Moana (2026): A Little Better Than I Expected

No matter how tired I grow of Disney's never-ending supply of live-action remakes, a part of me knows that there is a group of people waiting in the wings to give them an irritatingly poor review, no matter how good or bad they actually end up being. I, for one, do not subscribe to the extremes of our culture war, and maybe that's why I'm happy that there are a number of good things to say about the live-action version of Moana, though I can't help but wonder how desperate Disney must be if they're remaking a movie only ten years after the original came out. If you're looking for a strong opinion one way or the other, the type headlined by an image with a fireball on it and a caption in all caps about how it's WORTHLESS WOKE GARBAGE FROM MODERN HOLLYWOOD, you've come to the wrong place, because while this movie will probably be forgotten by next month, I wanted to appraise it fairly by giving you both the good and the bad of what ended up being one of the more unambitious movies I've seen in recent years, though far from a total disaster. This movie is fun and colorful, and though much of that is because of what the original did first, there's also a keen self-awareness to this remake. It knows that it's a remake and decides to have fun with that.

As a critic, it's sometimes hard to know what to make of all these remakes. They're a far cry from creative, but does one lambast them for their lack of creativity or engage with them on their own terms? Also, do I really need to recap the plot for you or tell you what it's about? You've come to the edge of the water yourself before. I, for one, still remember being awestruck by the colors of Moana's world at my dad's office while first watching the original movie in the middle of the night. This version exists only to emulate and capture the feelings of its animated counterpart, and it has no soul outside of the one already in the chest of the movie it's based upon. Watching it feels like listening to a cover of an existing song that's too close to the original, though I'll admit it's a bit difficult to critique it in a way that feels fair, especially since there was a viewer demographic out there waiting to pounce on this movie for no reason other than that it exists at all.

In that dark theater, I was surrounded by parents bringing their little kids, which was a decided change of pace for someone who usually goes to see the latest A24 picture. If that's any indication of Moana's audience, perhaps I should consider that these people aren't necessarily going to be looking for cinematic Shakespeare. A lot of what works about it is stuff that already worked in the original, and while Catherine Laga'aia's acting isn't nearly as good as her vocals, this movie is far more colorful and fun to look at than your average Disney remake. Once again, the ocean is beautiful, and the colors of both its neon-blue waves and the green ground remain vibrantly rich, even if they could have stood a bump to make the already-fun color palette pop even more. The editing is also smart and thoughtful, jumping through Moana's growth from a baby into a young woman, though it's once again an emulation of the animated original. Speaking of originals and remakes, one of the best things about this movie is the self-aware nods to the original animated movie, a lot of new and amusing lines poking fun at some of the things that don't work as well as Disney had obviously hoped they would in the months leading up to November 2016. Moana sometimes understands that a remake should be more than a one-to-one retread of the original.

There's a lot of CGI in this movie, used mostly to envision the lush, Pacific island world of Motunui and the vastness of the ocean surrounding it, and I sometimes wondered why they had bothered making a live-action version of Moana if it's so often anything but that. This is less a live-action Moana, more Moana in Unreal Engine 5. Many of the images you'll see are ripped directly from the original, and because so many of these images are heavily injected with computer graphics, are we really watching a live-action movie at all? Yes and no. I will say, Pua the pig and Hei Hei the chicken are very convincing, even if they are a bit more colorful than everything around them in a way that can get distracting.

Nearly every frame bursts with that color, and though it's interesting seeing how all the shots are both similar to and different from their counterparts in the animated film, the best thing about the live-action remake of Moana is easily Dwayne Johnson's performance as Maui. If you recall, he also voiced the character in the animated version, and he's obviously having fun coming back to play the demigod of the wind and sea again, though he's almost the exact same character as in the original. For as much as he was mocked online in the comments section of this movie's trailer, his performance doesn't feel like an obligation or a paycheck. When he smiles while teasing Moana, brags about himself, or dances, you can just tell it's from the heart.

Again, I am getting tired of Disney's trend of remaking all of their old movies, even if Dwayne Johnson's charm can drag out what's becoming a long goodbye. They're running out of ideas, and that's why the trailer for their upcoming Gatto excited me a little bit. I do hope the era of live-action remakes is coming to an end, though this wouldn't necessarily be a dishonorable exit if it were. While there's very little to no creativity to be found here, and while I would temper my expectations if I were you, this isn't a bad movie. It just isn't as offensive as I expected it to be.

I had mixed feelings about Moana, and if you're going into it without an agenda, I imagine you'll feel the same. If you decide to miss it, it won't be a tragedy either, because it relies on your good memories of the animated original to win a lot of points, and you'd essentially be doing the exact same thing as if you went to watch it, minus the theater surround sound. It's just not bad enough to resent. Is it worth a ticket? If you have daughters, I'd say yes. This is a movie for kids who haven't yet been cursed with a culture-war opinion, which is as it should be.

Moana (2026) - 6/10

Proverbs 29:1