“Moana” is one of the best Disney films, in my opinion. The songs are addictive, the characters are refreshing and new and this is one of the few completely original stories that Disney has told (not a remake, reimagining or retelling). Now that it’s out on Blu-ray go out and get it! Disney always makes it worth owning a Blu-ray, not just for the film, but for all the awesome bonus features.

Some of the bonus features I already reviewed, that’s why some of this might sound familiar.

Pick up the Moana Bluray here!

The Inner Workings Short
My review of the short before the “Moana” feature is here. Still a delight to have on the disc!

Gone Fishing
This little nugget of fun featured Auli’i and The Rock as their characters Moana and Maui. It was short and sweet and dives deeper into the fun of these characters

Voice of the Islands
It was explained during the press conference that the team behind the making of “Moana” went to the Pacific Islands many times to get to know the people and their culture so they can be true to the telling of the story. What they didn’t include when explaining that is the cameras were rolling the whole time and documented their visits and interviewed all these people and learned so much about the beauty that is the culture of the Pacific. It’s very moving to watch how much influence and emotion is involved within the Pacific Islanders in the making of this movie.

Things You Didn’t Know About
A fun, rapid fire Q&A with the players involved in the making of “Moana”
Ron, John, Auli’i & Dwayne
What did you eat for breakfast? What is your favorite Disney movie? Fun questions answered by the stars and directors of “Moana”
Mark, Opetaia & Lin
Same questions given to the musical artist of this film. What is your favorite Disney song though got an interesting answer.

Island Fashion
Neysa Bove did the animated costume design. What she learned from the culture to influence the design of the costumes, since there is no reference for that time.

The Elements of…
4 short behind the scenes featurettes explaining some of the more difficult hurdles Disney had to overcome for “Moana”

Mini-Maui – The tattoos on Maui, of Maui (you get that?). They brought in a well-known 2D artist Disney animator, Eric Goldberg. He studied the tattoos of the Pacific Islanders as reference.

Water – The element of water was an incredible challenge. This was actually a special effect and not animation. Since something like this had never been done (not just making water digitally, but making it look real) Disney made new software for this film. It’s great to watch the development of making water into a character!

Lava – This short is about Te Ka the lava monster, and the massive complication with making her. There are layers and layers of VFX on top of the animation. Personally, I think Te Ka is one of the most visually stunning characters in “Moana”

Hair – Who knew hair could be so complicated! Again Disney had to make new software to make the hair look like hair. This short dives into the simulation technology that the CG artists used to make those locks flow.

They Know the Way
This short featured Lin-Manuel Miranda, Opetaia Foa’i and Mark Mancina – The brains and talent behind all the Moana music. It was fun to see a behind the scenes look at these three super talented musicians doing their craft. And to watch the bromance blossom was fun and heart warming.

Deleted Song – “Warrior Face”
Introduced by Lin Manuel-Miranda this is a deleted song from the film. It’s shown in story board and sung by his scratch track singers – the cast from “Hamilton”

Fishing For Easter Eggs
If you’re fast enough at watching most Disney films, you will find Easter Eggs of past Disney characters. This is a well-known fact. Let me tell you, there are MANY more than I had thought originally. You probably saw Maui turn into Sven (“Frozen”) or one of the Kakamora looking like Baymax (“Big Hero 6”). But did you see the lamp from “Aladdin”, or all the hidden Mickeys in the ocean? Yeah, me neither. Auli’i goes through most of the Easter Eggs for you. Most.

Deleted Scenes
With an intro from directors Ron and John 7 total storyboarded scenes are explained and walked through, with temporary voice tracks. They also explain why these scenes didn’t make the cut.

“How Far I’ll Go” Around the World
The song sung by Moana in every language. It’s really beautiful.

“Moana” is a beautiful film and I do plan on watching it many times. I would highly recommended doing you and your family a favor and adding this instant Disney classic into your collection.