Leaving her island for the first time, young Moana embarks on an epic seafaring adventure to restore prosperity to her people.
Director: Thomas Kail
Cast: Dwayne Johnson, Catherine Laga'aia, Frankie Adams, John Tui, Rena Owen
Rotten Tomatoes: 33%
Metacritic: 44 / 100
Some Reviews (updating):
The Hollywood Reporter - David Rooney
There’s been some online indignation — when isn’t there? — about it being too soon to remake a widely adored film from 2016. In principle, I would agree, but the new Moana is a captivating family entertainment that deserves to find an audience — brimming with visual interest, vibrant color, gorgeous design elements (the fine detailing in Liz McGregor’s costumes is exquisite) and alluring tropical settings. Principal location shooting was done on O’ahu, Hawaii’s third-largest island. The joyfully moving final act almost makes it feel almost like a vacation there.
Moviefone - Kylie Mar - 85 / 100
Live-action remakes will always invite comparisons to the films that inspired them, and 'Moana' is no exception. While this version never completely steps out of the animated classic's shadow, it doesn't have to in order to succeed. Visually, the film is gorgeous. The "Ocean" remains one of Disney's greatest cinematic creations, and seeing it realized in live action makes many of the film's biggest moments feel appropriately epic without losing their emotional intimacy.
RogerEbert - Nell Minow - 3 / 4
It may not deliver anything new, but Maui and Moana are two of Disney’s most appealing characters; this version retells their story with sincerity, humor, and songs that remain among the all-time bangers.
Consequence - Liz Shannon Miller - 'B-'
Maui’s nipples aside, Moana contains no nightmare fuel on the level of 2025’s Snow White — which ends up being high praise for adaptations like these. At this point, it feels like too much of a stretch to hope for better from these remakes. The most we can aspire to is different. If only to avoid the feeling of watching a rerun.
IGN - Hanna Flint - 6 / 10
Moana offers a visually pleasing live-action outing for the Polynesian heroine while being constricted by its faithfulness to the original storyline and camera beats. Catherine Laga'aia makes for a bright-eyed protagonist, with Rena Owens and John Tui offering spirited support, but in reprising his role, Dwayne Johnson struggles to reproduce the bouncing boisterousness of the demigod Maui. A technical feat but not nearly as iconic as the original.
IndieWire - Wilson Chapman - 'C'
The live-action “Moana” just further highlights that, for all the promise the original film’s ending had for further trials and tribulations for its characters, Disney doesn’t quite know what to actually do with this franchise, and how to expand meaningfully on its themes of duty, legacy, and wanderlust. With a third animated film in development, “Moana” the IP isn’t disappearing anytime soon, but whether it can ever sail into new and interesting waters the original didn’t thoroughly chart is a question that remains unanswered.
AV Club - Jacob Oller - 'C'
Moana is a shadow, resembling a real thing in shape if little else. It’s not unlike any number of theme park rides or rushed-out video game adaptations—merchandising designed according to someone else’s schematics. Hiring an acting student to show up as Moana to your kid’s birthday might actually involve more creativity, because that live-action version of Moana will actually have to engage with the wild imaginations of her audience. But these self-cannibalizing do-overs continue to make money, which means Disney’s efficiency at making them will only increase. A decade will soon seem like an eternity to wait. Eventually, Disney will be able to skip the animations entirely.
AwardsWatch - Erik Anderson - 'C-'
A remake is a chance for a filmmaker to explore beyond the confines of the previous film, expanding the scope of the story and finding different angles to the tale it tells. But with the new Moana, it feels as if Disney has issued a similar decree to its director Thomas Kail as Moana’s parents give to her. He is not to stray too far from what’s familiar, making no choices that deviate beyond those made by the directors of the animated film back in 2016 (or for Moana, the decisions of her ancestors). To mangle the lyrics to that film’s Oscar-nominated “I want” song, we are able to tell how far this new film will go, and the answer is “not very.”
The Playlist - Marshall Shaffer - 'D+'
The closest thing this “Moana” offers to reality is Catherine Lagaʻaia, the actress making her screen debut in the titular role. She manages to embody both the wisdom of an emerging tribal leader and the impetuousness of a teenager with some attitude. Shame that her humanity sticks out like such a sore thumb in a film whose makers once cared about empowering young girls to be bold leaders – but now only want their parents’ money.
