Movie Review: Moana

By John Corrado

Moana is the latest Disney movie to be getting a live-action remake, but what sets this one apart is that it is arriving barely a decade after the animated film came out in 2016, and less than two years after the sequel Moana 2 grossed just over a billion dollars in 2024.

This close proximity to the original makes it feel too soon for a live-action redo (and further fuels the “cash-grab” allegations), especially when you add in the fact that a third animated film is also currently in development.

The kids who grew up with the first one also aren’t old enough to have kids of their own yet, which has been a big market for these remakes, so the nostalgia appeal also seems limited compared to something like 2019’s The Lion King.

But, if remakes like last year’s Snow White failed by trying to update (or “wokeify”) the animated classics, Moana does the complete opposite by, well, not changing a thing. The result is a film that takes the “if it ain’t broke don’t fix it” approach of basically being a beat-by-beat recreation of the original. This arguably makes the film feel even more needless, but also means that it is harmless and inoffensive?

This the same movie; the story beats, characters, and musical numbers are all the same. If you liked the Lin-Manuel Miranda songs from the original, they are all redone here. So, You’re Welcome. The plot also remains identical. The titular Moana (Catherine Laga’aia) is a teenager on the Pacific island of Motunui, and daughter of Chief Tui (John Tui). She longs for the ocean, but they are forbidden from going beyond the reef.

When crops begin to wither and die, Moana sets out to find demigod Maui (Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson), to return the heart of Te Fiti and restore balance to the natural world. It’s hard to really criticize the story or characters or songs in 2026’s Moana, because, again, it’s all the same as the animated version, just in a different format. This is the Gus Van Sant’s Psycho of family movies.

Johnson, who also produced this version and pushed to get it made so that he could reprise his role as Maui in live-action, does bring his energy to the screen when he arrives partway through. Which isn’t surprising considering that he is giving the exact same performance, only now in a noticeable wig in front of green screens instead of in cartoon form. Johnson also shares some fun chemistry with newcomer Laga’aia, who does a decent job in the leading role, bringing her own plucky spirit to Moana.

The film is directed by theatre director Thomas Kail (Hamilton), and everyone on the production does a serviceable job, understanding the assignment to simply copy and paste things from the animated film. That said, not all of the more cartoony “blow dart in my butt cheek” humour translates perfectly to live action (ditto Maui’s CGI “shark head”).

The colour grade is also overly washed out at times, especially compared to the bright and vibrant look of the animated version. There was a real opportunity here to make something very colourful, so the muted colour palette is an odd choice. The musical numbers also don’t pop as much as they did in animated form, with the film not utilizing the live-action format as well as they could have in terms of choreography.

In short, Moana is needless but also harmless. It plays like a blander, slightly more dragged out version of the animated film, but is not without some enjoyable parts. It certainly doesn’t ruin the original, but also doesn’t do anything that that film didn’t already do better. The real question is what audience this is for, when the animated film is still fairly fresh in our minds, and not really in need of an upgrade? So if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.