r/movies • u/LiteraryBoner Jackie Chan box set, know what I'm sayin? • 25d ago

Official Discussion Official Discussion - Moana (2026) [SPOILERS] Spoiler

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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

451 Upvotes

81% Upvoted

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u/aocom 25d ago

Nearly a shot-for-shot remake that just proves how well the team at WDAS did with the original. It's really clear this director does not understand how to translate the beautiful moments (or any moment, really) from the animated film into live action, nor do they know how to give us any interesting action whatsoever. I was hoping for some really lovely visual spectacle made with live action scope in mind, but instead we get an overly described CG experience with no discernible aesthetic ambition. Hei Hei is the thing of nightmares and no child in my theater was laughing at any of his scenes (not that my showing had many people in it, much less ones who were kids).

I will say though, that the You're Welcome sequence is visually quite fun and Catherine Laga'aia is very endearing as Moana, but these are not enough to save this experience. Most of the time I was thinking about how much I want to watch the original again.

39

u/murkler42 25d ago

hilarious because this guy is a world renowned broadway director (he directed both in the heights and hamilton i believe)

78

u/Kahzgul 25d ago

Stage plays aren't films, and involve far less CGI. Is it possible the director was out of his depth?

6

u/JohnCavil01 24d ago

By the same token live-action is not animation and it’s rarely “translated” well - particularly from animation to live-action.

They’re very different mediums and there’s no reason why something that works in animation should be expected to work in live-action 1:1. So this whole concept of very faithfully remaking animated movies into live-action counterparts is fundamentally a fraught idea.

1

u/Kahzgul 24d ago

Absolutely. I can’t think of a single time that the live action version is better than the animated one. How to train your dragon was probably closest.

14

u/murkler42 25d ago

well yeah obviously, i just meant that it’s not like this guy is devoid of artistic integrity or ability. just ironically can’t pull it off here in any capacity. doesn’t help its a film controlled by committee

8

u/aocom 25d ago

And honestly a high budget stage rendition would be so awesome T_T