The Boston Globe - Yvonne Abraham - 2.5 / 5
I say the same thing every time I review one of these remakes. Even serviceable ones like “Moana” can’t hide that they’re cynical cash grabs powered by fan service. It used to be that parents introduced their kids to the movies they loved as kids. Now, you can give them their own versions. Something gets lost in that translation, if you ask me.
The Guardian - Peter Bradshaw - 2 / 5
There is some pretty funny stuff from Johnson here, certainly, and there’s a nice enough rapport between him and his young co-star, but it feels as if he is on autopilot, like a piece of software. He can do all this as casually as raising each of his eyebrows individually or flexing each of his pectorals in turn. A supposedly “live-action” film, it is so deeply embedded in CGI work as to be really another animation. An actual stage musical version would be a different proposition and that might give the musical numbers more of a platform. This feels like a superfluous piece of monetisable content.
Empire Magazine - John Nugent - 2 / 5
A low point in Disney’s relentless live-action remake run. Make way, make way — for the original animated version instead.
The Irish Times - Donald Clarke - 1 / 5
Rather than adding a new dimension, the photorealistic production (perhaps a better term than “live action”) strips the visuals of all painterly charm. The gifted Laga’aia works hard, but there is so little innovation to the script that she ends up in the territory of high-end tribute act. The film doesn’t worry about novel turns. It just walks us through the familiar avenues like a dutiful tour guide. A lazy, lazy work that sullies the good name of “content”.
The Independent - Clarisse Loughrey - 1 / 5
And, sorry to circle back to Johnson’s wig, but for a film with repeated lines about the pride these characters have in their natural, curly hair, Moana pushes the real diversity in Polynesian hair textures into the background, while tucking Laga'aia’s own, natural curls under the noticeably straighter locks of a wig. Moana’s a waste of everyone’s time and talent. Let this be a warning. And, for that – you’re welcome.
Times (UK) - Kevin Maher - 1 / 5
I blame Dwayne Johnson for this dismal Disney reboot. At 54, ‘The Rock’ is at least three decades too old to play Maui in this live action remake, which is as leaden as the original was sprightly. Mostly, though, the film provokes only an exquisite form of agony.
DiscussingFilm - Tyler Taing - 1 / 5
Everything there is to enjoy about Moana is present and executed far better in the original. It makes it so glaringly obvious what the remake is at its core: not a story told with heart and soul, but a product set out to keep the franchise relevant and profitable.
Radio Times - Emma Simmonds - 2 / 5
A tale of great courage told with creative cowardice, Moana’s desperately unambitious approach is its undoing, it’s so in thrall to the masterful, much too recent original it’s impossible to see it as anything other than a financially motivated facsimile.
Digital Spy - Ian Sandwell - 2 / 5
With a Tangled remake on the way (save us Kathryn Hahn) and a sequel to Lilo & Stitch, we're sure Disney will continue to make live-action remakes. We can only hope they have more ambition than Moana ever shows.
Next Best Picture - Dan Bayer - 5 / 10
The original is still incredibly fresh in audiences’ minds, and that seems to have sapped the creative team of their nerves when it should have emboldened them. The slavish devotion to the original, even casting two significant roles with the same actors, keeps this “Moana” from being all it could have been. However, when the original is as good as “Moana” is, why change it? For all that’s uninspired about this “Moana,” at least it’s not bad.
Vulture - Allison Willmore - 5 / 10
Moana isn’t the worst of the live action Disney remakes, or the ugliest, but it’s the fastest in terms of the amount of time that’s elapsed since the original, which is its own extra depressing stat.
Slashfilm - Witney Siebold - 4 / 10
"Moana" will likely be a big hit, but if it flops, it may mark the end of another 2010s trend that has finally, rightfully died. Perhaps these remakes will finally, finally peter out. We can only hope. The "Moana" remake has nothing it wants to address. It's the exact type of automated corporate entertainment that "Dumbo" was criticizing. It cannot address any kind of mass, intergenerational relitigation, because it's of the same vintage as its forebear. The original film hasn't been in the mass consciousness for decades. If the Disney remakes exist as counterpoints in a larger conversation, "Moana 2026" is still part of the original conversation.
Collider - Taylor Gates - 5 / 10
Laga'aia is decent as the titular character, but she’s never given a chance to dig into tougher, messier emotions too deeply or for too long. Even the scariest, saddest moments are quickly brushed over with an enthusiastic smile, resulting in a protagonist that feels shallow and a plot without big stakes. Despite a few fun, solidly executed musical sequences and a nice tribute to Polynesian culture, Moana ultimately fails to capture the magic of its animated counterpart. Everything it does well, the 2016 version already did better.