Movie Review: Disney's Live-Action "Moana" is a Faithful, Forgettable Retread
When it comes to Disney’s live-action remakes of animated classics, I generally find them a nice way to revisit a familiar experience through a new lens, but they’ve always paled in comparison to the originals. Occasionally, they take a refreshingly different approach, such as Jon Favreau’s The Jungle Book, which ranks at the top of my list. On the other end of the spectrum are the ones that take no risks at all, delivering a nearly shot-for-shot remake of the original, like Favreau’s The Lion King. In the case of Moana, the creative team has taken that same approach: a remake so like its ten-year-old source material that you can’t help but question its reason for existence.
A thousand years ago, the demigod Maui (Dwayne Johnson) stole the heart of Te Feti and unleashed Te Kā, a destructive force that ruins the life of every island its vengeful tendrils reach. That’s what happens to Motunui, home of chief-in-training Moana (Catherine Lagaʻaia), who has always felt drawn to the ocean. When her Gramma Tala (Rena Owen) introduces Moana to their ancestors’ wayfinding past, the headstrong girl answers the ocean's call, boards a boat, and sets out to find Maui to get him to return Te Fiti's heart and save her island and her people.
With a screenplay by the original film’s scribe (Jared Bush) and the sequel’s writer (Dana Ledoux Miller), the live-action Moana largely mirrors the animated film’s script, punched up with new dialogue, including a bigger part for Moana’s mother, Sina (Frankie Adams), who gets to overtly state one of the film’s themes as words of inspiration to her daughter (“Sometimes who we wish we were and who we need to be don’t match up”). Dwayne Johnson gets some new quips to deliver as Maui, some of which feel improvised on set, but generally, even the jokes remain the same.
The remake’s greatest strength is in its musical numbers. Under the direction of Thomas Kail (Broadway’s Hamilton, Hulu’s Up Here), songs are staged with the theatricality of the golden age of Hollywood musicals. “Where You Are” is a showstopper thanks in large part to choreographer Tiana Nonosina Liufau and some impressive camera moves and transitions that only digital trickery can achieve. “You’re Welcome” takes a slightly different approach from the animated film, using Maui’s magic to tell his story in a way that pays homage to Aladdin’s “Friend Like Me” rather than the animated film’s flattened tapestry sequence. The biggest surprise of all is a new arrangement for “Shiny” (once again performed by Jemaine Clement), which visually dazzles with bioluminescent life in a way that’s different enough from the animated source to register as a departure.
Performances are consistently strong. Catherine Lagaʻaia shines as Moana in what is sure to be a star-making role for the relative newcomer. With the animated Maui already so influenced by Dwayne Johnson, it’s not a big stretch to buy him in this role, and he delivers the blend of likable cockiness with ease. The emotional heart of the story has always been between Moana and Gramma Tala, and Rena Owen crafts a version of the character that is uniquely hers while still honoring the character created by Rachel House and the talented Disney animators.
While unquestionably live-action, the film contains quite a bit of animation, and the results are a mixed bag. Maui’s tattoos still come to life, and they’re still done by the hand of Disney Legend Eric Goldberg. The creative team has also saved the audience from staring too much at Dwayne Johnson’s flesh, with Mini Maui occasionally appearing off-body as a projection on surfaces and constellations in the sky, which was a nice touch. The real animated heavy lifting, though, comes from Hei Hei and Pua. Disney seems to have listened to fan reactions to the realistic animal character designs in 2023’s The Little Mermaid and settled on a Frankenstein hybrid of animated animals and their real-world counterparts; unfortunately, one that produces many uncanny-valley moments.
Where the live-action Moana loses its shiny sheen is in the space between songs and big action moments. Kids at the premiere went from singing along to “How Far I’ll Go” and quoting favorite lines to becoming very restless with the slightly slower pacing and repetition of material they know by heart. If you’ve seen the animated film, the live-action remake doesn’t have much to add. It makes for a nice family afternoon at the movies, but there’s no denying that the better version will always be 2016’s animated masterpiece. As far as ranking the live-action remakes, I would place Moana slightly above The Lion King, which isn’t saying much.
I give Moana live-action 3 out of 5 stars.