‘Moana’ Review: There’s No Telling How Far Disney’s Shameless Remakes Will Go [C-]
When Steven Spielberg’s remake of West Side Story was announced, there was immediate skepticism. The 1961 original is one of the most renowned movie musicals of all time, why mess with near-perfection? But when critics saw Spielberg’s version in 2021, it became clear why the master director wanted to try his hand at the tale of the Jets and Sharks. He and screenwriter Tony Kushner reinterpreted the original stage show for a new era, using their unique and abundant talents to bring the story into the 21st century. When Disney announced that their 2016 animated hit Moana would be remade as a live action film and released just under a decade after the original, there was a similar feeling of apprehension about this decision, tinged with a level of cynicism. Disney would have to work hard to prove that there’s any reason to remake their own property so soon after the original’s release, and the casting of Dwayne Johnson in the role of Maui – which he voiced in the animated version – only seemed to indicate the low level of artistic inspiration behind the new film. Now that the film has been seen, is there some explanation for why it exists that they’ve hidden from the marketing? Perhaps a new angle on the story, or new characters? Or even a new song to add some energy to the animated film’s lackluster second act? Nope. The remake of Moana is just a shameless attempt to make the accountants at Disney happy by using nostalgia to get audiences to buy tickets. There’s only one problem with that ploy: there hasn’t even been enough time for the original, as excellent as it is, to calcify into a widely-recognized source of cultural longing for yesterday. If a five year old loved Moana when it was first released in 2016, they’ll still need a parent to drive them to see the artistically vacuous and less enthusiastically executed 2026 remake.
In fact, if this hypothetical kid went through a phase of watching the original on Disney+ on a loop, they’ll easily recognize not just the one-to-one story beats translated from animation to live action, but specific shots that have been recreated almost exactly. Disney clearly didn’t even trust the impressive theatrical credits of its director Thomas Kail (most well-known for his Tony-winning work as the director of Hamilton) to stage much of the musical numbers to his own sensibilities. The songs performed in the film’s first chapter on the island where Moana (played by newcomer Catherine Laga’aia) and her family live (“Where You Are,” “How Far I’ll Go,” and “We Know the Way”) all heavily borrow blocking, visual gags, and camera angles from the animated original. The same goes for the villain song “Shiny” (sung by Jemaine Clement, also reprising his performance from the animated film), Moana’s song of self-actualization “I Am Moana,” and the climactic “Know Who You Are.” Only with “You’re Welcome”–performed by star and producer Dwayne Johnson (p.g.a.)–does the film dare to make a visual choice of its own, taking the colorful animations from the original and amplifying them significantly.
It was true in 2016 and it’s true in 2026: the songs are all bangers. Composer Lin-Manuel Miranda turned in the best songs written for a Disney movie this side of Alan Menken. There’s just something about the warm, yearning chord structure of a Miranda tune that instantly evokes an emotional reaction. And his lyrics are a trademark blend of clever word choice and perfectly expressed inner feelings externalized. As such, there are moments where the musical sequences almost elevate the remake. But they fail to stand on their own as well-done reinterpretations; because they are practically mirror versions of the original, the only reaction I had was a strong desire to rewatch the animated film as soon as I got home. Miranda also wrote one new song that plays over the end credits called “Along the Way,” but the first draft-esque lyrics (“Find your strength, find that voice inside, remind yourself then find yourself along the way”) and unmemorable melody make the song feel like homework done the morning it’s due.
Catherine Laga’aia sings the songs well, although it feels as if she was instructed to not deviate too far from Auliʻi Cravalho’s vocal choices from the original movie. When Moana is stuck on her island at the beginning of the film, it’s easy to root for Laga’aia. In this version, it takes quite a while for Moana to depart from her family in her quest to restore the heart of the goddess of nature Te Fiti, thus ending the blight that threatens the crops on her island. But where Laga’aia really excels is in her chemistry with Johnson’s Maui, once she finally meets the shunned demigod and demands his assistance in her adventure. Laga’aia easily stands up to the Hollywood veteran, bringing a charming determination to Moana’s retorts and mockery of the braggadocious Maui.
Unfortunately, her co-star doesn’t reciprocate her efforts. Dwayne Johnson simply seems tired, which is at odds with the energy of his character as indicated by how he’s described by both others in the story and himself. It’s an extremely disengaged performance hovering unglamorously under a truly chop-worthy wig. The stilted quality of his line readings coupled with his unmagical, deglammed look makes him feel less like a movie star returning to a career high point and more like your neighborhood’s weirdly buff dad dressing as Maui for Halloween.
Speaking of deglammed…it should come as no surprise to anyone who’s kept up with Disney’s unheralded live action remake trend that Moana is far from visually compelling. Credit where credit is due: it’s at least more colorful than what we’ve come to expect from Disney, with the lush greenery of the islands and evocative ocean sunsets keeping the film from looking like wet cement, as these films so often do (just look at last year’s Lilo and Stitch which, despite being shot on location in Hawaii, was so unappealing to look at that it might as well have been a PSA to keep tourists away from the islands). Still, the conspicuous CGI is abundant, both in bringing Moana’s animal sidekicks unconvincingly to life and in rendering locations (the amount of fake-looking palm trees is shocking). And Kail’s camera is simply uninspired. When he’s not aping shots from the original, Kail traps his two human leads in endless bland medium shots. Too often, the frame feels like a prison cell for Laga’aia and Johnson, forcing them to keep their movements to a constricted minimum.
A remake is a chance for a filmmaker to explore beyond the confines of the previous film, expanding the scope of the story and finding different angles to the tale it tells. But with the new Moana, it feels as if Disney has issued a similar decree to its director Thomas Kail as Moana’s parents give to her. He is not to stray too far from what’s familiar, making no choices that deviate beyond those made by the directors of the animated film back in 2016 (or for Moana, the decisions of her ancestors). To mangle the lyrics to that film’s Oscar-nominated “I want” song, we are able to tell how far this new film will go, and the answer is “not very.”
Grade: C–
Walt Disney Pictures will release Moana only in theaters on July 10.
He currently resides in Chicago and is a proud member of the Chicago Film Critics Association and GALECA: The Society of LGBTQ Entertainment Critics. He also writes and podcasts for Next Best Picture and co-hosts his own podcast “Halloweeners: A Horror Movie Podcast.” You can follow him on Twitter, Letterboxd, and Bluesky @codymonster91
- ‘Moana’ Review: There’s No Telling How Far Disney’s Shameless Remakes Will Go [C-] - July 8, 2026
- ‘Couture’ Review: Angelina Jolie is Coming Apart at the Seams in Alice Winocour’s Underwhelming Fashion House Drama [B-] - June 24, 2026
- ‘Disclosure Day’ Review: What Spielberg Wants to Know Is, Can We Get a Little Closer? [A-] - June 9, 2026
Palm Springs International Film Society (PSIFS) Announces Two Awards in Honor of Former Festival Chairman and Philantropist Harold Matzner 
Danny Boyle’s ‘Ink’ to Open 83rd Venice Film Festival 
Director Watch Ep. 163: ‘Oppenheimer’ (Christopher Nolan, 2023) 
2026 Toronto International Film Festival: New Films Starring Cate Blanchett, Mahershala Ali, Margaret Qualley, Naomi Watts Announced for TIFF51