Moana (2026) sends Disney’s wayfinder back out to sea, following the same broad journey as the animated hit. Moana leaves Motunui after her island begins to suffer, answers the ocean’s call, tracks down the reluctant demigod Maui, and sets out to restore the stolen heart of Te Fiti before her people lose their future. The route is familiar: a bumpy alliance, monster detours, Kakamora attacks, a showdown with Tamatoa, and the final push through fire and storm toward a goddess who has been broken into something far more dangerous.
The strongest reason to board this remake is Catherine Laga’aia. She gives Moana real drive, carrying the film with a steady mix of defiance, warmth and self-belief. The performance works best in the quieter family moments, especially when Moana’s bond with Tala and the pressure of Chief Tui’s expectations sharpen the character’s conflict between duty and calling. Laga’aia also handles the musical material with confidence, bringing enough force to the songs to stop the film drifting completely into routine.
Dwayne Johnson returns as Maui and still knows exactly how to play the swagger, the vanity and the comic rhythm. He remains an easy screen presence, and his scenes with Laga’aia have just enough spark to suggest the sharper adventure this film could have been. Even so, the live-action format flattens some of Maui’s larger-than-life appeal. Without the elasticity of animation, the shapeshifting and tattoo-heavy spectacle often looks busy rather than magical, leaving Johnson to rely on charm more than surprise.
That problem runs through most of the production. The remake retells the story so closely that it rarely discovers a fresh personality of its own. Key beats land, but too many sequences feel copied rather than reimagined. Common criticisms around the film are hard to ignore: the pacing drags in the middle stretch, the visual effects can feel overworked, and side characters such as Heihei and the Kakamora sit awkwardly between realism and cartoon chaos. What once felt playful now feels strangely manufactured.
There is still craft here, and younger viewers may respond to the songs, the ocean spectacle and Moana’s determined spirit. But this version keeps reminding audiences how much more fluid, witty and emotionally complete the story felt before. As a star vehicle for Laga’aia, it shows promise. As a full live-action retelling, it comes across as polished but unnecessary.
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