Overview
- The live-action Moana from Walt Disney Pictures premiered in Brazil in early July and has been actively promoted with appearances including Dwayne Johnson in Rio de Janeiro.
- Thomas Kail directed the film as a faithful reimagining that keeps Lin-Manuel Miranda’s songs and adds new sequences and musical reinterpretations.
- Disney says it staffed the production with Polynesian creatives and a cultural advisory council and cast about 200 Pacific-region actors to protect cultural authenticity.
- Critics have been mostly negative, with reports citing low aggregator scores and frequent complaints that the film’s heavy CGI makes scenes feel ‘animation-like’ or lifeless.
- The reception compounds debate over Disney’s string of recent live-action remakes by putting representation and visual approach at the center of whether such projects justify retelling recent hits.