Disney's 'dismal' live-action Moana panned by critics

ByAnnabel Rackham

Culture reporter

Disney has erstwhile again taken 1 of its biggest animated hits of caller years and turned it into a live-action remake - but the caller instrumentality connected 2016's Moana has been panned by astir critics.

Dwayne Johnson reprises his relation arsenic demigod Maui, with 19-year-old Australian-Samoan newcomer Catherine Laga'aia playing Moana, the teen girl of a Polynesian chief.

However, the movie, which was released connected Friday, has been described successful reviews arsenic "flat", "dull" and "dismal".

There were immoderate much affirmative voices, including Variety's Owen Gleiberman, external, who said it "escapes the remake blues - successful information it soars supra them".

Gleiberman added that the movie "truly delivers 'Moana' - the beauty, the comic personality, the fairy-tale enchantment", and described Johnson's "fit" for the movie arsenic "perfect".

Peter Bradshaw is disagreed successful The Guardian, external, calling the movie a "competent but pointless and unexciting back-to-basics live-action remake" successful his two-star review.

He said Johnson's show was "on autopilot, similar a portion of software" and criticised the usage of CGI, which helium said was "so profoundly embedded" it feels similar "another animation".

Bradshaw ended his reappraisal by saying it "feels similar a superfluous portion of monetisable content".

The Independent's Clarisse Loughrey, external called Moana "a discarded of everyone's clip and talent" successful her one-star review.

"Is the concern truly truthful dire that we'll present judge Dwayne Johnson repeating the nonstop aforesaid dependable show helium gave a decennary ago?" she wrote.

She besides criticised the animated consciousness of the movie, writing: "Supposedly, immoderate scenes were changeable connected determination successful Hawaii and not successful a workplace successful Atlanta - I couldn't archer you which."

Empire's John Nugent, external said Johnson's quality "feels similar an AI interpretation", and to telephone the movie "live enactment feels similar a misnomer" due to the fact that of the dense usage of animation.

His two-star reappraisal said the remake feels "so pointless" erstwhile the archetypal movie was "a fun, funny, poignant coming-of-age yarn with fantastic euphony and a winning Polynesian rotation connected the Disney Princess template".

Kevin Maher from The Times, external said 54-year-old Johnson was "three decades excessively aged to play Maui", with "his show oddly lacklustre and restrained".

Maher, successful his one-star review, besides described the movie arsenic "a lazy currency drawback for shareholders".

"This live-action remake takes everything that was sprightly, expansive and ambitious [from the original] and makes it leaden, constricted and dull," helium wrote.

The Telegraph's Robbie Collin, external was besides not a instrumentality - penning that it "could person been made by a ChatGPT prompt".

Giving the movie 2 stars, helium said determination "is hardly a infinitesimal successful it which feels arsenic if it couldn't person been achieved by typing: 'What if this country from Moana was remade successful unrecorded action?' into a punctual box".

Positive reviews were comparatively rare, but determination was 1 from the Hollywood Reporter's David Rooney, external, who described it arsenic "captivating household amusement that deserves to find an assemblage - brimming with ocular interest, vibrant color, gorgeous plan elements and alluring tropical settings".

The publication has been adapted by the archetypal screenwriter Jared Bush, with the euphony from Lin-Manuel Miranda remaining excessively portion Hamilton signifier manager Thomas Kail makes his movie debut.

In the past 15 years determination person been much than 20 live-action remakes of Disney classics - with varying levels of success.

In 2023, The Little Mermaid was not a container bureau hit, but the corp bounced backmost successful 2024 with Mufasa: The Lion King.

Then past twelvemonth Disney mislaid $170m with its Snow White live-action remake, but rapidly recouped costs a mates of months aboriginal erstwhile live-action Lilo & Stitch became 1 of the biggest films of the year, making $1bn.