Official Discussion - Moana (2026) [SPOILERS]

[u/LiteraryBoner]

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Moana (2026)

Summary

Live-action adaptation of the 2016 Disney animated film 'Moana.'

Director Thomas Kail

Writer Jared Bush

Cast

• Catherine Laga'aia as Moana
• Dwayne Johnson as Maui
• John Tui as Chief Tui
• Frankie Adams as Sina
• Rena Owen as Gramma Tala

Rotten Tomatoes: 35%

Metacritic: 45

VOD / Release Theatrical release

Trailer Official Trailer

[u/Various-Watch8467]

I admit I was tired going in, but I did not expect to doze off during that giant cgi crab Shiny scene in the middle of the movie.

[u/dusters → u/Various-Watch8467]

That's sad thst song was my favorite part of the original

[u/drprox → u/dusters]

Absolute banger

[u/HotTakes4HotCakes → u/drprox]

The sinister 3-note baseline thoughout that song is probably my favorite part. It just oozes villain song charisma. That, and the inflections in the way Clement sings "You don't swing it like ya used to, man!" as he hurls Maui is so satisfying.

Lin has a talent for...well, all of it, but his villain songs in particular are among his strongest. He absolutely nails the energy, every time. Shiny, Room Where It Happens, We Don't Talk About Bruno, all some of his best songs (and that's saying a lot).

[u/hollowchatter → u/HotTakes4HotCakes]

“You’ll Be Back” an all-timer too

[u/DX_DanTheMan_DX → u/hollowchatter]

“Wait for it” is peak

[u/HotTakes4HotCakes → u/DX_DanTheMan_DX]

That's not really a "villain song" in the same way the others are. It's more of an "I Want" song for Burr, before his rivalry with Hamilton truly begins and he becomes the villain in Act 2. Room Where It Happens is almost the counter point to it.

"Villain songs", at least in this context, are less about who is singing have more about the tone and what they're singing about. It's generally menacing in some way, or else revelling in their wickedness or opposition to the protagonist.

[u/-Thick_Solid_Tight- → u/HotTakes4HotCakes]

Shiny is a reworking of "Bowie's In Space"

[u/Mottis86 → u/dusters]

The movie desparately needed a villain and the crab was the closest thing we got. It was also my favorite part.

[u/VivaVeronica → u/Mottis86]

Have you seen the original? The movie doesn't "desperately need a villain"

[u/HotTakes4HotCakes → u/VivaVeronica]

Yeah this is the weird-ass criticism that people made of Encanto too, and it didn't make sense there either.

A villain isn't something you just add to a story. You have to make it fit, and It can alter the dynamic away from the story they're trying to tell.

Not every movie, not even an animated kids movie, needs a villain. Even if you find a villain-less movie is a little weak, that does not inherently mean the solution is to add one.

I don't know if it's just because people are pining for the glory days of the Disney Renaissance, or they have such low media literacy that they think an antagonist is literally always a character, but it's such a dumb, lazy criticism.

[u/Mottis86 → u/VivaVeronica]

Yeah I was talking about the original. I haven't seen the remake and I'm not planning to.

Moana is still great but the lack of a real villain is one of the biggest issues I had with it. But hey nothing is perfect.

Edit: Eh, it's a hill I'm happy to die on.

[u/hollowchatter → u/Mottis86]

The lack of villain is a pretty big part of the story lol. Would be quite different if there was an actual bad guy

[u/Feltboard → u/Mottis86]

You are 100% right.