by Dan Skip Allen

Disney has come into a lot of flack for some of their live-action remakes of their classic films in the past. Most people wish they would leave these classics alone and make other original movies instead. With that being said their newest live-action remake is “Moana”, which is the fastest turnaround they’ve done on an animated film getting made into a live-action movie. The remake of “Moana” is directed by Thomas Kail and stars Catherine Laga ‘aia as the title character. Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson reprises his role of Maui the demi-god from the animated version where he voiced this character to perfection. Also returning is Jermaine Clement as the giant crustacean Tamatowa with a liking for shiny things. The live-action version is beat for beat with the animated version. I’d say if you love the animated “Moana” like I did then you’ll most likely like this one, but if you’re sick of Disney live-action remakes then you’ll find a reason not to like this one.

Moana (Catherina Laga’aia) is an adventurous young girl. She lives on an island called Motunui in the south pacific. At first glance she seems like a happy young girl, but she’s yearning for more. When a mysterious blight starts to overtake her island she is tasked by her grandmother Gramma Tala (Rena Owen) to find the legendary demi-god Maui (Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson) and give him the Heart o Te Fiti and return it to the Island of Te Fiti to life restore harmony to the world. Along the way they diligently go looking for the hook of Maui so he can get his powers back and help the young princess, but she doesn’t like to be called that, restore her island to the way it was.

The animated version of “Moana” was directed by Don Hall, Ron Clement, and John Musker. It had songs by Lin Manuel Miranda with a score by Mark Mancina and he also helped with the songs. This was a very memorable Disney animated movie. It also nominated for two Oscars for Best Original Song, “How Far I’ll Go” and Best Animated Feature at the 2017 Academy Awards. The new film has a lot to live up to considering how popular that previous animated film was. I honestly was singing “Your Welcome” , another song from the movies for weeks afterwards. That’s how much I personally enjoyed the previous film. Also considering the fast turnaround on this remake it’s hard for most people to forget that animated film because it’s so fresh in their minds. I would suggest watching the new movie without seeing the previous film beforehand so as to give off a newer vibe. That is what I did and I had a better experience than I thought I would have.

The new movie has two particular things I liked and those were the songs, specifically “Your Welcome”, once again performed to perfection by Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, “Shiny” performed brilliantly by Jermaine Clement and “How Far I’ll Go” performed by Catherine Laga ‘aia. She made this song and others in the movie her own. These are catchy songs and so even though they are in the remake they still are quite enjoyable to listen to. I got goosebumps once again in these sequences during the film. That’s how much they genuinely affected me once again. Catchy music is a key to almost every Disney movie whether it be a remake or an original animated film. And these songs have left an indelible mark on me and I’m sure many others. They can’t be denied.

The other thing that I liked quite a bit about the movie was the cinematography by Oscar Faura. He was able to capture the beauty of Hawaii, Australia, and New Zealand and other various locations and bring them to life. The ocean scenes, as well as all of the island scenes looked immaculate. I was completely blown away by how gorgeous this film looked from the very first scene to the last. The animation version was astounding to look at. It showed Disney Animation another level to their game, but this movie brought all of that beauty to life in an astounding way. The blue green ocean and the red orange sunsets along with the lush greenery on the island all looked perfect. I love it when a cinematographer can bring a film to life like he did with this one. 

One of the best parts of the animated movie was the funny banter and back and forth between Moana and Maui along with the funny chicken and Maui’s tattoos. This one didn’t quite capture the level of hilarity I had with the original film, but I laughed at a lot of the same jokes and banter this time around as well. Johnson just has a way of making me laugh and so did Clement for that matter. They all had a nice chemistry with one another. The chicken was also goofy and added that Disney flavor of a cute animal character. The pig wasn’t as prominent in this version though. The combination of the songs and the laughs kept me entertained throughout this new version of the story.

There are going to be detractors of “Moana (2026) just like there are for previous Disney live-action remakes and that won’t change. I just say go watch this new version with a new outlook. It’s a different film even though there are a lot of similar things from the previous movie in it. Go in with an open mind and you’ll find things to enjoy about it like I did. For instance the star Catherin Laga‘aia was terrific. She held her own opposite Johnson who is a massive star in Hollywood. I would also say don’t think or look too closely at his muscles and or hair and they won’t bother you. After about a second I didn’t even think about those things unless his tattoos were moving. I was honestly worried they were going to bother me but they didn’t. There are plenty of things to like about this live-action version of this film. You just have to open your minds and look for them. Hopefully you’ll come out of the experience like I did with a pleasant outlook on what you’ve just watched.

🌟 🌟 🌟 ½ stars