[DisneyFan09]

Well, I'm surprised by the Moana-theme on Disney World, despite the movie not being released yet. I'm warming up to the logo. I wasn't particularly turned off by Moana's design. She was different from the hand drawn version, yet appealing enough. And yes, apparently Disney likes their Polynesian girls curvy, since Nani was that. Though I've previously ranted over Disney using a Polynesian setting once again, at least they haven't made a tribal concept yet. And obviously the characters doesn't look as painterly as Disney were claiming them to be. But no surprise. So Moana is nox sixteen, huh? Disney wouldn't dare to make another Princess who's fourteen? Haha.

Mark Mancina is a good composer, so I'm glad he was chosen. Though I haven't created a havoc about the abscence of Menken, it's still a pity that he's neglected. I'm surprised that the Lopezes weren't chosen, considering how it would be tempting to milk them for all it's worth.

The pig and the rooster looks so cute! I wasn't particualarly endeared by the thought of her having such generic animals as sidekicks, but they look cute

It's remarkable how they're making a "Circle of Life"-themed opening song. Though "Lilo & Stitch" did it well with "He Mele No Lilo".

And we'll have to be glad the movie it's not re-titled, haha. At least yet!

The only one I've liked or even care about from this era is Dr. Facilier.

Agreed. He had at least a charisma and a personality which defines the best Disney villains.

[disneyprincess11]

It's remarkable how they're making a "Circle of Life"-themed opening song. Though "Lilo & Stitch" did it well with "He Mele No Lilo".

The only one I've liked or even care about from this era is Dr. Facilier.

Agreed. He had at least a charisma and a personality which defines the best Disney villains.

He Mele No Lilo doesn't even come close to Circle of Life. The closest thing we have is the awesome opening from Brother Bear.

And agreed about Dr. Facilier. Mother Gothel, Turbo, Hans, & defientely not Yokei don't come even close to him. The volcano goddess & the Storm Giants look awesome and promises!

[Sotiris]

Is this what you mean?

I think so. I don't really remember. I didn't check the username. It was in my timeline for just a few seconds. Yeah, it could have been a fake account. I do remember that the tweet in question came some minutes before the Moana presentation which was weird. But then a bunch of other people kept tweeting the same thing, I assumed it was coming from the attendees of the panel. Anyway, I'm glad it may not be Dinah after all. I don't think she's right for the character and her voice is not that great (not to mention that her fans are kinda crazy. ).

[disneyprincess11]

I don't think she's right for the character and her voice is not that great (not to mention that her fans are kinda crazy. ).

Dude, story time:

On Thursday, I wrote that someone, who works with Disney told me that Dinah isn't Moana. And BOOM! Death threats, getting my name and tweets screen capped by random people, insults about my face etc.. My friend was called the N word. It was nuts!

[DisneyFan09]

He Mele No Lilo doesn't even come close to Circle of Life.

I wasn't actually comparing "He Mele No Lilo" to "Circle of Life", but I've should've made it clearer. I meant that "He Mele No Lilo" was an Authentic, Polynesian chant that worked well on it's own terms. But "Circle of Life" is definitively more striking, impacting and powerful.

The closest thing we have is the awesome opening from Brother Bear.

True, but that didn't exactly open the movie. Unfortunately we were deprived of Phil's far more superior and powerful version. It's truly a pity that it wasn't used.

And agreed about Dr. Facilier. Mother Gothel, Turbo, Hans, & defientely not Yokei don't come even close to him. The volcano goddess & the Storm Giants look awesome and promises!

Mother Gothel has a lot of fans and she has been praised in several boards. For being complex as well. While she's not awful, I found her to be bland and generic, actually. Facilier was superior. Turbo/King Candy was okay, though. But Hans and Yokei? *Shrugs*.

[Sotiris]

And BOOM! Death threats, getting my name and tweets screen capped by random people, insults about my face etc.. My friend was called the N word. It was nuts!

Oh, my God! That's awful. I'm sorry you had to go through that. What is wrong with these people?

[jazzflower92]

Dips on promoting the theory that Moana is the ancestress of Lilo and Nani.

[disneyprincess11]

And BOOM! Death threats, getting my name and tweets screen capped by random people, insults about my face etc.. My friend was called the N word. It was nuts!

Oh, my God! That's awful. I'm sorry you had to go through that. What is wrong with these people?

At least, I got my 15 minutes of fame

...And possibly got me personal attention from Dinah herself, so that backfired

https://twitter.com/dinahjane97/status/ ... 8996347905

[Sotiris]

Turns out Disney had offered Moana to the Lopezes but they could do it because they were working on Gigantic at the same time. They were the ones who "recommended" their friend Lin-Manual for the job. It seems the songwriting team wasn't really the directors choice this time either. It's nice to know that it's through nepotism that people get hired at Disney.

