I’ve not been quite as critical of the live-action adaptations Disney have done of their own films. However, I can admit they have been at least a mixed bag. Varying from films like Lion King, Mulan (yes, I quite liked it), Cinderella, Aladdin, The Little Mermaid, which were all enjoyable and did enough for me, to Pinocchio, Lady and the Tramp, Snow White, that didn’t add anything that didn’t make the film worse. Unfortunately the likes of Lilo & Stitch did well at the box office, so they aren’t going to slow down on these. Moana is the quickest turnaround they have done from animation to live action, with the animated film releasing just 10 years ago. The film certainly had multiple songs that had an impact in the zeitgeist, thanks to Lin Manuel Miranda, but a strong story, funny moments and great animation made it truly stick with people. This led to a sequel which was released in 2024, which didn’t quite have the same impact.
Moana is the story of a young girl destined to become the leader of her people. However, when the crops on their island start to die, she decides she must venture beyond the reef and track down Maui, a demigod, who can help her restore the heart of Te Fiti and heal the crops.
A big criticism of these live-action adaptations sometimes has been, what has been the point of doing it. The Lion King particularly was criticised for being just a photo realistic version of the animated version, and almost shot for shot the same. We’ve seen varying degrees of adaptation with Cinderella being completely different, to the likes of Aladdin which just adds a little bit more. If you’re going to go down the avenue of being almost identical to the original then you simply must answer, what was the point of this? What was better than the animated version to make this worthwhile? I purely think the point of this was to make money. There is no particular artistry behind this film, it doesn’t feel original, it doesn’t add anything that enhances the experience. Again, I think that it’s too soon. I think you need to give these type of films time to breathe, let it come to a new audience, a new filmmaker that can add something fresh to the story, put a new spin on it. Rather than copy and paste.
One of the biggest talking points of this film was that Dwayne Johnson would be returning to play the role he originally voiced in the animated film. At 54 years old, The Rock has had a strong career, being a big draw for a certain audience at the box office. However, in recent years it is clear he is trying to seek different opportunities to test himself, something he did with his critically best performance in The Smashing Machine at the end of last year, which earned him some nominations in award season, despite not earning an Oscar nomination, but certainly felt like a good career move. His voice work as Maui is iconic and has followed him for the last year, seemingly singing ‘You’re Welcome’ at any opportunity that arises. It’s no surprise that they tried to get this film and cast Johnson as Maui again, and I largely think that’s the reason they got on with making this film ASAP, before he got older. It’s a difficult one. Without him in the film, is there enough of a draw for some people to see it? I think so, but again part of the issue is just that it’s too soon. I don’t think Johnson puts in a bad performance, I actually think this is probably as good as he could do in this role. But the fact that he is such a big name works against him, with the hair looking very odd for a man that famously has none, and a body that looks slightly too big. Something you can much easier get away with by casting someone else.
The animated Moana gave us the first performance of any kind of Auli’i Cravalho and kicked off her career. I respect that she admitted that she was too old at this point to portray Moana, and felt like it should be handed on, and was surprised she doesn’t even make a cameo appearance in the background or something. The baton was passed on to Catherine Laga’aia (daughter of Jay Laga’aia, who you might know as Captain Typho from Star Wars). Catherine does a decent enough job honestly, I don’t think she could’ve done much more, especially as it’s her first feature film, and a film that came with a lot of pressure, and a lot of CGI and green screen.
These films have a certain look to them, and that’s not a good thing. For a film that has a large chunk of the film taking place on the ocean, it feels very small. It’s clear that at most, small fragments from when Moana is leaving Motu Nui could be real shots, but even that I highly doubt. We spend so much time with the same type of shots on the boat that feel so small, and close, there’s no sense of scale so ultimately it feels like a waste. Even Motu Nui and Maui’s island feel extremely small and claustrophobic. We did see some exterior shooting during production, so it’s odd how so much was clearly shot using the volume. The Volume is a great tool when used well, but it still seems to be that only a couple of cinematographers know how to use it effectively at the right times, that almost every scene feels like it was shot in an area no bigger than like 5 metres wide. Also a shout-out to the awful sand Maui’s at the end of the You’re Welcome song, nightmare fuel.
Overall, Moana doesn’t do anything new, it doesn’t add anything and ultimately feels worse than the animated version in every single way. Decent performances and catchy songs we already know aren’t enough to carry this film, and it’s clear the audience agrees. I do think you can do a good live-action version of this film, but another 20/30 years is probably needed to get to that point. It’s not the worst, but ultimately what was the point?
What did you think of Moana?
Let me know in the comments.
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