You’d think with being the parent of a pre-schooler I’d have no problem keeping up with kids movies. But (and I think it’s largely due to my daughter’s obsession with Star Wars) some of them slip by us once in a while, so it’s always fun to catch up. Recently we were able to watch 2 that we’d missed from the past couple years.

The first was 2016’s Moana, and honestly I can’t believe it took us so long to see it. I think it’s amazing. It easily takes a spot as one of my favorite kid’s movies (if I had to rank it, at least in my top 5). It’s fun to watch over and over (which is fortunate as much as we’ve been), it looks amazing, and has great music. Even The Rock (yes, I’m still calling him the Rock) shines in his song as he voices Maui. Moana herself is a strong, charming and lovable main character and is really the heart of what is a warm and wonderful story. I can’t recommend this movie enough.

The next one we watched was last year’s live action Beauty and the Beast. Personally this is one of the biggest and most pleasant surprises I remember ever having with movies in general. While I love Disney, the original didn’t do that much for me. Don’t get me wrong, it’s a wonderful movie. Maybe the mushiness was just too much for me back at that age, or maybe I was too into sci-fi and comics. Whatever the case, I absolutely loved this movie – I personally enjoyed it far more than the original. Maybe at the age I’m at now I don’t mind the mushiness so much. Regardless, I thought it looked amazing, it made me laugh, and it got me pretty choked up at points. Another point deserving mention is Emma Watson’s performance. I’m already a big fan of hers, so this movie had a big plus going into it. But personally I felt like she carried the movie and by far I preferred her Belle over the original as she made the character much more likable and sincere.

So if you haven’t yet, definetly give both Moana and the live action Beauty and the Beast a watch. I think they’re up there with the best Disney movies!

-Clint