Moana (2026) review: The live-action remake that actually works

The animated Moana from 2016 is one of my absolute favorite films. For me it is the best Disney film there is: a perfect story in a perfect setting, carried by fantastic music. It is simply perfect all round. So when Disney announced a live-action remake, I was more than sceptical. A remake of a film that has nothing left to fix can only lose.

Then we watched the new Moana on Disney+, and to my surprise, they actually pulled it off. It works for me just as well as the original. It is a 5 out of 5 for me, and a 5 for all of us: the whole family watched it together. Above all, it gives you that great feeling all over again.

The film opened in US theaters on July 10, 2026, and has been on Disney+ since October 21, 2026. It is the same story you know: Moana, the daughter of the chief of Motunui, answers the call of the ocean, sails beyond the reef and needs the demigod Maui to return the heart of Te Fiti. If your family knows the cartoon by heart, nothing in the plot will surprise you. What surprised me was how much it still moved me.

Why I was sceptical

When a film is as close to perfect as the animated Moana, a remake has very little room. It can only keep what is there or change something that did not need changing. And the original leans on things animation does especially well: an ocean that behaves like a character, a demigod whose tattoos move on their own, a giant crab covered in treasure.

The people behind the remake are not newcomers to this material, though. Dwayne Johnson voiced Maui in 2016 and is one of the producers this time. Lin-Manuel Miranda, who wrote the songs for the original together with Opetaia Foa’i and Mark Mancina, is a producer too, and Auliʻi Cravalho, the original voice of Moana, is one of the executive producers. Director Thomas Kail worked with Miranda on Hamilton.

Why it works anyway

The short answer is that the film trusts what made the original great. The story is the same, the setting is the same, and the music is the same. It does not try to fix what was never broken, and that is exactly the right choice for a film like this.

The longer answer is the cast, which is excellent. Catherine Laga’aia is a wonderful Moana. Following a voice performance that so many families know by heart is a hard job, and for us she is every bit the Moana we know from the cartoon.

And then there is Dwayne Johnson. He voiced Maui in 2016, and putting him in the role for real is perfect casting. For us, nobody else could play this Maui. Around them, Rena Owen plays Gramma Tala, John Tui is Chief Tui, Moana’s father, and Frankie Adams plays her mother, Sina.

The songs: still the heart of it

The songs are simply wonderful, and they are the reason this remake works where others have not. The music from the original is back, and it sounds just as good with real people singing it.

The giant crab is a highlight. “Shiny”, the song of Tamatoa, the treasure-obsessed crab at the bottom of the ocean, was always one of the strangest and funniest numbers in the original, and it is brilliant here too. Maui’s song, “You’re Welcome”, is pure Dwayne Johnson: big, cheeky and impossible not to sing along to.

The Gramma Tala moment: pure goosebumps

My highlight is the same as in the animated film. When Moana is at her lowest point and ready to give up, her grandmother, Gramma Tala, appears to her as a manta ray, and Moana sings “I Am Moana (Song of the Ancestors)”. In the cartoon this is the scene that gets me every single time. I wondered whether a live-action version could possibly match it.

It does. Pure goosebumps, exactly like in the cartoon. The scene works because the whole film has built up the bond between grandmother and granddaughter, so when Gramma Tala returns in the form she always said she would come back in, you feel it.

Who it is for

This is a family film in the best sense. It is rated PG, and we watched it with the whole family. If your kids love the animated Moana, they will love seeing the story with real people, and they will sing every song. If you are an adult who loves the original as much as I do, give it a chance even if you are sceptical. I was too.

If your kids have never seen either version, start with the animated original. It has a little more charm, and for me it is still the reference. Then watch the live-action film and let them compare. For a full Moana weekend, the 2-movie collection has both animated films. And if your kid builds, the LEGO Heihei set is the dumbest chicken in the Pacific in brick form.

On a big screen and on Vision Pro

This is a film for the biggest screen in the house. The ocean is everywhere, and the voyage scenes look best when the picture fills your view. If you own the 4K disc, that is the version to put on.

We watched it together as a family on the TV, not on Apple Vision Pro. The Disney+ app is available there, though, and a film this full of open water should look fantastic on a screen that fills your whole view.

Want to watch something else tonight? Prime Video’s 30-day free trial has plenty of family films to try. Check what is in the catalogue before you sign up.

📌 FAQ – Frequently asked questions

Is the live-action Moana worth watching?

Yes. We gave it 5 out of 5. It keeps the story, the songs and the emotional moments of the 2016 animated film, with a wonderful Catherine Laga’aia as Moana and Dwayne Johnson back as Maui.

Is the live-action Moana as good as the animated film?

Almost. The animated Moana has a little more charm and is still our reference, but the live-action version gave us the same great feeling, and the Gramma Tala scene with I Am Moana still gives you goosebumps. Both are a 5 out of 5 for us.

Is the live-action Moana on Disney+?

Yes. It opened in US theaters on July 10, 2026, and has been streaming on Disney+ since October 21, 2026. It is also available on 4K Ultra HD, Blu-ray and DVD.

Is the live-action Moana suitable for kids?

Yes. It is rated PG and runs 115 minutes. We watched it as a family, and everyone loved it.

Who plays Moana and Maui in the live-action film?

Catherine Laga’aia plays Moana, and Dwayne Johnson plays Maui, the role he voiced in the 2016 animated film. Rena Owen plays Gramma Tala, John Tui plays Chief Tui and Frankie Adams plays Sina.

Can I watch Moana on Apple Vision Pro?

Yes. The Disney+ app is available on Apple Vision Pro, so you can stream the live-action Moana there on a very large virtual screen. We watched it as a family on the TV.

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