Disney's animated super-hit Moana from 2016, having been followed up by a dull sequel two years ago, now gets a competent but basically pointless and unexciting back-to-basics live-action remake. Screenwriter Jared Bush modifies his original script, Broadway stage veteran Thomas Kail makes his movie directing debut, and Lin-Manuel Miranda's songs are revived. Nineteen-year-old Australian Samoan actor Catherine Laga'aia takes the role of Moana, the headstrong teen daughter of a Polynesian chief; her wise and kindly grandma Tala, who recognises Moana's heroic leadership destiny, is played by New Zealand actor Rena Owen.
The Plot: A Familiar Quest
Moana must go on a quest to restore the heart of the goddess Te Fiti, the lack of which is causing an eco-crisis on her home island of Motunui. To do this, she joins forces with the swaggeringly arrogant demigod Maui, played by Dwayne Johnson in his own actual person, which is almost as cartoonishly muscly and vast as the animated version. Maui has a spurious quest of his own: to retrieve the hook that is the source of his power and confront his nemesis, the giant crab Tamatoa, voiced by Jemaine Clement. Tamatoa is a 3D animated version of the 2D cartoon original, as is Heihei, Moana's less-than-hilarious pet chicken.
A Performance on Autopilot
There is some pretty funny stuff from Johnson here, and a nice enough rapport between him and his young co-star, but it feels as if he is on autopilot, like a piece of software. He can do all this as casually as raising each of his eyebrows individually or flexing each of his pectorals in turn. A supposedly live-action film, it is so deeply embedded in CGI work as to be really another animation. An actual stage musical version would be a different proposition and might give the musical numbers more of a platform. This feels like a superfluous piece of monetisable content.
Moana is out on 9 July in Australia, 10 July in the UK and US.
