Director: Thomas Kail
Writers: Jared Bush, Dana Ledoux Miller, Ron Clements
Stars: Dwayne Johnson, Catherine Laga’aia, Rena Owen
Synopsis: Live-action adaptation of the 2016 Disney animated film ‘Moana.’
This was always bound to be a weird one. Moana sets a precedent among Disney’s glowingly maligned live action remakes, in that it’s by far and away the one recreated closest to the original release. The first Moana came out just 10 years ago; now, we’ve officially got a “real” remake of the story on the big screen. The Rock is back, and he’s got a wig now.
What makes the feeling even weirder is that, compared to Disney’s past catalogue of live action reimaginings, this is probably the closest in execution to the original product. That doesn’t necessarily mix with it being so soon (relatively) after the first Moana, either. It would be an understatement to say that this wasn’t well conceived.
Yet, 2016’s Moana is, in my opinion, one of the best Disney animated movies to ever release. That film is full of life and color; the cultural elements are sharply defined and, of course, the tunes are stellar. That one is classic after classic after classic, and all of the performances – even The Rock’s – rule. It was truly lightning in a bottle in the modern age, there’s nothing quite like it. From the get-go, I should note that the 2026 Moana’s biggest miss is that most of the magic is lost in translation.
Every performance is just a little bit worse, both in drama and song. Catherine Laga’aia isn’t badly cast as the titular character, but I’m not so sure that she was entirely suited to bring Moana to life on such a seismic scale. Her singing is more than technically sound, but it, too, feels bogged down by the change in medium here. Somehow, “You’re Welcome” survives the transition, if only for Maui’s rap portion at the end that always manages a little life, even on repeat viewings.
And in the latter sequence is where this movie picks up a little. Once Moana and Maui are teamed up, it becomes a little easier to forget about this iteration’s lesser qualities. You’re off the island and out in the open sea, and from there, Moana’s genuinely impressive special effects work gets the chance to shine. This is a flat movie, but it’s not a poor one; the CGI meshes well with a visual palette that, while predictable, isn’t quite as bad as something like Snow White.
It’s also hard to resist the stronger emotions, even in their watered down (pun intended) form here. The return of Moana’s grandmother at the beginning of the third act is still incredibly moving and, to this movie’s specific credit, it’s relatively well shot here too. On the other side of that coin, though, it’s just a great story, and that positive has nothing to do with this particular remake.
It’s a real testament to the animated medium that this is pretty much the exact same script as the first movie and only about half as good. Anything new added is of little consequence, and everything that works can be attributed to the 2016 entry. So why make this at all? You know the answer as well as I do: It really is all about the money, Spider-Man.
Still, I won’t pretend that I’m immune to the charms of revisiting this story on the big screen, in any form. The new Moana is inoffensive and careful enough to entertain younger audiences and fans of the original dying for anything new at all, even if it doesn’t dare tread new water in the wake of a modern classic. It’s a weary bit of fun that will probably end up buried by the better movie that came before it. Who could’ve expected that?
