There is a skit on SNL from Aziz Ansari’s episode where he was interrogated because he thought La La Land was a decent movie. I totally related to this because I didn’t have the hype that people had about the movie. During the Oscars, I was bummed when the award for “Best Original Song” didn’t go to “How Far I’ll Go” from Moana.
I totally had the hype for Moana because I’m a young woman from Hawaii who grew up learning the history of how voyagers sailed from island to island. It was obvious that I was going to relate to Moana more than La La Land.
I am a Disney fan but, I also love old Hollywood film musicals like Singing In The Rain. I get why there is hype for La La Land because vintage is very in right now. Also, I know people whose friends worked on this film. When I first listened to the soundtrack, I understood why this soundtrack was catchy but, it felt like I’ve already heard this too much in the past. It just didn’t appeal to me. I do think it was a good tribute to old Hollywood musicals. Special props to John Legend for his first time writing a movie musical.
Moana on the other hand struck my emotions and made their music an experience. Disney hired Lin Manuel-Miranda, who’s an excellent choice for writing songs that combine two languages together. They also hired South Pacific Fusion Group, Te Vaka for their craft in writing in the Polynesian languages you hear in the film. You can hear the passion of their music in their live performances in press conferences for Moana. Such as this one.
Awards such as the Oscars are opinions from a committee of people. When your favorite movie doesn’t win an oscar, it’s not considered a bad movie.
So sit back and enjoy the experience.
Image from Giphy