As Disney IP, Moana is arguably better than most. Initially an animated feature (then its sequel) telling of a brave Polynesian girl facing legendary dangers to save her village, Moana was a live action opportunity that couldn’t be missed. With its lush South Seas backdrop, Moana’s quest to help nature and her people was both easy to watch and deceptively uplifting. Well-crafted, memorable tunes made it almost a singlonga. Plus it is a lot less sickly sweet compared to franchises like Frozen.
The key to Moana’s massive popularity is the character herself. She makes mistakes. She’s wilful and daring but not annoying – a huge reason why both animated features Moana (2016) and Moana 2 (2024) have provided over a billion minutes of fun viewing, typically on repeat, to families for a decade.
By design director Thomas Kail’s live action remake hardly wavers from the 2016 original. The male lead, Dwayne Johnson, is back on board as star and this time also as producer. An experienced comic and action performer who is now heading into more ‘serious roles’, Johnson remains as funny and refreshing in live-action as he was in animation playing demi-god Maui, a comic show-off festooned with ever-changing storytelling tattoos, big muscles and a very definite wig.
As proponents of South Sea heritage, both Johnson and his new co-star, Australian actor Catherine Laga’aia, are keen that the live action Moana brings the culture, history and mythology of the South Pacific to a new audience. Laga’aia, the new Moana found after global auditions, is relaxed, balanced and likeable as Moana, stepping solidly into the role previously voiced by Hawai’ian actor and singer Auli’i Cravalho.
Live action brings in the real world of a bit more focus on Moana’s family and their village Motunui. The use of Oahu and other real locations in natural light makes places appear more enticing and idyllic than the day-glo animated counterpart via the safe production design of John Myhre. But a completely live action film, it is not. The magical elements of Moana – the all-knowing sea, the ancestral manta ray, gods and goddesses Tamatoa and Te Kā/Te Fiti and the coconut-armoured jungle sprites Kakamora – are CGI/VFX. Pua, Moana’s pet pig and, yes, even her comedy chicken Heihei basically remain cartoons. Given Heihei’s hapless resemblance to Road Runner – and as Maui’s potential “boat snack” he couldn’t be real and stay alive. Happily, all animated gods and critters have credible interactions with the human beings on screen.
Monolithic cultural South Sea Odyssey that it is, Moana also has songs. Roughly thirty minutes of them – 13 tracks – each folded seamlessly into plot points. Returning earworms by Lin-Manuel Miranda, Mark Mancina and Opetaia Foaʻ include You’re Welcome sung by Dwayne Johnson and the fab-glam David Bowie-homage Shiny reprised by Jermaine Clement. A new track Along The Way, vocals by Johnson, Catherine Lagaʻaia and Auliʻi Carvalho, provides tuneful unity between the two Moanas ten years apart. As enchanting as the animated Moana features are, this live action Moana shows you real is better. It needed to be made. You know, for grownups.
Moana is fun, pacy and colourful. Taking South Sea myths and gods as part of a hero’s quest, this live action feature adheres closely to the animated 2016 original. More believable locations and lighting lends more weight to the hero’s odyssey, which is fun and just scary enough to keep adults and children invested in the story. While there is no real chicken sidekick as hoped, Dwayne Johnson and newcomer Catherine Laga’aia make the trip worthwhile.
