Moana (Live-Action)

[PatchofBlue]

I am, unfortunately, past the point of feeling satisfaction over anything that flops from Disney. Maybe if I thought for a moment that they would learn from their mistakes, or if I had confidence that the movies I'm campaigning for were going to strike gold, but it seems we are past that on both counts. It's all just bad news.

[Disney's Divinity]

I don't feel either way about it really. Moana isn't one of my favorites, I had no intention of seeing it in theaters like I would things like Mermaid, B&tB, or a hypothetical Frozen or Hercules remake. The original was always a bit dull for me; I don't hate it, just have never had any excitement for the property. And there wasn't anything like Gadot and the new songs in SW or Jolie in Maleficent that would've lured me into a greater interest despite my ambivalence for the original. (Come to think of it, as far as the reverse situation goes, the only remakes of things I should've been excited by because I love the original properties that I didn't see--or refused to support in some cases, rather--were Cinderella, Cruella, and Mulan. Ultimately I did end up enjoying Cruella after the fact although as something entirely removed from Dalmatians/Cruella altogether.) I do plan to see Moana on Disney+ though and expect it will be a good remake overall.

Ultimately, if it underperforms, that's more attributable to Moana still being an ongoing property/franchise (with its first sequel out a year and a half ago and its next sequel announced a week or so ago to be on its way), which sort of conflicts with remakes drawing on nostalgia for a property audiences haven't seen in a while. I don't think Tangled would have that problem since it's been 17 years since the last (and only) film in that franchise; the biggest worry for that one is the property being forgotten to some degree partly because of a dumb title that occludes what it is, but commercials that highlight the story of Rapunzel (and have her name repeated in ads a great deal) should be enough of a reminder, I would think. A Frozen remake would be more similar to this since it's a continuing franchise. Hopefully a remake for that film doesn't come for *at least* 3 to 4 years until after Frozen 4 which is in 2028, so 2032 at earliest, which will give a little time to breathe between. Then a Frozen 5 spaced out to 2-3 years after that to 2035 or so.

Still, I could see even an underperformance here ending up at least as well as Maleficent or Mufasa, which is respectable considering the "too soon" factor at play here. I think that's possible considering Toy Story 5, Minions 3, and Moana are three big franchises competing with one another right now--Toy Story 5 having got the advantage of releasing before the other two. And a 700 million-ish like Mufasa/Maleficent would still be doing better than the "unfaithful"-branded remakes like TLM, Snow White, Mulan, Cruella, or Cinderella. All I wonder is what all this might mean for Moana 3. I feel like part of the remake's performance could also be partly a reaction to Moana 2 kind of sucking? Easily the worst of the major Revival film sequels thanks to it originally being TV fodder that was sewn together slapdash*. I guess the whole culture war over race was going on even back in those early days. Even Ralph Breaks the Internet at least felt cohesive and paced well. Going from a bad taste in the audience's mouth from 2 to a remake that even the biggest fans feel is too soon (a few months under 10 years from the original's release) to 3 is, well, who knows. Maybe if they put 3 off for a while, it might shake some of that negativity? But I think they intend it for summer 2029 probably or am I wrong? I guess we'll see.

[DisneyFan09]

I saw the movie today and I must say that I enjoyed it. Frankly, just as the remakes of the Renaissance pictures, it was a carbon copy of it`s predeccesor. And yes, it felt somewhat rushed. Whether it should be considered to be better than it`s predecessor, it`s irrelevant. Since Moana was essentially the first remake of an animated classic that is CGI, the visuals were essentially pretty similar. The best casting choices were John Tui as Chief Tui (what a synergy, lol) and Rena Owen as Gramma Tala. As both of them shined in their roles. Catherine Laga'aia was fine enough, despite that she looked too young for the part and frankly wasn`t a good actress. Dwayne Johnson felt essentially more subdued and low-key as Maui than he was in the animated predeccesor.
However, it`s remarkable that the instrumental bit for Moana 2 (Assembling the Crew) was also used in this remake. It was clever that Hei Hei was introduced as a child. And yes, Hei Hei was as a grating as he was in the remake. Surprisingly enough, I could live through the Kakamora`s (who were very grating at the original), but Tamatoa was just as grating. It was remarkable how the animation of Mini-Maui was just as he was in the original. The way how Maui`s past was explained was also clever. Otherwise, I liked Along the Way, despite how it wasn`t particularly outstanding. I liked the new chantings on the songs and the highlights of the animated predecessors were just as good here. Overall, a fine and acceptable remake.

