Reaction Roundup: “Moana” Fails to Reach the Horizon Beyond Catherine Laga’aia’s Shiny Performance
This Friday, fans are being welcomed back into the world of Moana, this time in live-action! Check out what people are saying about the film as social reactions begin to come in!
Tonight, Disney hosted the world premiere of the live-action remake of Moana at the Hollywood Bowl. As fans and critics from around the world begin wayfinding with Moana and Maui at theaters worldwide, let’s check out what reviewers are sharing as first reactions start hitting social media.
First up, our take on the live-action remake is that the film is familiar and true to its source material, well cast, and finds moments of originality.
Live-action Moana found a fan in Guy at the Movies, claiming the film was “a nice surprise,” filled with familiar fun and some appreciated additional dialogue.
Rachel Leishman echoes that sentiment, saying the live-action remake is a faithful adaptation to the animated hit. She also highlights Catherine Laga’aia’s shiny performance as Moana, while taking a dig at The Rock’s less polished take on Maui.
Continuing to highlight the performance of Catherine Laga’aia and her spectacular chemistry with Dwayne Johnson, Klepcx notes the film takes “very few creative risks,” following the 2016 film almost scene-for-scene.
Sam Bussell also can’t help but admire Catherine Laga’aia’s take on Moana, but does highlight that the film failed to break free from the live-action formula.
For some, this familiarity is a hindrance. Cole Groth takes a pretty strong stance against the film, calling it a “cheap imitation” that fails to prove its worth.
Following the heavy criticism of the film, Matt Neglia says the live-action remake fails to do anything the original film did better. He also highlights the film’s heavy CGI use, calling it “inauthentic.” Neglia joined the crowd, praising Catherine Laga’aia’s star power, but also felt Dwayne Johnson’s performance wasn’t quite up to snuff.
The Nerds of Color also find Catherine Laga’aia a “charming and talented” Moana that made the movie. She also highlights Rena Owqen as Gramma Tala. However, Johnson takes another hit, describing his Maui as “sleepwalking through a reprised role.”
Kaitlyn Booth was pretty lukewarm on the remake, describing it as adding “very little” to the source material. Her one positive remark praises Catherine Laga’aia’s Moana.
Some reactions even lean pretty hard into negative criticism, with Tyler “Ilewyn” Taing calling it one of the “ugliest movies of the year.” Ouch.
But, again, we keep finding ourselves back at the clear standout of the film: Catherine Laga’aia. Fabricio Giraob calls her performance the best thing in the new film “by a wide margin.”
Well, just like most live-action remakes from Disney, the critic reviews are pretty harsh. However, with Moana, there aren’t any massive changes to the story that led to some heavy backlash for the failed Snow White remake and the highly successful Lilo & Stitch remake. I think the negative feedback will not indicate the success of this film. For those going to the theater to see a new movie, Moana is looking to be far from that. However, Moana is a beloved modern Disney film that I think many families will enjoy watching regardless of its necessity as a live-action film. Congratulations to Catherine Laga’aia on her clear standout performance as the titular character.
Moana hits theaters this Friday, July 10th. Bringing back the hit story of 2016’s animated release Moana, Catherine Laga’aia and Dwayne Johnson take Moana and Maui into the real world.
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