Moana of Motunui must find demigod Maui, set sail across the sea and restore the heart of Te Fiti, only this time, it’s real!
Back in 2016 Moana of Motunui set sail and caused waves on both the seas and in the movie theatres quickly becoming one of the most adored recent animated offerings from Disney. Taking almost $650 million on a budget of $150million it became the first of a so far as yet unknown successful and beloved animated franchise. Unbelievably, we had to wait almost 8 years before we were treated to the next of the now potential animated trilogy and still with the same budget this time taking it over the magical $1billion mark for Moana 2 alone. Let’s now move on just 2 years, Moana finds herself back on the biggest screen although this time it is in the form of live action, with a fair amount of added animation.
To break this down. Moana (2016) gave us a new adventure with a strong yet compassionate young female lead played by Auli’i Cravalho (pronounced Ow-lee-e Kravalio), who, true to the Disney design, delivered on the visual scale with the large childlike animated eyes and an amazing voice at just 15 years of age with the obligatory cute sidekicks this time of Hei Hei the chicken and Pua the pig. Moreover we had an incredibly catchy soundtrack written by the now titan of musicals, Lin-Manuel Miranda of Tony and Olivier awarded Hamilton fame.
Moana has become a classic of its time with nothing bad to be said about the joyous oceanic ride. Moana 2 came along and true to the time shift in our world and theirs, Moana herself grew slightly though still had her dumb yet fun chicken Hei-Hei, and her adorable pet pig Pua; who this time went on the Pacific journey with our heroine. The expectation was quite rightly blue sky high, the brilliant story that once again spoke of nature though didn’t ram it down our throats and a soundtrack expectation delivered once again a very worthwhile film with a teaser for a third.
We now have the juxtaposition of an almost perfect journey though the songs were nowhere near the level of the first. Written this time by Abigail Barlow and Emily Bear of Barlow and Bear fame, good though they were; they were not quite as stunning as before. However, the box office does not lie and so Moana 2 became more successful and is still loved though arguably not quite as much. And so here we are in 2026 again with our heroine Moana, now in a territory that crosses over between real life and animation, which we’ll come back to. Demigod Maui is played once again by none other than Dwaye Johnson who of course voiced Maui before and his physique is astonishingly similar creating a very true likeness from the animation.
The elephant in the ocean however is the recast of the titular Moana. Originally voiced by Auli’i, she is now a joint executive producer and so an overseer of production but not the actress of what should have been a no brainer to us mere mortals. Moana’s character in the first film is 16 years of age, although now Auli’i despite being 22 at the time of recording for Moana ’26, her slightly older visual appearance for many would not have caused an issue, if anything it would have given us a truer version more faithful to before with the stunning voice to match the now real life visuals. Happy with her position however and wishing to bring in someone of more Polynesian descent we introduce a more age appropriate actress Catherine Laga’aia (pronounced Longa-aya) who was herself just 17 at the time of recording.
Shortlisted from 32,000 actresses around the world Catherine Laga’aia reluctantly auditioned along with her sister; sure in the idea she had no chance, but director Thomas Kail saw a youthful energy he wanted and so flew her from Australia to LA in June 2024 to begin filming in Atlanta, Georgia and wrapping in Hawai’i. The casting of this film uses only Dwayne in the primary roles from the first. Parents Chief Tui and Sina are now played by John Tui and Frankie Adams, and the all knowing Gramma Tala is played this time by Rena Owen. The story is almost beat for beat as before… a spirited teenager chosen by the ocean to restore the stolen heart of the goddess Te Fiti and save her island from a creeping blight. Defying her father’s wishes to stay within the safety of the reef, Moana sets sail across the Pacific in search of the legendary demigod Maui, whose theft of the heart caused the world’s imbalance. Together they face towering monsters, ancient curses and their own self-doubt, with Moana gradually discovering that true leadership comes from courage, compassion and embracing her heritage.
Some small lines have been added or subtracted, but it is the additional animation that blurs the lines as to why this was remade. Yes the songs are still as amazing as we remembered through the years especially in the cinematic environment of a good Dolby Atmos system. The human expressions however are less childlike and with that a little less adorable.
The question here though is why this was made in real life? Catherine Laga’aia – who is cast in her first ever job – fits the jovial position of Moana and her ambitious nature. Her interaction with her sidekicks and the water are quite charming and her ability to keep this relevant is what makes this new version still flow like the ocean. Johnson’s physical fit to the demigod is something most of us mere mortals could not pull off and Rena’s portrayal of Gramma Tala works well. The issue is why this is here in this crossover form. Moana ’26 is carried by its sublime soundtrack which has most definitely held up after a comparatively short period of time but the ‘in real life’ position this film holds does little to the franchise and may affect its future with Moana 2 in real life now unfortunately an almost certain non event.
Sometimes animation serves its purpose and delivers the wide eyed charm we have come to love over the decades. Where the story is smart and the music is catchy; the film becomes something quite special. Moana alongside Coco and Ratatouille are three such recent films that work beautifully and are held dear in our hearts. However restoring the heart of Te Fiti may be one step too far for Disney this time. This version of Moana is not as bad as people are implying. It may be a vanity case from Dwayne, and the remaking of adored Disney films in real life will still continue as Tangled is currently being filmed in Girona, northern Spain.
Go for the music and immerse yourself once more in the waters of Motunui.
Author: Piers, Maidstone Store