[Patricier21]

I don't feel either way about it really. Moana isn't one of my favorites, I had no intention of seeing it in theaters like I would things like Mermaid, B&tB, or a hypothetical Frozen or Hercules remake. The original was always a bit dull for me; I don't hate it, just have never had any excitement for the property. And there wasn't anything like Gadot and the new songs in SW or Jolie in Maleficent that would've lured me into a greater interest despite my ambivalence for the original. (Come to think of it, as far as the reverse situation goes, the only remakes of things I should've been excited by because I love the original properties that I didn't see--or refused to support in some cases, rather--were Cinderella, Cruella, and Mulan. Ultimately I did end up enjoying Cruella after the fact although as something entirely removed from Dalmatians/Cruella altogether.) I do plan to see Moana on Disney+ though and expect it will be a good remake overall.

Ultimately, if it underperforms, that's more attributable to Moana still being an ongoing property/franchise (with its first sequel out a year and a half ago and its next sequel announced a week or so ago to be on its way), which sort of conflicts with remakes drawing on nostalgia for a property audiences haven't seen in a while. I don't think Tangled would have that problem since it's been 17 years since the last (and only) film in that franchise; the biggest worry for that one is the property being forgotten to some degree partly because of a dumb title that occludes what it is, but commercials that highlight the story of Rapunzel (and have her name repeated in ads a great deal) should be enough of a reminder, I would think. A Frozen remake would be more similar to this since it's a continuing franchise. Hopefully a remake for that film doesn't come for *at least* 3 to 4 years until after Frozen 4 which is in 2028, so 2032 at earliest, which will give a little time to breathe between. Then a Frozen 5 spaced out to 2-3 years after that to 2035 or so.

Still, I could see even an underperformance here ending up at least as well as Maleficent or Mufasa, which is respectable considering the "too soon" factor at play here. I think that's possible considering Toy Story 5, Minions 3, and Moana are three big franchises competing with one another right now--Toy Story 5 having got the advantage of releasing before the other two. And a 700 million-ish like Mufasa/Maleficent would still be doing better than the "unfaithful"-branded remakes like TLM, Snow White, Mulan, Cruella, or Cinderella. All I wonder is what all this might mean for Moana 3. I feel like part of the remake's performance could also be partly a reaction to Moana 2 kind of sucking? Easily the worst of the major Revival film sequels thanks to it originally being TV fodder that was sewn together slapdash*. I guess the whole culture war over race was going on even back in those early days. Even Ralph Breaks the Internet at least felt cohesive and paced well. Going from a bad taste in the audience's mouth from 2 to a remake that even the biggest fans feel is too soon (a few months under 10 years from the original's release) to 3 is, well, who knows. Maybe if they put 3 off for a while, it might shake some of that negativity? But I think they intend it for summer 2029 probably or am I wrong? I guess we'll see.

I would recommend you checking out this in theatres, especially if you didn’t like the original, because even if someone who loves the original, I actually almost like this one better and found some of its execution to be better and more satisfying for those who didn’t like it, because she’s less adorkable in this and they do a really good job of her and even Maui’s character development, you actually get to see him do something that he didn’t do in the original that the directors actually admitted they wish he had done. My cousin and her friend actually both liked it as well even more than me, so I think you and anybody he doesn’t even like the original should give it a chance!

[Mooky]

This movie underperforming was not on my 2026 bingo card.

That said,



and

[PatchofBlue]

I think "Tangled" could have some legs up on this remake (not knowing basically anything about the film's creative direction at this time), but the failure of this movie also represents an added barrier it'll have to clear.

The difference between 10 years and 17 years is not insubstantial, but I also know that not everyone has such precise information about exactly when animated Moana and Tangled came into the picture. Earlier this week, I actually saw a YouTube essay that gave passing mention to when Frozen dropped "in 2010" and changed the game. For a lot of the crowd, Moana and Tangled are all just satellites floating around the same gaseous giant.

I am actually intrigued to see a version of Moana in the post-adorkable era. I think that must have been something I was catching onto with Laga'aia, who felt much more solid than recent Disney heroines. There's nothing wrong with it by design, but I also feel like that character type has been bled dry, in and out of Disney.

[Patricier21]

I think "Tangled" could have some legs up on this remake (not knowing basically anything about the film's creative direction at this time), but the failure of this movie also represents an added barrier it'll have to clear.

The difference between 10 years and 17 years is not insubstantial, but I also know that not everyone has such precise information about exactly when animated Moana and Tangled came into the picture. Earlier this week, I actually saw a YouTube essay that gave passing mention to when Frozen dropped "in 2010" and changed the game. For a lot of the crowd, Moana and Tangled are all just satellites floating around the same gaseous giant.

I am actually intrigued to see a version of Moana in the post-adorkable era. I think that must have been something I was catching onto with Laga'aia, who felt much more solid than recent Disney heroines. There's nothing wrong with it by design, but I also feel like that character type has been bled dry, in and out of Disney.

Well, I found that the way they portrayed Moana in live action. She was way less adorkable, so I think you may actually like the live action version better like I almost did for actually part of that reason, if you actually check it out as soon as you can.