Moana (2026) Review – Same Song, Worse Movie

Disney’s ongoing obsession with turning its animated features into live-action adaptations hits rock-bottom with Moana. The beloved animated adventure has only been around for 10 years, making everyone question the studio’s decision to remake it so soon.

It’s not like previous remakes such as The Jungle Book and Cinderella, both of which justified their live-action adaptations by evolving traditional hand-drawn animation into visually stunning films while adding depth to the characters, expanding the storylines, and updating outdated elements.

Moana is already perfect as it is, with breathtaking 3D computer-generated animation, memorable performances from Auliʻi Cravalho and Dwayne Johnson, and culturally rich, emotionally resonant storytelling. But even if someone were to remake Moana, bringing a fresh perspective without sacrificing the heart of what made the animated film such a hit would at least justify its existence.

Too bad that isn’t the case here, as Thomas Kail, who previously directed Hamilton and television series such as 2 Broke Girls and We Were the Lucky Ones, takes the safest possible route. Rather than reimagining the story, he sticks almost beat for beat to the original, following the same narrative and character arcs from beginning to end. As I sat through the nearly two-hour press screening, occasionally squirming in my seat, I couldn’t shake the thought: what’s the point of spending time on this live-action remake when I could be rewatching the far superior 2016 animated film on Disney+?

Jared Bush, the screenwriter for the animated Moana, returns with additional input from Moana 2’s Dana Ledoux Miller, where they basically do some minor tweaking to the existing plot. The story is identical to the animated original, equivalent to a déjà vu experience. There’s the prologue about the demigod Maui (Dwayne Johnson), who steals the precious stone from the island that serves as the heart of Te Fiti, the goddess of nature.

Then comes the introduction of Moana (Catherine Laga’aia), the daughter of Motunui Island’s Chief Tui (John Tui), and we see how she becomes the chosen one to sail beyond the long-forbidden reef to locate Maui and restore the heart of Te Fiti. The voyage subsequently explores the mismatched pairing of Moana and Maui, who don’t see things eye to eye at first. They also encounter several obstacles along the way, among them is facing the cute but lethal coconut pirates known as Kakamora, and a giant coconut crab, Tamatoa (voiced by Jemaine Clement).

The signature songs are all here, including “How Far I’ll Go” – now produced by Lin-Manuel Miranda. But what was once a powerful number that perfectly complemented the animated Moana‘s expressive performance and emotional urgency a decade ago somehow left me feeling strangely disconnected this time around. A brand-new song titled “Along the Way” is added for the live-action remake, and even though it has a beautiful harmony, it’s rather disheartening to hear the number during the end credits instead of integrating it into the story itself.

Now, for the visuals. The 2016 animated film immersed me in its exotic yet fantastical seafaring world. Given how much visual effects technology has evolved over the past decade, I expected the live-action remake to build on that foundation. Instead, it falls into an uncanny valley, blending live-action with so-called photorealistic CGI in a way that feels surprisingly, even shockingly, regressive. And although the movie was shot on location in Hawaii, the overreliance on artificial studio lighting is glaringly obvious. It takes away from the experience and often pulled me out of the story. Believe it or not, clunky results like this actually cost a whopping $200-250 million to put together.

It’s not like the live-action remake lacks some redeeming factors. Newcomer Catherine Laga’aia brings a grounded yet feisty charm to her titular character. She pairs well with Dwayne Johnson, effortlessly transitioning his iconic Maui role from voice acting to live-action performance. The action-packed third act, which sees Moana and Maui join forces to overcome the towering, raging-fire demon Te Kā, has its moments. But all this isn’t enough to offset most of the shortcomings, and it’s a huge missed opportunity. With this kind of production budget at Kail’s disposal, there’s a lot more he could have done than copying and pasting.

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Watch the original Moana again instead: