Moana, the new live-action version that’s adapted frame-for-frame from the 2016 animated Disney film, brings forth a predicament I’ve been having since long before my time as a film critic: how much of the same would be considered original?
The question does not apply equally to adaptations and remakes.
Adaptations can be from a myriad of sources: books, articles, short stories, real-life events — each domain carrying its own particularities that clash with the medium of film and its own constraints. Remakes are new versions of older films, and if Disney has taught us anything, they’re more or less a copy-paste job.
The list is maddening: 101 Dalmatians (1996), Alice in Wonderland (2010), Maleficent (2014), Cinderella (2015), The Jungle Book (2016), Beauty and the Beast (2017), Aladdin (2019), Dumbo (2019), The Lion King (2019), Lady and the Tramp (2019), Mulan (2020), Cruella (2021), Pinocchio (2022), The Little Mermaid (2023), Snow White (2025), Lilo & Stitch (2025), and now Moana.
Disney’s live-action Moana faithfully recreates the 2016 animated hit, but offers little reason for its own existence
