Disney's 1h 55m Live-Action Moana Draws Pointless Remake Verdict

Q: With critics calling the film 'shoddy,' will Moana finally sink Disney's controversial live-action remake strategy?

Probably not by itself, but it looks like a serious warning sign for Disney. The live-action *Moana* has landed some of the worst reviews of Disney’s remake cycle, with critics calling it a “lifeless carbon copy,” attacking its washed-out visuals, heavy CGI and near shot-for-shot fidelity to the 2016 original. That criticism cuts deeper here because *Moana* is not an old vault title being rediscovered; it is a recent hit that remains one of Disney+’s most-streamed films, and its sequel, *Moana 2*, made more than $1 billion worldwide only months ago. That makes the remake feel less like nostalgia and more like brand overuse. The bigger test is financial, not critical. Disney has repeatedly shown that weak reviews do not automatically kill these remakes: *The Lion King* and *Aladdin* were not critical favorites but still became billion-dollar hits. If *Moana* opens softly, as projections suggest, and struggles to justify its roughly $250 million budget, that would matter more inside Disney than Rotten Tomatoes alone. Recent disappointments such as *Snow White* already raised questions about whether the formula is losing momentum. Even so, one flop is unlikely to end the strategy. Disney still has a long record of remake profits and more projects in development. What *Moana* may do is force a rethink: remaking films that are too recent, too available, and too beloved in their original form looks increasingly risky unless the new version offers a clear artistic reason to exist.

3 articles · Updated · The New York Times · Jul 9

Disney’s new 1-hour-55-minute live-action “Moana,” directed by Thomas Kail, is judged the studio’s most pointless remake yet because it adds little to the 2016 original.
The review says the film clings almost beat-for-beat to the animated version, reusing plot turns, lines and jokes instead of offering a fresh interpretation.
That fidelity is cast as especially unnecessary because the original remained a major Disney+ streaming hit for years after a solid theatrical run.
The franchise is still commercially strong — 2024 sequel “Moana 2” topped $1 billion worldwide and “Moana 3” is reportedly in development — sharpening the question of why Disney remade the first film so soon.