{"id":250765,"date":"2026-07-08T15:16:17","date_gmt":"2026-07-08T15:16:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/entertainment.runfyers.com\/index.php\/2026\/07\/08\/moana-live-action-reviews-are-here-see-what-critics-are-saying-about-disneys-remake\/"},"modified":"2026-07-08T15:16:17","modified_gmt":"2026-07-08T15:16:17","slug":"moana-live-action-reviews-are-here-see-what-critics-are-saying-about-disneys-remake","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/entertainment.runfyers.com\/index.php\/2026\/07\/08\/moana-live-action-reviews-are-here-see-what-critics-are-saying-about-disneys-remake\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018Moana\u2019 Live-Action Reviews Are Here: See What Critics Are Saying About Disney\u2019s Remake"},"content":{"rendered":"


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The reviews are in for the live-action adaptation of Disney’s Moana<\/strong><\/a><\/em>.<\/p>\n

Catherine Laga\u2019aia<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0takes on the role of the titular character, while\u00a0Dwayne Johnson<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0reprises his role as demigod Maui.<\/p>\n

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Moana answers the Ocean\u2019s call and, for the first time, voyages beyond the reef of her island of Motunui with the infamous demigod Maui on an unforgettable journey to restore prosperity to her people.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Who’s in the cast?<\/h3>\n

The cast also includes\u00a0Rena Owen<\/strong>\u00a0as Moana\u2019s revered Gramma Tala;\u00a0John Tui<\/strong>\u00a0as Moana\u2019s no-nonsense father, Chief Tui; and\u00a0Frankie Adams<\/strong>\u00a0as Moana\u2019s playful and strong-willed mother, Sina.<\/p>\n

Jemaine Clement<\/strong> reprises his voice role from the animated movies as the giant, glitz-obsessed crab Tamatoa.<\/p>\n

Dwayne\u00a0<\/strong>and original Moana<\/em> voice star\u00a0Auli\u2019i Cravalho<\/strong>\u00a0serve as executive producers.<\/p>\n

The live-action\u00a0Moana<\/em>\u00a0hits theaters on Friday (July 10), and the first reviews are in. <\/p>\n

Here’s what the critics are saying…<\/p>\n

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What are the critics saying about the new Moana<\/em> movie?<\/h3>\n

Overall, reviews have been mixed, with many critics praising the performances and visuals while questioning whether Disney’s latest live-action remake justifies its existence.<\/p>\n

TheWrap<\/em> says: “Moana <\/em>is far from the worst Disney live-action remake, but it\u2019s arguably the most redundant. I\u2019m sure there are people who will enjoy paying extra, again, to watch a recent movie they already liked, again, but longer and not as good, again. If Disney insists on wasting the audience\u2019s time, there are worse ways they could do it. Heck, they\u2019ve already done worse. They\u2019ll probably do worse again.”<\/p>\n

Rolling Stone<\/em> says; “The live-action Moana <\/em>is simply spectacle that\u2019s indistinguishable for any other generic spectacle out there \u2014 it\u2019s peak Disney d\u00e9j\u00e0 vu.”<\/p>\n

Collider <\/em>gave it 5 out of 10, writing: “Moana<\/em> ultimately fails to capture the magic of its animated counterpart. Everything it does well, the 2016 version already did better.”<\/p>\n

The Guardian<\/em> gives it 2 out of 5, writing: “An actual stage musical version would be a different proposition and that might give the musical numbers more of a platform. This feels like a superfluous piece of monetisable content.”<\/p>\n

Polygon <\/em>says: “For those familiar with the animated version, though, this is yet another case of a Disney live-action remake that feels entirely superfluous and reductive. It isn\u2019t grossly offensive and misguided like some of these remakes, or ambitiously weird like others. It\u2019s just\u2026 the same thing we already got, repeated and repackaged in a pricey, glossy form.”<\/p>\n

Variety<\/em> says: “Moana <\/em>never makes live action more captivating than animation. On some level these movies will always be unnecessary. The remake of Moana<\/em> can\u2019t, and shouldn\u2019t, replace the original. But it earns a place alongside it.”<\/p>\n

