‘Moana’ Review: Live-Action Remake Runs Aground

Disney’s remake of Moana, a film a mere 10 years old, dares to question what “live-action” even means. Thomas Kail’s 2026 edition is neither alive nor particularly propulsive in any discernible way, with the vast majority of scenes filmed against garish and poorly done backdrops or else with, ironically, animation that is barely distinguishable from AI. Of course, any live-action remake from Disney’s canon does beggar the question of “why,” and it’s frustrating that it cannot be answered with anything less than abject cynicism. “Because it brings in money,” is an answer as obvious as it is depressing.

But there’s something especially craven about this one. Perhaps it’s because its source material is as young as it is (with its sequel a mere 2 years old). Or, perhaps it’s because Ron Clements and John Musker’s original is a film about personal growth and self-realization wrapped up in a warning about ecological disaster. It’s very hard to feel anything but moroseness after seeing the 2026 Moana, whose very existence dismantles its inspiration. “Just be yourself” is a hollow message when it comes from the mouth of uncanny valley cosplay.

At least we can’t blame Catherine Laga’aia, whose turn as the titular character is the film’s sole source of actual life. She’s a charismatic actor, and her passion is vibrant enough to break through an otherwise somnambulant 115 minutes. We might be able to blame Dwayne Johnson, whose redux of the demigod Maui is oddly catatonic, as if he left his usual considerable charm behind in the voice booth. Disney may have abandoned the idea to deepfake Johnson’s body, but his real-life presence is lifeless nonetheless.

The plot here is the same as the original. Actually, there’s very little here that seems different from 2016. Much of the film is shot-for-shot, line of dialogue-by-line of dialogue a veritable clone. Again the question — why? Why make this movie? The question may be obvious for Disney stakeholders but it will still linger in the minds of those who subject themselves to it, not least because whatever flavor still exists in this reheated dinner is there seemingly by dint of retaining Jared Bush, who returns to adapt his own movie, and who has barely changed a thing.

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Moana (Laga’aia) is still the precocious, water-loving daughter of the overprotective Chief Tui (John Tui) on the fictional Polynesian island of Motunui. She feels called to the sea despite her parents’ repeated warnings against venturing out beyond the reef, a warning she is wary of and which her wily grandmother, Tala (Rena Owen), seems to encourage her to ignore.

Crops start to fail and fish become scarce. The ecology of this small island is dying, and Moana, as the apprentice caretaker of the island, proposes going beyond the reef to find more food. When she meets resistance from the usual sources, Gramma Tala privately tells her the truth: their people used to be seafarers, and only stopped once Maui stole the heart of the earth goddess Te Fiti. Only returning the relic will restore ecological health to Motunui.

So, Moana sets out. Her tiny, brainless pet rooster Heihei is her only companion on this journey, until she finds Maui, a pompous man who whiles away the days on a deserted island, waiting for an opportunity to escape and find his magical fish hook.

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Johnson’s rendition of “You’re Welcome,” the self-congratulatory ballad, is one of the film’s many low points. Cheaply rendered animated tattoos and dancing sand creatures are hardly more visually catching than Disney’s made-for-TV films of the 1990s. Johnson sounds like he’s overcoming the flu. His obvious wig — made even more obvious since the actor is quite famously bald — still has more vivacity than the film’s tepid choreography.

Nonetheless, the two set out on a journey to find Maui’s fishhook and return the heart to Te Fiti. Along the way there are mild lessons about accepting who you are and finding yourself amongst the stars, all shot in colorless close-ups against purple and neon green lights. Whatever the film once wanted to say about the difficulty of carving your own path when you come from a family of rich tradition and richer fear of the unknown is lost at sea. Frankly, it’s hard to see much beyond Kail’s abysmally staid direction.

The earnestness of this story just doesn’t work as well when everything is done in such blatantly artificial ways and for obvious pursuit of profit. There is nothing here that is any more inventive than when Instagram creators use AI to imagine what Family Guy characters looked like if they were “real.” And it says something really damaging about the movie’s distinct lack of artistry that it is genuinely hard to tell what, if anything here, isn’t AI.

Maybe that’s not necessarily Disney’s fault when the player-piano technology is becoming more pervasive, which in turn makes watching something this dreadful difficult to do without suspicion, but then again, the company has been friendlier than most about embracing it. It should go without saying, but the best way to beat back any accusations of craven money-grabbing would be to actually make something new. Take a page out of Moana’s book, in other words, and chart a new path.

Title: Moana
Distributor: Disney
Release date: July 10, 2026
Director: Thomas Kail
Screenwriters: Jared Bush & Dana Ledoux Miller
Cast: Catherine Lagaʻaia, Dwayne Johnson, Rena Owen, John Tui, Jemaine Clement, Frankie Adams
Rating: PG
Running time: 1 hr 55 mins