Title – Moana (2026)

Director – Thomas Kail (Hamilton)

Cast – Catherine Laga’aia, Dwayne Johnson, John Tui, Rena Owen

Plot – Following her heart and the ocean, young island chief to be Moana (Laga’aia) sets off on a dangerous adventure to find long-lost God Maui (Johnson) to help her save her home and the homes of countless others as a darkness threatens the world as they know it.  

“You’re welcome”

Review by Eddie on 24/07/2026

If there was ever a leading candidate for a film that didn’t need to be made, Disney’s “live-action” take on its hit animated property Moana would have to be right up there at the top of the picks.

Arriving exactly 10 years after the 2016 animated original and only 2 years after the less-loved sequel from 2024, director Thomas Kail, under the no doubt specific guidance of his Disney employers, has produced what is almost a shot-by-shot redoing of the original that in-turn lacks the heart, smarts or charms of its colourful and fun forefather.

Full disclosure, I watched Moana at the cinema less than 24 hours after sitting back and witnessing Christopher Nolan’s latest big-screen extravaganza The Odyssey on a 70mm IMAX presentation, so it’s highly plausible that my post IMAX come-down played a part in feeling almost overwhelmed by Moana’s lack of creativity, spark and reasoning to exist, making this film a chore to endure.

Following on from a long procession of rather mediocre to downright terrible Disney live action reimagining’s, a collection of affairs that recently included the diabolically unfortunate Snow White last year, Moana might just be enough for Disney to finally reevaluate their strategy of going for the lowest hanging fruits possible, as Kail’s film has struck out with critics and audiences on its way to another huge financial loss for Disney, while the company watches on as original and creative films thrive around them.

For anyone that has seen the 2016 original, Moana is a film you can easily avoid and while it’s sad to see a committed and enthusiastic performance from debut actress Catherine Laga’aia as the titular hero go to waste here, there’s nothing else within this listless offering that you could claim is worth the price of admission.

Budgeted in excess of $250 million dollars, there really should be something happening within this take on Moana that is worthy of getting mildly excited by but it’s likely even the younger audience members this feature is targeted at will be wishing they went back and watched the original version for the umpteenth time and escaped the horror that is witnessing The Rock in an all-time terrible wig embarrass himself in a live-action incarnation of his famed animated character Maui.

Struggling currently in a career moment that has seen audiences grow cold on the once reliable entertainer, Dwayne Johnson can’t breathe life into this sub-pedestrian adventure as he tatts and hairs up for hulking Maui, who here becomes but another dull member of a journey that never should’ve seen the light of day in this format.

All that’s wrong with what Hollywood studio heavyweights think should amount to box-office gold, Moana is a tiresome feature that is deserving of its cold reception, hopefully proving to the house of mouse that these animated live reincarnations need to be put on ice for the foreseeable future.

Final Say –

If you’ve ever seen Moana, there’s no need to see this take on the tale, while if you haven’t, you’re far better off seeking out the 2016 animated version instead. A terribly generic and emotionless viewing experience, Moana is a film that should never have seen the light of day.

1 wigged ex-wrestler out of 5