Good news: the live-action remake of Moana isn’t horrid. Rejoice! But perhaps not for too long… there is a caveat. This new version is, for the most part, a scene by scene, line by line remake. So, if it’s good, it’s only because the original was excellent.
Yes, the story of a headstrong Polynesian chief’s daughter who sets sail across the ocean to save her island and its people – which, by the way, only came out in 2016 – is the latest victim in Disney’s tireless campaign to destroy everything good it has ever made with pointless, cash-grabbing remakes, reboots and sequels.
Upon its original release, Moana was a marvel not only in its technical achievements (who knew they could animate water to look so realistic!), but also in the way it captured that intangible Disney magic – the je ne sais quoi that made the studio’s films so irresistibly enchanting and inherently nostalgic. It was also revolutionary – the first Disney film to feature a Polynesian princess, praised for its celebration of islander culture.
There are no major storyline or character changes to be upset about in the live action version. Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson is once again brilliant comic relief as jumped-up demi-god Maui – but then again, so he should be, with 10 years of familiarity with the character in his arsenal. It even looks pretty good, given that half the film is animated anyway (even Disney couldn’t recast the coconut pirates as real people, thank goodness).
