Disney has been releasing revolutionary animated films all the way back to 1937 and their landmark first feature-length foray, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. Numerous decades worth of animated classics on, Jon Favreau cemented a giant success in his live action remake of the famed 1967 animated film, The Jungle Book. That film took a property many loved for decades and nailed a joyous tone. After that, the studio went on a tear doing live action remakes of many of their most famed films, Beauty and the Beast, Dumbo, Aladdin, The Lion King, Mulan, Pinocchio and The Little Mermaid among them, the CGI technology having progressed far enough to make even the most elaborate setups from animation possible in a live action feature. The latest entry into this revitalized approach is the live action remake of Moana. The difference in those other features is that most had the benefit of having aged and grown in popularity over numerous decades. The animated Moana was first released almost ten years ago in 2016. It was a massive hit in its time propelled by the voice performance of Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson and its soundtrack (including numerous songs written by Lin-Manuel Miranda). The question for the potential viewer is whether it was too soon to fully remake the film only ten years on from the initial’s release?
Moana (2026) plays as a largely shot-for-shot remake of the 2016 original. If you loved the original, you will feel pleasantly at home here, as a few quips here and there aside, almost every beat, framing, bit of dialog and sequence is re-rendered in live action exactly as you remember it. The film hews quite militaristically close to the exact look and feel of the original. The 2016 Jungle Book, for example, largely followed the main beats of the original film, but some sequences were altered or fully different from the original. Some sequences were omitted. Dwayne Johnson reprises his role as Maui, the legendary shapeshifter, trickster demigod. The title role of Moana is portrayed here by Australian newcomer Catherine Laga’aia. Laga’aia is well served for this task, able to hold court in all the nuances of Moana’s screentime in the feature as well as the challenging vocal leads on songs such as “How Far I’ll Go.”
Johnson’s performance is physically a little less cartoonishly expressive than the animated rendering of the character from 2016. He emotes vocally with all the expression and character of the original but opts for more of a stoic demeanor carried by his revered charisma. He looks as massive and musclebound as ever in this role, and just standing up straight with confidence he manages to illicit laughs. In a movie filled with solid songs, you’ll have trouble getting his performance of “You’re Welcome” out of your head. Johnson is famous in films for butt-kicking action fare, so it’s nice to see him in a role that largely requires him to leverage his stellar personality.
The film’s story is its own refreshing take on folklore/culture/mythology that media has long ignored. Like the Arabian Nights or The Neverending Story, the elements that are evocative of the region’s culture even in small, hinted at ways make the experience feel more authentic and rewarding. Even though the inspirations are a small piece of the world’s shared history, the world of Moana feels like its own contained universe in terms of history, geography and potential characters. Akin to other beloved fantasy fiction, its story is one of a quest for salvation and redemption. The Disney princess archetype is present, with the lead character struggling between overbearing parents and a need for personal evolution and discovery balanced against the burdens of responsibility. Moana is a solid vehicle for this transformation and is an inherently likable hero.
Visually, the film feels appropriately more real than the original, even while keeping the baked in jokes about Maui’s tattoo being a sentient entity he communicates with. The monsters such as Te Kā, Tamatoa and the Kakamora pirates all feel like inhabitants of this world. The only problem amidst what must be a massively expensive visual effects budget is Moana’s pet rooster (and sight gag comic relief prop) Heihei. In the animated film Heihei feels about on par for a side character in an animated feature, but in this remake it feels like the only thing obviously animated and out of place amidst the colorful backdrops and vibrant ocean worlds.
The songs all work on the same level as the original. The big moments such as “Know Who You Are” and “How Far I’ll Go” Laga’aia gives powerful performances on, and those songs are no easy feat to sing. Flight of the Conchords co-lead singer Jemaine Clement shines (yes, we did that on purpose) in his reprisal of his role as Tamatoa, the treasure hording crab from Lalotai, the Realm of Monsters. Fans of Flight of the Conchords will note a bit of his David Bowie voice in the glammed out, joyful excess of “Shiny.” And much like the story as a whole, their message of environmental oneness and ancestral preservation are a satisfying experience through to the last note.
4 out of 5 Stars
The 2026 live action Moana remake may not change much from the original animated feature, but it benefits massively from the inclusion of its original star Dwayne Johnson and a stellar holistic performance from Catherine Laga’aia. If you have any affinity for the original, you’ll be happy this version exists too. If you’re unfamiliar with the source material, it will seem bombastically colorful, but it makes for an undeniably entertaining ride.
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