Moana Blu-ray review

Mar 06, 2017- Permalink

Disney has always had a knack for releasing instantly classic animated fare that people want to watch and rewatch, sing-along to and dress up as the following Halloween. The streak has not been broken by Moana, which is now available as a Blu-ray release.

The AVC-encoded 1080p Blu-ray disc is presented in the theatrical release’s 2.39:1 aspect ratio and the package also comes with a DVD version and a code for a digital download. I don’t know if the palette had a choreographer, because the colours dance on this disc. The greens of the island foliage, the dazzling blues of the ocean, the warm hues of the earth are all a joy to look at. The sharp image and the details on hair, surfaces and fabrics are excellent. The black levels are great and I didn’t see any artifacts to speak of. Yet another excellent video transfer from the team at Disney.

On the audio side of the presentation, you get an English DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1 soundtrack as well as French and Spanish Dolby Digital 5.1 tracks with subtitles in English, English SDH, French, and Spanish. The surround tracks are put to great use, immersing us in the crashing waves, island environment and musical numbers. Those musical numbers are powerful but not overpowering and the dialogue and lyrics are clear and centered in the soundscape.

On the extra, we get two theatrical shorts, Inner Workings and Gone Fishing, deleted scenes, commentary from directors John Musker and Ron Clements, a half-hour look at Pacific Islands life and culture, an in-depth look at the making of the musical numbers, and an Alessia Cara music video.

Moana is fun for the whole family, with a great video and audio presentation to boot. A worthy addition to your home entertainment library.