I did not exactly find the trailers for Disney’s live-action Moana encouraging. Something felt off about the whole thing. There was way too much green screen, Dwayne Johnson’s wig just didn’t look right, and it seemed like essentially a shot-for-shot remake of a beloved film that isn’t even that old. Well, all of those things ended up being true. And yet, to my great surprise, this live-action version of Moana isn’t bad. It’s actually pretty decent. The movie’s biggest problem is that, like most live-action remakes, it can’t really justify its own existence. Dive into our full review of the live-action Moana movie.
If you’ve seen the original Moana cartoon movie, you know everything, almost exact-beat-for-exact-beat that happens in the live-action version (that I love). The only real difference comes in the mixed bag opening act. It features arguably the most beautiful sequences from the movie (we’ll come back to that), but feels twice as long as the original. (It’s about one-third longer.) The opening section is really delightful at first, but by the time Moana finally sets out on her adventure, I was long at past my “get to the fireworks factory” point.
Once Moana takes to the sea, though, the movie’s pace picks up considerably. Any changes after that come almost entirely via the dialogue and a few lyrics, but those are mostly small. There are no major differences anywhere. Viewers who haven’t seen the original in a long time won’t even notice them. I have seen it recently, though, and I liked almost all of the new touches. The additions and alterations to a few lyrics, lines, and quick shots all fit within the story. More importantly, they were almost always good and didn’t interfere with the film’s bullet-proof plot, themes, and emotional core.
Those things are also true of the film’s titular star, Catherine Lagaʻaia. I bought her as Moana the second she joined the story. Lagaʻaia is charming, vulnerable, and determined. The only “issue” with her performance has nothing to do with her. It’s just weird to think “that’s Moana,” but then hear a different voice singing Moana’s songs. Considering everything going on around the characters in the live-action movie is basically exactly the same as the original version of Moana, it is a little jarring, but again, not Laga’aia’s fault. It’s just something a fan who loves any animated musical will have to deal with when a movie gets remade in live-action.
Obviously, that issue doesn’t exist in quite the same way with Maui, since Dwayne Johnson plays the demigod once again. Only, he doesn’t play him exactly the same way. Maui’s broad strokes—brash, funny, proud, sort-of-mean—are all still there, but Johnson makes a really smart choice with his performance. Rather than play up Maui’s cartoonish nature, Johnson plays up the character’s human side. He centers his performance around Maui’s sad background rather than his bigger-than-life ego. In the Moana trailer, this made his performance seem strangely muted, but it makes sense in the movie. That slight change in perspective completely works in a live-action film. As a cartoon, Johnson plays Maui bigger and with a lot more energy. In live-action Moana form, he plays him more human.
This more vulnerable, broken Maui is really smart, really effective, and really pays off. When he tells Moana the truth about his past and his parents’ rejection of him, it lands a much bigger emotional punch. It’s maybe my favorite scene in the film.
The wig? Not my favorite! It’s not quite as bad as it looks in the Moana movie trailers, and eventually I (sort of) got used to it, but it never looks great aside from when Maui’s hair gets wet. Then it strangely looks fantastic. The best thing I can say about the wig is that it didn’t ruin the movie for me. Nor did Johnson probably being too old for the role. Maui is an ageless demigod. Even after a thousand years stranded on an island, that’s easy enough to pull off in animation. But human actors get old, even Dwayne Johnson.
What occasionally ruined the film for me were sequences so obviously filmed on green screen that it was all I could think about. The live-action Moana movie is visually among the most inconsistent movies I’ve ever seen. There are moments clearly filmed on location in Hawaii that look absolutely gorgeous. They are among the biggest justification for making the film. Then there are shots that I think were filmed on location that somehow look like green screen, which is very weird. And some green-screen sequences do look really good, which makes it even stranger how unpleasant the bad green-screen moments are.
The good news is that the film’s special effects are really excellent. The CGI, including Te Fiti, Hei Hei*, the conscious water, Tamatoa, and a super fun and playful “You’re Welcome” sequence, all look great. The good VFX helps cover up some of the other visual issues.
*The “live-action” Hei Hei really is excellent, but he doesn’t look like a real chicken. He’s a recreation of the cartoon version. As is Tamatoa, who could not be more identical to his cartoon counterpart. I understand why this happened, but I still think it’s weird that live-action movies don’t make their animal characters look real.
The biggest problem the live-action Moana movie has is exactly what plagued the very good live-action How To Train Your Dragon, which was also basically an exact remake. Both films work because they don’t change what worked before. They don’t screw up a winning formula and tell a great story with compelling characters we already know and love. But that’s also why neither ever makes a great case for why they should exist.
Like with How To Train Your Dragon remake, the live-action Moana is essentially a faithful cover of a classic song. It’s good for all the reasons the original song is good. But it’s not better because it’s not trying to be better. And because it’s not even trying to be different, it’s impossible for the live-action Moana to be great on its own. It both succeeds and doesn’t because it is, intentionally, an inferior version.
Is being a “good cover” enough to justify a big-budget remake of a beloved movie that isn’t even that old? Probably not, but there are worse ways to spend a night at the movies. That’s certainly what I was expecting from the live-action Moana.
⭐ (3.5 of 5)
Mikey Walsh is a staff writer at Nerdist. He will wear the Maui wig if Disney sends it to him. You can follow him on Bluesky at @burgermike. And also anywhere someone is ranking the Targaryen kings.
The post Live-Action MOANA Is a Good Remake and That’s All It’s Trying to Be (Review) appeared first on Nerdist.
This articles is written by : Nermeen Nabil Khear Abdelmalak
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