Movie Review: ‘Moana’

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Review by Adam Courtliff

It seems like not a year goes by in the 2020s without another Disney live-action remake. The vast majority of them fail to understand the magic that made the animated classics just that, instead falling into the trap of feeling like shameless cash grabs more than anything creatively fulfilling. This time round it’s the turn of the 2016 classic Moana to receive the treatment. And perhaps somewhat unsurprisingly, this latest iteration is inferior to its animated predecessor in every single way, serving as little more than an at best inoffensive imitation that never once justifies its own existence.

This version does differ from some of the previous remakes we’ve had to endure. Rather than being a complete rip-off, it stays almost entirely faithful to recreating the animated film. The plot is almost identical. The musical numbers are exactly the same, and the characters are like for like recreations of their animated counterparts. In that regard, for the few people who haven’t seen Disney’s beloved animation, this adaptation will actually serve a purpose and provide a fun introduction to that world.

For fans of the animation though, it will always feel like something is missing. Unlike revisiting the original, there’s no chance of teleporting yourself back to that first viewing and being swept up in the amazement all over again. Instead, it feels like seeing one of the wonders of the world through someone else’s camera phone. Sure, it looks fascinating and might capture some of your intrigue here and there, but there’s nothing quite like being there yourself and being wowed by something you’ve never seen before.

As for the film itself, perhaps what made Moana stand out in the first place was the beautiful, vibrant, and visually striking world that audiences were immersed in. That, however, is not captured for a single second here. Gone are the bright and joyful feelings the animation was able to conjure almost instantly, replaced instead by a rather dull film that fails to inject any real life into its visuals.

The same can be said for the cinematography, which unfortunately also feels infinitely weaker. It feels like cinematographer Oscar Faura was handed a poison chalice, operating under such an extreme creative stranglehold that he wasn’t allowed to inject any flair into proceedings. Sure, there’s a shot here or there that will inevitably bring a smile to audiences’ faces, but never does it feel like the breathtaking landscapes of Polynesia are truly brought to life in the way you’d expect.

Performance wise, Catherine Laga’aia does her utmost to provide something that stands out. She undoubtedly has a brilliant voice and performs the well known songs particularly well, but even then audiences will inevitably find themselves transported back to Auli’i Cravalho’s standout performance. Dwayne Johnson, reprising his role as Maui, is fine. Again, there’s nothing especially memorable about what he does, but at least he can’t be accused of phoning it in, as he fully commits to returning to one of his most famous roles.

While they’re exactly the same, the musical numbers were always going to be the highlight. Lin-Manuel Miranda’s incredible songs all return, with the ever so catchy “You’re Welcome” still being a personal favourite. It’s hard to criticise anything on the music front because those songs were, and still are, so good, but not even including any new material outside of the end credits feels like a missed opportunity to differentiate things ever so slightly.

For a Disney live-action remake to justify its existence, it feels like every single scene needs to be at least as good as its animated counterpart. Otherwise, it all feels like a rather pointless exercise. Of course, as with almost every other remake to date, this one fails to meet that standard. Director Thomas Kail never really stamps any identity on the film. Instead, it feels like both he and the production are simply going through the motions, trying to cash the cheque as quickly as possible before disappearing into the sunset.

It’s a massive shame that a film as close to my heart as the original Moana has been subjected to the curse of these live-action remakes, but as long as they remain slam dunks at the box office, you can rest assured Disney won’t stop until every animated classic has received the very same treatment. As was always probably expected, this version fails spectacularly when it comes to justifying its existence and will likely be forgotten just as quickly as it arrived.