HOLLYWOOD—I have a major problem when it comes to live-action versions of animated classics. They never tend to be better than the original. Why? The filmmakers tend to follow a similar plot and rarely deviate from the original. It is like what we call remakes for movies that are done over and over again. FYI, for those who don’t know get ready for the second remake of “A Nightmare on Elm Street,” that 1984 classic from Wes Craven.
With that said, the animated version of “Moana” is leaps and bounds to this 2026 live-action version. Why? That movie just had much more heart, and it sticks with you in a way that the live-action version is not able to do so. That has nothing to do with the acting talent here, because they are all good. Especially, newcomer Catherine Laga’aia who portrays our title character Moana. She brings plenty of charisma, heart and fire to this character that is determined to accomplish her goal at all costs.
Dwayne Johnson tackles the role of Maui, the same character he portrayed in the animated version and he’s a stunning symbol of the character in the animated version in this live version. Beyond that, not much more matters. Why? The 2026 version of “Moana” is literally a copy and paste of the animated version. There are no changes at all. I mean the exact same dialogue, the same narrative, the same visuals.
The filmmakers literally took screenshots and storyboards from the original and copied them to a ‘T’ and used them to craft this flick. I have to admit like the first 45 minutes of the movie was a slog to get through. I just had trouble getting invigorated and excited with what I was watching.
You wanna know what changed that? The music. The music from “Moana” just reminds you why you loved the animated classic. I was almost transported back to when I first watched it in 2016. I found myself singing along and just getting more invested in the movie as a result. I almost wish the new version had a few more original songs implemented because I think it would have made the movie more exciting and provided something to separate it from the original.
I felt watching “Moana,” I was watching the 1998 version of “Psycho” which was a copy and paste of the 1960 classic. What was different? It was in color, however, all the dialogue, the scenes, exact replicas of the original. It leaves you saying, “You know, I could just watch the original.” I think “Moana” only works for those who have never seen the 2016 classic (I don’t know how that is possible) or you’re just super fans of the original.
However, if you saw the original, you’re not getting anything different with this live-action version except human figures and maybe some memories.
