A One Mann’s Movies review of “Moana”. (2026, 3.5*, PG).
Regular followers of this blog will fully know where I will stand on “Moana” – the latest Disney animation given the Live Action do-over. They all seem pretty pointless and lazy to me. Often just shot-for-shot reproductions of the originals, but with slightly less animation. Disney are progressively working through their animated-feature catalogue, churning these things out as fairly soulless replicas. I trust that I will have already shuffled off this mortal coil before they get as far as “Oliver & Co.” and “Brother Bear”!
To give them some credit, this one has at least been done well. And, of course, it will make a ton of money over the summer holidays. But I’m afraid I still view it as redundant and pointless!
One Mann’s Movies Rating:
Plot:
Moana (Catherine Laga’aia) grows up with a longing to voyage beyond the reef and across the sea. But this is forbidden by her father, Chief Tui (John Tui). Her old grandmother, Gramma Tala (Rena Owen), understands the yearning and lets her into a secret: that her people did used to be ocean-enabled voyagers. When ecological disaster strikes their island, Moana sets out in search of the demi-God Maui (Dwayne Johnson) to help return a stolen artefact and restore order to the Oceanic islands.
Certification:
UK: PG; US: PG. (From the BBFC website: “Mild threat.”)
Talent:
Starring: Dwayne Johnson, Catherine Laga’aia, Rena Owen, John Tui, Frankie Adams, Jemaine Clement, Emma Puahi-Shapazian, Amaya Masoli.
Directed by: Thomas Kail.
Written by: Jared Bush & Dana Ledoux Miller. (Based on the original 2016 animated screenplay by Jared Bush, Ron Clements & John Musker.)
Running Time: 1h 55m.
Review:
Positives:
- The film is good fun, does no damage to the legacy of “Moana” from 2016 and manages to hit you in the feels in the right places.
- Catherine Laga’aia is simply outstanding as the teenage Moana. She has great screen presence and sings really beautifully.
- Also great are the two young ladies who play Moana at 4 (Emma Puahi-Shapazian) and 8 (Amaya Masoli). The transition between Amaya Masoli and Catherine Laga’aia is just brilliantly done and the film deserves another watch just to appreciate it again as an edit.
- All of the original Lin Manuel Miranda songs from the first movie are realised really nicely and we get a new song – “Along the Way” – which will surely be an Oscar contender come next year. This nicely bridges the gap between the old and the new by featuring vocals from both Auli’i Cravalho and Catherine Laga’aia.
Negatives:
- My main issue with the film is that it is there at all.
- Hei Hei is just as annoying, if not more so, in this version than in the original. He would have definitely been a “boat snack” if I’d been there! But I’m sure the kids in the audience will love it.
- Whilst many of the scenes delivered the same emotion as the original film, the bit where Moana belts out “I AM MOANA!!!” at the end of her song – which manages to still give me genuine goosebumps in the 2016 version – just didn’t hit in the same way with me here.
Summary Thoughts:
It’s fine. For fans of “Moana”, like my 6 year old grandson, I think I will be able to take him to see this and he will enjoy it a lot. So ignore me being grumpy about Disney laziness and avarice!
Where to watch?
Trailer:
The trailer for the film is here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n7f6hlKsxxo.
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