Critic Reviews

While the live-action remake knows better than to tamper with the story’s sturdy bones, this charming new iteration stands confidently on its own.

“Moana” never makes live action more captivating than animation. On some level these movies will always be unnecessary. The remake of “Moana” can’t, and shouldn’t, replace the original. But it earns a place alongside it.

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.

Although being in essence the second bite at the apple for this story, with the animated version being superior in terms of its visuals and the vocal performance of Auliʻi Cravalho as Moana holding the edge over Lagaʻaia, the picture is very satisfying.

It isn’t grossly offensive and misguided like some of these remakes, or ambitiously weird like others. It’s just… the same thing we already got, repeated and repackaged in a pricey, glossy form.

This version, for whatever it’s worth, at least ranks among the best of this crop — even if, like me, you wish Disney would stop harvesting it.

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.

Johnson understands Maui, so his performance is good once you get past the initial shock of his unusual appearance. He has great chemistry with Laga’aia. But the best performance in “Moana” comes from Rena Owen as Moana’s grandmother Gramma Tala.

If the animated movie didn't already exist, this would be a triumph. Instead, it's a fine recreation that I've made peace with by reminding myself that the works of William Shakespeare and Jane Austin have been adapted dozens, if not hundreds of times over. Moana deserves the same kind of treatment.

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.