And another thing, why couldn't they have recommended Menken who they claim has heavily inspired and influenced their work?


Source: https://twitter.com/Lyrikris10/status/6 ... 4069279745

Unfortunately, their commitments to Frozen, Gigantic and In Transit did mean they had to turn down some opportunities, such as writing music for Moana. Eventually, Hamilton creator and star Lin-Manuel Miranda was hired for the soundtrack. “A little secret: We recommended him for the job,” Lopez says with pride. “They asked for some names and at the top of the list was Lin-Manuel. Don’t look now, but that little Lin-Manuel has taken over the world.”

Source: http://www.etonline.com/features/204513 ... _broadway/

[UmbrellaFish]

Turns out Disney had offered Moana to the Lopezes but they could do it because they were working on Gigantic at the same time. They were the ones who "recommended" their friend Lin-Manual for the job. It seems the songwriting team wasn't really the directors choice this time either. It's nice to know that it's through nepotism that people get hired at Disney.

Well, it would be favoritism. Not nepotism. Lin-Manuel Miranda is not related to the Lopezes. Even then, it's a stretch to say a professional song writing team recommending another professional is favoritism as I'm sure the Lopezes had no input on whether he was actually hired or not, but hey, if you want to gripe about an imagined slight to Alan Menken, go ahead. Just remember, Menken got his start at Disney the same way when Howard Ashman recommended that Disney hire him for "The Little Mermaid."

[Sotiris]

Well, it would be favoritism. Not nepotism. Lin-Manuel Miranda is not related to the Lopezes.

You need to look up the word nepotism in your dictionary. It's not restricted to family members. It can be friends too.

Just remember, Menken got his start at Disney the same way when Howard Ashman recommended that Disney hire him for "The Little Mermaid."

Except he didn't. Menken was Ashman's songwriting partner and he was a member of the team from the start. It would be as silly as saying that Kristen Anderson-Lopez was recommended by Robert Lopez.

[UmbrellaFish]

Well, it would be favoritism. Not nepotism. Lin-Manuel Miranda is not related to the Lopezes.

You need to look up the word nepotism in your dictionary. It's not restricted to family members. It can be friends too.

Just remember, Menken got his start at Disney the same way when Howard Ashman recommended that Disney hire him for "The Little Mermaid."

Except he didn't. Menken was Ashman's songwriting partner and he was a member of the team from the start. It's as silly as saying that Kristen Anderson-Lopez was recommended by Robert Lopez.

http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/nepotism

Menken and Ashman were not a joined at the hip writing team. They did work together on at least two musicals before Mermaid, but they both had different collaborators in between. If you remember, Alan Menken did not write the music to the musical Howard Ashman did where he discovered Jodi Benson. Howard Ashman was hired first for The Little Mermaid, based on his work in Oliver and Company which Menken did not contribute to, and recommended Menken because he thought he was right for the job. Furthermore, to emphasize just how much of a not-package-deal they were, when Menken was scoring scenes in Mermaid, he was afraid Ashman and the directors were whispering in the corner because they were about to fire him for not doing a good job! They weren't, they just gave him some notes on things to change, but I'm pretty sure Rodgers never thought Hammerstein was going to kick him off of Oklahoma!.

Here, from Howard Ashman's official website:

In 1986, Howard began collaboration with the Disney Company. Working with composer, Barry Mann, Howard contributed a song to Disney’s animated film, Oliver and Company (Once Upon A Time In New York City).

After considering many projects, Howard chose to work in animation and proposed to Disney that Alan Menken join him.

http://howardashman.com/timeline.html

Obviously, the situation is slightly different because Ashman was looking for a collaborator he had previous experience with, but the fact remains that Menken got the job because Ashman recommended him.

[Sotiris]

http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/nepotism

http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/us/de ... h/nepotism

Menken and Ashman were not a joined at the hip writing team. They did work together on at least two musicals before Mermaid, but they both had different collaborators in between.

By your definition every writing partner is a recommendation. Robert Lopez recommended Kristen, Menken recommended Tim Rice, Stephen Schwartz, and Glen Slater, Tim Rice recommended Elton John, etc.

Obviously, the situation is slightly different because Ashman was looking for a collaborator he had previous experience with, but the fact remains that Menken would got the job because Ashman recommended him.

The situation is not slightly different. It's vastly different. It's one thing to have a say on which person will be your writing partner which is entirely understandable and a whole different thing to have a say on who gets the job on a project you're not working on.