Moana

Grade: C-

There are two reasons why I’m grateful that Moana (2026) exists. It washes the taste of Moana 2 out of my mouth, and we get to see Dwayne Johnson reprise his role as Maui. I disagree with some fellow critics’ observation that it’s too soon for a live-action remake, as Moana only came out 10 years ago, and the primary voice cast is still alive and well. That, I believe, is one of the few aspects working in its favor. I appreciated the opportunity to see Dwayne Johnson (not just hear him) in this role that he originated. I suppose it’s a Catch-22. Put the movie out now, and people will say, “It’s too soon. Everyone’s still alive. They should have waited a while.” Release it much later down the road, and the inevitable comparisons will come up, which won’t be in the new cast’s favor. “He’s no Dwayne Johnson.”

This is not only my least favorite Disney live-action remake, but the only one I’ve seen that I actively disliked. I enjoyed Lilo & Stitch (2025), The Little Mermaid (2023), Aladdin (2019), and Beauty and the Beast (2017) just fine. The Lion King (2019) remains my favorite. There, they told the same story, but found enough freshness to make it feel like a new ride. That was a justified remake.

Moana (2016) wasn’t perfect, but I found it charming. There’s not a thing that the current film does that isn’t done better in the original. The emotional moments never land with the same sincerity. The famous Annie Oakley/Frank Butler duet comes to mind, and is applicable here. It’s inherited the same issues I had with the movie from 10 years ago. The songs aren’t evenly distributed; they are mainly front-loaded into the first half. I think “How Far I’ll Go” and “You’re Welcome” are excellent songs, but once the latter number is over, there’s still more than an hour to go. This time, once “You’re Welcome” had ended, I knew that was as good as it was going to get.

I should put “live-action” in quotes, because it depends heavily on digital help. Many sequences look almost as animated as the original movie, and nothing is done better than it was 10 years ago. When it doesn’t look like a set or a soundstage, many of the digitally created environments appear strangely dim and washed out.

Another fellow critic remark that I saw mentioned Moana 2 getting the same treatment one day seeming inevitable. I sincerely hope they leave it alone. One of those was enough. That film was quite obviously a rush job. It was a grab bag of unused episodes from a planned Disney+ miniseries, hastily and disjointedly stitched together into a feature. Now, if they wanted to be funny, they could announce a Moana 2 remake on April Fool’s Day. Can you imagine? “You loved it so much, we’re giving it to you again!” As for Moana (2026), I was left disappointed, bored, and apathetic. 10 years ago, seeing the same material, I was anything but.

Grade: C-