Moana – Movie Review
In 2016, Disney released the animated hit Moana. The film endeared itself to audiences worldwide becoming one of the studios biggest hits of the 21st century, and one of the most streamed films ever, with a chart-topping soundtrack, and a billion dollar grossing sequel. Across the globe people fell in love with the determined island princess, her demi-god companion and the Pacific world they wayfared around. And so in some regards, it’s no surprise that Disney would want to cash in on one of their fastest growing and increasingly profitable franchises with a live-action adaptation.
However, this marks the shortest gap between an original film and its live-action remake in Disney’s now 16-year era of constant live-action reimaginings, which began with Alice in Wonderland in 2010. While Burton’s Alice in Wonderland arrived 59 years after the original, and the remakes of Cinderella waited 65 years, The Jungle Book 49 years, Beauty and the Beast 26 years, Aladdin 27 years, The Lion King 25 years, The Little Mermaid 34 years, and Lilo & Stitch 23 years. Remarkably, Disney has gone from the longest gap of 88 years between its two Snow White films, to the shortest, with just nine years separating the original Moana from its live-action “reimagining”.
And it’s that word – “reimagining” – plastered all over the film’s synopsis and marketing that may leave audiences feeling duped. Because there really is very little new imagination or repositioning in this near shot-for-shot remake. But as is the case for many of these Disney redos – if it’s not broken, don’t fix it – leaving a result that is overly safe but also still solid. If you bake the exact same cake twice, the second one may not feel as creatively fresh, but assuming you followed the recipe the same way, it should still taste pretty good. And that’s the same with the live-action Moana. It follows the same recipe and still turns out good.
Like in the original, Moana (played by newcomer Catherine Laga’aia) is summoned by the ocean and departs her home island of Motunui for the first time to travel past its barrier reef and find the demigod Maui (played again by Dwayne Johnson) to join her voyage aimed at restoring the Heart of Te Fiti by defeating the dangerous lava monster Te Ka. Along the way the duo, and her chicken sidekick Heihei, must navigate dangerous sea spirits like the Kakamora and Tamatoa (played again by Jermaine Clement) who desire the Heart for themselves.
Herein lies the film’s greatest strengths and biggest weaknesses. It’s a lot of ‘agains’ as the film reheats and rehashes the original film, but it can’t be denied nor dismissed that seeing the world of the Pacific on the big screen is wonderful. Whilst I would rather a new original story that gives these people the opportunity to be in the movies, I also want to celebrate how awesome it is to see Polynesian culture, costumes, dances and architecture all given the cinematic spotlight. Catherine Laga’aia manages to hold her own against the confident Dwayne Johnson, whilst Rena Owen is a clear standout from the cast as Gramma Tala.
Director Thomas Kail manages to capture some really dynamic action sequences, especially the Kakamora battle, and strong adaptations of the musical numbers with ‘You’re Welcome’ and ‘Shiny’ being easy highlights. There are definitely a few moments where the music feels a bit faster than the action on screen, with much of that coming down to how much faster an animated character or boat can move on sand or in the water than a live-action equivalent. The sea may call you, but running awkwardly on the sand definitely slows you down and offsets the pace.
But outside of its action, music, cast and production values, this new Moana really has little new to offer. One song is added, but makes little difference. A few lines are changed, but the plot remains the same. And ultimately, the result is a film that may be faithfully baked according to the recipe but tastes hollow. I really can’t see many if given the choice between watching this or the original, choosing this. It just doesn’t do much to differentiate, reimagine or refresh. It’s sadly stale despite the obvious passion of the cast and crew to do the Polynesian culture justice and show it off on the big screen. Whether it’s a cynical rushed cash-grab or a well-intentioned but far too premature remake, 2026’s live-action Moana fails to feel alive outside of its dynamic action.
Moana is in Australian cinemas July 8
