Rather than go over the various caveats once again when it comes to the weird spot to be put in when it comes to these live-action Disney remakes, I’d like to recall the announcement of Moana. In 2023, months after the dust had settled and the release of Black Adam had essentially imploded that iteration of the DC universe, Dwayne Johnson posted a YouTube video of himself and his daughters on a beach in Hawaii, where he announced that he’d be producing a live-action remake of Disney’s Moana. I’ve long held onto the thought that Johnson announced before even Disney was aware of what was going on, which was basically a way of stressing how much this felt like a recovery act on Johnson’s part, rather than something essential (a word I’ve struggled with for all of these Disney remakes). Having now seen the final results, it’s actually nice to say that this went better than expected.
Story-wise, this film is identical to the 2016 animated adventure. Young Moana (Catherine Lagai’aia), the future chief of her home island of Motunui, decides to defy her tribe’s rules and venture beyond the barrier reef surrounding the island to find the lost demigod Maui (Johnson). You see, long ago, Maui stole a sacred item from a goddess, causing the islands to rot, one by one. Not wanting her community to perish, Moana needs to bring Maui to justice, but can these two learn to get along before facing their ultimate challenge?
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The original film is one I very much appreciate as an excellent example of the Disney formula at work. It features a strong female lead with a great voice. The songs are excellent. Visually, the film shines thanks to the ocean- and island-themed environments. There’s a great buddy story at play, given the evolving relationship between Moana and Maui. Plus, it provided an opportunity to spotlight Polynesian culture. What could a new version accomplish, especially one that is so close to the original’s release date, compared to the others that have come along?
Well, the fortunate thing is that while this 2026 version pretty much follows the original every step of the way, there’s a certain kind of confidence and spirit involved that helps it shine a bit brighter than some of the other efforts. Director Thomas Kail (best known for directing productions of Lin-Manuel Miranda’s musicals) has mounted a cinematic take that really wants to capture the same sort of adventurous feel, but by way of live-action. Does this mean the film rarely colors outside the lines? Yes, but it at least matches the animated film in ways that complement it, rather than suffer from being a poor imitation.
Key to this are the performances. Newcomer Laga’aia has the chops of a spunky Disney teen who can sing. She holds her own against the other actors and never feels lost amid all the CG production work around her. Johnson actually excels quite well here, too. Rather than phone in a performance that was a big win for him a decade ago, he actually underplays this live-action version of Maui. Just looking at Johnson’s face, you can see a man who is getting older and likely has serious thoughts about some of his career choices and how they now connect with Maui’s status and motivations. Best of all, however, is Rena Own as Gramma Tala, Moana’s grandmother, who has to sell the passion she has for the ocean, her own sense of humor, the belief she has in her granddaughter, and all while not going too big as a live-action representation of the village’s crazy old lady.
Naturally, the other thing to key into is how well the film’s look translates compared to the original. At this point, I have to accept the notion of aiming for realism when it comes to the brightness and amount of color displayed at any given time. That said, that’s not an issue that hurts this film nearly as much as some of the drearier remakes. Regardless of how much work was done on location versus soundstages, I enjoyed the depictions of the ocean and island settings. This includes the more inventive moments remade for this version, such as Tamatoa’s lair (featuring a returning Jemaine Clement) and the massive vehicle used by the little coconut pirates, the Kakamora. Most importantly, however, knowing just how difficult it is to realize water through special effects, for a film so heavily featuring the ocean, all of the visuals involving water look great throughout.
Hangups come from natural areas and actually don’t include Maui’s wig, which was less of an issue than the trailers implied. That said, not all the effects work when one of your main characters is a shape-shifter, and it’s weird that only the eagle form is modeled to look somewhat like Johnson. Additionally, while Moana is refreshingly not padded with new material to make the film feel overlong, the first section can feel like a test of one’s patience, since it is so similar to the original and lacks the spark of fun that is Maui. There’s also the same issue I have with the original film, involving a third-act development I won’t get into, but it doesn’t come off any better here and honestly feels like a cheat.
I guess one final area of discussion is regarding the film’s music, but what is there to say? Mark Mancina scored the original, and he worked on this one as well. It’s largely the same, which was quite effective the first time around and remains so here. The same can be said for the original songs by Lin-Manuel Miranda. But hey, at least you get to hear a new song in the credits, featuring both actors who portrayed the titular star.
Even with the popularity of Moana (the most watched move on Disney+ since it launched, until it was passed by… Moana 2), it’s tough to say at this time whether or not audiences have been either worn down by live-action versions of films they would never choose to watch again over the animated ones when given the choice. However, fair is fair, and the work put into making Moana work in this medium turned out to be pretty decent. Yes, the “too soon” factor, let alone the “why do it?”, will always be thoughts plaguing the movie. However, if inevitability is the easy response, at least seeing a decent film come out of this ordeal plays better than watching it crash and burn. And for Johnson and all of those involved, knowing it also means furthering the chance to share a culture; hopefully, the positives that come out of this won’t be the end of how far they’ll go.
Moana opens in theaters and IMAX on July 10, 2026.