THR <\/em>says: “There\u2019s been some online indignation \u2014 when isn\u2019t there? \u2014 about it being too soon to remake a widely adored film from 2016. In principle, I would agree, but the new Moana<\/em> is a captivating family entertainment that deserves to find an audience \u2014 brimming with visual interest, vibrant color, gorgeous design elements (the fine detailing in Liz McGregor\u2019s costumes is exquisite) and alluring tropical settings.”<\/p>\n

IndieWire gave it a C, writing: “The live-action Moana <\/em>just further highlights that, for all the promise the original film\u2019s ending had for further trials and tribulations for its characters, Disney doesn\u2019t quite know what to actually do with this franchise, and how to expand meaningfully on its themes of duty, legacy, and wanderlust.”<\/p>\n

ScreenRant <\/em>says: ”\u00a0If the animated movie didn’t already exist, this would be a triumph. Instead, it’s a fine recreation that I’ve made peace with by reminding myself that the works of William Shakespeare and Jane Austin have been adapted dozens, if not hundreds of times over.\u00a0Moana<\/em>\u00a0deserves the same kind of treatment.”<\/p>\n

IGN<\/em> says: “Moana <\/em>offers a visually pleasing live-action outing for the Polynesian heroine while being constricted by its faithfulness to the original storyline and camera beats…a technical feat but not nearly as iconic as the original.”<\/p>\n

The Independent <\/em>gave it 1 star, writing: “Moana<\/em>\u2019s a waste of everyone\u2019s time and talent. Let this be a warning. And, for that \u2013 you\u2019re welcome.”<\/p>\n

Radio Times <\/em>gave it 2 out of 5 stars, writing: “Unfortunately, Moana<\/em>\u2019s desperately unambitious approach is its undoing, it\u2019s a tale of great courage told with creative cowardice, that\u2019s so in thrall to the masterful, much too recent original it\u2019s impossible to see it as anything other than a financially motivated facsimile.”<\/p>\n

Nerdist<\/em> gave it 3.5 out of 5, adding: “Like with\u00a0How To Train Your Dragon<\/em>\u00a0remake, the live-action\u00a0Moana<\/em>\u00a0is essentially a faithful cover of a classic song. It\u2019s good for all the reasons the original song is good. But it\u2019s not better because it\u2019s not trying to be better. And because it\u2019s not even trying to be different, it\u2019s impossible for the live-action\u00a0Moana\u00a0<\/em>to be great on its own. It both succeeds and doesn\u2019t because it is, intentionally, an inferior version.”<\/p>\n

Vulture<\/em> says: “The live-action\u00a0Moana<\/em>, directed in his feature debut by theater vet Thomas Kail (of the stage versions of\u00a0In the Heights<\/em>\u00a0and\u00a0Hamilton)<\/em>, lays bare the actual motivations: to squeeze as much revenue as possible from the existing hits because the powers that be no longer have confidence in their ability to turn out new ones.”<\/p>\n

Moana 3<\/em> is also in the works.<\/a><\/p>\n

The post ‘Moana’ Live-Action Reviews Are Here: See What Critics Are Saying About Disney’s Remake<\/a> appeared first on Just Jared – Celebrity News and Gossip | Entertainment<\/a>.<\/p>\n


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Disney The reviews are in for the live-action adaptation of Disney’s Moana. Catherine Laga\u2019aia\u00a0takes on the role of the titular character, while\u00a0Dwayne Johnson\u00a0reprises his role as demigod Maui. Moana answers the Ocean\u2019s call and, for the first time, voyages beyond the reef of her island of Motunui with the infamous demigod Maui on an unforgettable […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":250766,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-250765","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-lifestyle"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/entertainment.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/250765","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/entertainment.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/entertainment.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/entertainment.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/entertainment.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=250765"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/entertainment.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/250765\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/entertainment.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/250766"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/entertainment.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=250765"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/entertainment.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=250765"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/entertainment.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=250765"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}