Moana (2026)

Disney Reheats Another Classic, and It Shows

This review was originally published on Young Critic. Para leer en español, pulse aquí.

Disney has reached the most cynical stage of its animated-remakes phase, deciding to start producing live-action remakes of films that came out less than ten years ago. Such is the complete lack of risk-taking appetite at the giant studio that we get a live-action Moana (2026) that doesn’t dare step far from the environs of the original, or attempt to say much of anything at all, save selling you the exact same product again.

Moana once again tells the story of the curious eponymous chieftain’s daughter (Catherine Laga’aia) of the Polynesian island of Motunui, who, when her people’s crops begin to fail, goes on a quest to restore a stolen goddess’s heart alongside the perpetrator, the haughty demigod Maui (Dwayne Johnson).

This remake of Moana (2016) was greenlit as one of the first projects Bob Iger took on after returning as Disney’s CEO. This, alongside Toy Story 5 (2026) and Moana 2 (2024), showcases how the man credited with turning Disney into the new behemoth of Hollywood has succumbed to a fearful and conservative instinct to stick to stories that are easily sold to audiences. This is partly to blame for the atrophying occurring elsewhere, as studios with less muscle decide to play it safe too. Frustratingly, time and again viewers are telling studio executives that they are tired of reheated leftovers of IP and want original new stories and voices, as seen with the craze in horror around Sinners (2025), Weapons (2025), Obsession (2025), and Backrooms (2026), or even with blockbusters such as F1: The Movie (2025) or Project Hail Mary(2026). Meanwhile, the likes of Supergirl (2026), Star Wars: The Mandalorian and Grogu (2026), and even Minions & Monsters (2026) flopped at the box office. Yet, as throughout the entire history of Hollywood, the film industry is a slow-moving beast that takes time to jump on trends, often only once they have already passed.

Thus with this remake of Moana we seem to get the last dregs of the remake craze that started with Cinderella (2015) and The Jungle Book (2016), both bringing new perspectives and tones to their stories, and reached its apogee with the frame-by-frame “live-action” remake of The Lion King (2019), which grossed over $1 billion worldwide.

This remake of Moana is the narrative feature directorial debut of Thomas Kail, the famed theater director who delivered recent classics like In the Heights and the phenomenon Hamilton on Broadway, and who had also cut his teeth in TV with Fosse/Verdon (2019). With the jump to Moana, Kail has better sea legs than most, yet you sense his shortcomings when it comes to painting on the big screen. In terms of strengths, Kail is more than an expert at staging a dramatic or emotional song without it coming off as cheesy or awkward, and he is adept enough in cinematic language to add movement and fluidity to these stagings.

Yet the jump from stage to screen proves harder in terms of his direction, which appears too theatrical for most of the actors, who are too big, with overarching facial expressions ill-suited to a film. Then there’s Johnson, who brings the character he originally voiced to life in human form, but who appears to be essentially doing his own thing, recycling his lines from the original in a slightly more tired delivery.

Then there are the noticeable technical shortcomings in Kail’s direction. It is one thing to be a small-time director who is then hired onto a huge Disney film, but to have such a big, effects-heavy studio film be your debut is sure to leave some growing pains. This is most noticeable whenever there is any use of greenscreen or “outdoor lighting.” Much of this version of Moana was clearly shot in a studio, and it shows, mostly due to the lighting, which is unnatural against clearly rendered greenscreen horizons, or horribly bright for “outdoor” scenes. The first scenes on the home island in particular have incongruous lighting on the actors’ faces, which, though supposedly lit by the sun and torches, instead have the unforgiving bright white glare of a dentist’s office.

Smart enough to realize that the original film was modern and perfect enough, Kail and screenwriters Jared Bush and Dana Ledoux Miller choose not to change much. In fact, I doubt any screenwriters ever got an easier paycheck, as this feels the closest to the Lion King remake in being a nearly shot-for-shot recreation of the animated version. This helps in not angering any purist fans, but also begs the question: if you’re not going to change anything, why remake it at all? The obvious answer is money, but the result is a film that was always going to end up paling in comparison to the original. One of the main fallacies is the fact that this remake keeps many sequences that are clearly only meant to be animated. The result is fight scenes and song numbers that use literal animation instead of attempting anything different or original with their human presence. The jump to live action also robs many of these moments of the liveliness of the animation, as well as its more vibrant colors and editing. This is most noticeable with Maui. While Johnson showcased an incredible acting range recently in The Smashing Machine (2025), for the energetic and insatiable animated Maui he can only come across as wooden and slightly ridiculous in the horrendous wig he is forced to wear.

Laga’aia fills some tough shoes in the role originated by Auli’i Cravalho, not only in the charisma and verve required, but in the spectacular voice the latter brought to key musical moments. Laga’aia is more than up to the task and, while Kail misdirects her into being too big at times, so that she comes across more as if she’s in a Disney Channel show than a feature film, she always felt like the character rather than an imitation.

In the end, while this version of Moana is enjoyable in parts, it is mostly because it is simply tracing over the bones and strengths of the original. Its real contribution is diluting the classic, coming across more like a good meal you reheated the next day, one that leaves you constantly reminded of the fresh meal you enjoyed so much more, and wondering when Disney will stop reheating its best and start taking a risk to cook up something new instead.

5.7/10