Moana

After blowing through their eclectic catalog of animated classics, Disney has proven they will not stop until every beloved animated film they have is run into the ground with a dull, useless live-action adaptation. Yet their latest experiment of side-stepping any semblance of originality has fully jumped the shark, remaking their lovely animated musical from just ten years ago, Moana. This newest live-action retelling is not only remaking a film less than a decade old, but it also has the gall of bringing back several of the same actors and talent from the original film, who also just worked on the billion-dollar grossing sequel from just two years ago. Coupled with a slavish devotion to retelling the exact same story as the original film and a lack of filmmaking ambition, the latest product from Disney feels like the studio at their most soulless and cynical.

Courtesy Disney

Directed by Thomas Kail, who helmed the filmed stage version of Hamilton, this live-action remake of Moana is yet another example of the cynical IP exploitation that Disney has shoved down the throats of moviegoers for over a decade now. While a few entries such as Kenneth Branagh’s Cinderella and Jon Favreau’s The Jungle Book have been successful in adding some dimension to their adaptations, the vast majority of these remakes have been nothing but cynical retreads. Moana ranks among the worst of these retreads simply in how uninterested it is to add anything of significance to the story or explore any of the major themes within the text of Jared Bush’s original script. Instead, the filmmakers seem hellbent on merely coasting off the blueprint of the original film while sprinting through the story’s emotional beats. The basis for a live-action remake should be, at the very least, to expand the story and broaden its scope. Here, nothing feels like it was brought to life, but rather sanded down and feeling far more artless.

Kail recreates the many visual quirks of the 2016 film, but with little ingenuity and far less sophistication. Merely recreating the animated film in live-action form erases the immersive fantasy of it all, confusing photorealism for visual splendor. Cute supporting characters such as Heihei and Pua look no more real than they did a decade ago, but now they appear to exist firmly in the uncanny valley. While the visual effects are surprisingly sturdy, the cinematography and set design often looks like it was filmed on a soundstage in Atlanta. The audience is never allowed to lose themselves in this new depiction of the world inhabited by lava goddesses and demigods as it never feels like the characters exist in this world and are always within arms reach of a smartphone. Dwayne Johnson’s redo of the fan-favorite song “You’re Welcome” is the biggest example of feeling like it was filmed in front of a green screen lit with harsh lighting that makes the edges of the set feel, well, like a set.

Courtesy Disney

Any strengths this film retains are almost all leftover from the initial 2016 film. The songs, written by Lin-Manuel Miranda, still resonate — most notably “How Far I’ll Go” and “You’re Welcome”, but nothing Kail crafts here is anywhere near as impressive as it was ten years ago. Kail’s staging is either beat-for-beat the same shot design as the original film or filmed far too tight to feel inherently cinematic.

Newcomer Catherine Laga’aia adds a charming, likable presence as Moana, giving the film a fairly breezy center to hold on to. She doesn’t have the overwhelming musical prowess of some of her contemporaries, but she fits the role nicely and — at the very least — makes the film less of a chore whenever she’s front and center. However, there’s a significant lack of chemistry between her and co-star Dwayne Johnson. Johnson, who recently hit a career high point delivering his finest, most heart wrenching work to date in last year’s underseen The Smashing Machine, immediately brings his goodwill to a grinding halt. Returning to the role of the demigod Maui, Johnson’s work isn’t as offensively lazy as his work in slop such as Black Adam and Red Notice, but his lack of chemistry with Laga’aia and the never-ending distraction that is his wig renders his performance more awkward than anything. Rena Owen’s wise and nurturing grandmother is the sole cast member to muster up a single genuine emotion that feels new to this film.

Courtesy Disney

Disney’s live-action Moana remake feels more like a bizarre experiment than it does a worthy feature film. Feeling like the poster child for IP exploitation, this visually-unflattering and redundant retelling is yet another Disney remake with no heart, no creativity or any form of newly found life. This is the third time in ten years that audiences have been with these characters on the big-screen and the sense of discovery now feels like overwhelming fatigue.

Moana is now playing in theaters.