Moana (2026) review: Lesser than the animation in every way
Disney has been remaking its animations for decades (1996’s 101 Dalmatians is the blueprint!) but the studio really picked up the pace after 2015’s Cinderella, giving us at least one live-action remake a year in the past 11 years. The copy-and-paste remakes that don’t do anything different have always felt like pointless exercises, but this is more pronounced with Moana because the animated original is only 10 years old.
Helmed by Hamilton director Thomas Kail in his film directorial debut, this remake stars Catherine Laga’aia as the titular Moana, the daughter of a chief who breaks the rules and ventures beyond the reef on her own to find the demigod Maui (Dwayne Johnson, reprising his voice from the original). She demands that he restore “the heart” – a mystical relic – to the Earth goddess Te Fiti and save her island of Motunui.
A vast portion of this film is still animated by virtue of the story – Maui can shapeshift into different forms, his tattoos move, there are coconut pirates, a lava demon and a large coconut crab with a penchant for shiny things (a sequence I loathe in both movies). Animation lends itself to these grand, fantastical sequences and they lose a certain magic or sense of wonder in their live-action form.
The original Moana voice actor, Auli’i Cravalho, opted not to return for the remake, and the part was recast with Laga’aia, an Australian newcomer with Samoan heritage. She is a good actress and singer, but you can’t help but compare her to her predecessor, who absolutely nailed it the first time. The shadow of Cravalho looms large over Laga’aia – mostly because she can’t really make the character her own – but she is likeable and does a good job.
Meanwhile, the original Maui voice actor, Johnson, reprises the role in the live-action version 10 years later, donning a brunette wig and a 40-pound bodysuit to achieve the demigod’s look. Johnson looks a bit too old for the character and it’s hard to take him seriously with that dodgy ’80s wig, however, he seems to be having a blast with it and it’s very entertaining watching him play Maui and do You’re Welcome for real. I just wish the visuals for his signature number were more exciting.
I wonder if the creative team on this remake felt stifled, being unable to do anything original here. This is a beat-for-beat remake with only a few tweaks and new jokes, and the first film’s issues (such as pacing) are more glaringly obvious. However, the scenes on Motunui are vibrant and wonderful, How Far I’ll Go still moved me, and Rena Owen, John Tui and Frankie Adams are solid as Moana’s family.
This isn’t a patch on the original, but I don’t think anyone truly expected it to be. Have any of the remakes ever been necessary or better than what came before? This is harmless and enjoyable enough, but I will always watch the animation over this.
In cinemas from Friday 10th July