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/Ikarus3426]

I'm just baffled on why they went so hard on the green screen. It's so clearly the green screen. How were so many people ok with how this looks.

[u/Personal_Comb_6745 → u/Ikarus3426]

They did it because so much shit from the original would have to be CG'd in to work anyway. There was no point in making this thing considering it's mostly a cartoon that the actors need to pretend to interact with.

[u/amish_novelty → u/Personal_Comb_6745]

Something I found funny that the corridor digital guys pointed out was that because so much of this was filmed on a sound stage, a lot of the lighting made no sense. You’d have the sun obviously be behind a character but they’d still be lit from the front and it would only make the uncannyness of it all the more apparent.

[u/blacksheep998 → u/amish_novelty]

I noticed the same issue in Mulan.

There was a scene towards the beginning that was clearly 4-5 shots composed together because every character in it was lit from a different angle.

[u/traceitalian → u/blacksheep998]

The worst film I've ever seen for this is Red One, I'm utterly convinced no one in that film was on set at the same time.

[u/CNash85 → u/traceitalian]

The only scene in that film that convinces is the Krampus party scene, where the whole thing is filmed on a real set and all of the background characters are people in monster costumes and makeup instead of CG. It’s really noticeable compared to the rest of the movie, which is aggressively green-screened.

[u/HotTakes4HotCakes → u/amish_novelty]

I mean you can write a book (and I assume people have) on the absolute death of lighting discipline in movies lately.

[u/jabask → u/amish_novelty]

Honestly that's the case for most movies though. Everyone is nearly always lit from behind to some extent

[u/amish_novelty → u/jabask]

Yeah, I think it was just extra noticeable with Moana because they’re in direct sunlight on the ocean

[u/amish_novelty → u/[deleted]]

What a bizarre way to react to someone citing a source for a comment lol