Moana (2026)
The original animated film of “Moana” was a film my wife and I watched on our first anniversary in 2016- why, less than a decade later, has it gotten the live action remake treatment? The first is obviously money- ultimately, these “remakes” have had more hits than misses, and “Moana” is easily one of the most popular of recent Disney animated features. Plus, they can plausibly still cast Dwayne Johnson as the live-action Maui, whom he voiced in the animated films. Is there any other reason needed?
In the screenplay by Jared Bush (who was one of the original writers on the 2016 film) and Dana Ledoux Miller, “Moana” 2026 hews fairly close to the animated film in how the narrative plays out. As the film played out, I felt like this was a good thing, because it just illustrated how strong the original film was to begin with. We still get the backstory of how Maui took the Heart of Te Fiti 1000 years ago, bringing forth a lava demon and his fishhook and the Heart were lost at sea (though I think this was the first time it really reminded me of the prologue of “The Fellowship of the Ring”). Now, Moana (Catherine Laga’aia) is getting ready to take over as Chief from her father, but the food resources on their island are dying. The Heart needs to be returned to Te Fiti with Maui’s help. To do that, she must go beyond the reef.
It’d be fair for you to ask, “If this film is basically just the same as the original animated film, why do I need to watch it?” And let’s be honest- more than a lot of the other live-action remakes Disney has done, this IS basically a true remake of the animated film. There aren’t a lot of changes to the story, like we saw in last year’s “Lilo & Stitch.” So why should audiences watch it? Honestly, there isn’t really a compelling answer to that. But I can honestly recommend the film, directed by Thomas Kail (who directed “In the Heights” and “Hamilton” on stage, as well as the 2020 filmed version of the latter), all the same.
As Moana and Maui, Laga’aia and Johnson, respectively, give it their all, and no, Johnson’s wig isn’t nearly as distracting throughout the film as the trailers prepared us for. Kail does a decent job with the musical sequences, especially “You’re Welcome” and “Shiny,” which gives us back Jemaine Clement as Tamatoa, delightfully silly and menacing as always. The songbook by Lin-Manuel Miranda and Opetaia Foa’i, as well as the score by Mark Mancina, remains one of the best since Disney’s ’90s run, and the emotional beats still hit strong. And rather than trying to make Moana’s pet pig, Pua, and rooster, Heihei, realistic animals, they do keep them fairly caricatured like they were in the animated films; yes, it goes against the ethos of previous live-action adaptations, but I think it works to keep this film’s fantasy elements front-and-center, and side-steps the issues some filmmakers had previously with going photorealistic with the animals. (The same with how the film does the Kakamora coconut pirates; I forgot how much that sequence reminded me of “Mad Max: Fury Road.”)
While I think “Moana” 2026 is a good translation of the narrative to live-action, I doubt I’ll watch it over the animated film, which is still more vibrant looking and alive with emotion and action. But, if you’re curious to see this, you’ll find things to enjoy about it.
