Fans Slam Disney’s Live-Action ‘Moana’ as “Completely Unnecessary” & “Slop”
Disney’s live-action remake of Moana is facing heavy criticism online after its first trailer was released.
The film, set to premiere on July 10, 2026, stars Catherine Lagaʻaia as Moana, with Dwayne Johnson returning as Maui. It is directed by Thomas Kail, with a screenplay by Jared Bush and Dana Ledoux Miller, and produced by Johnson, Hiram and Dany Garcia, Beau Flynn, and Lin-Manuel Miranda.
The project was first announced by Johnson in April 2023. Kail was brought on as director in May 2023, and Lagaʻaia was cast as the titular character in June 2024. Filming took place in Atlanta and Hawaii between July and November 2024.
The movie was initially set to begin production in October 2023 but was delayed due to the SAG-AFTRA strike. Cinematography is by Óscar Faura, and Bill Westenhofer oversaw visual effects. The studio had briefly considered using AI to create a deepfake of Johnson’s face for certain shots but later abandoned the plan due to potential controversy.
Despite the star-studded team and anticipation, fans were quick to express disappointment with the trailer on social media.
Many questioned the need for a remake so soon after the original 2016 animated film. “Didn’t Moana literally just come out or something? Aren’t they working on Moana 3 or something? There is 0 reason this needs to exist,” one fan commented. Others criticized the heavy use of CGI despite the “live-action” label.
“Looks like the typical cheap CGI, green screen slop we’ve been getting out of these remakes. This one in particular had the chance to look really gorgeous, but Disney just can’t help themselves,” another fan wrote.
Some highlighted the original film’s strengths and felt a remake was unnecessary. “Moana 1 was perfect in pretty much every single aspect… If they are gonna milk this franchise then I’d rather see them make sequels than cheap live action remakes,” one comment read. Fans also mocked the trailer’s visual effects, calling them AI-like and fake.
Other reactions included:
“When they run out of the animated classics to remake, they will start remaking the remakes.”
“Original less than 10 years old. This is the same movie, just worse. AI looking. Disaster. Why? Why? Why? Ehmmmm… wasted money.”
“Why don’t they just come up with new movies instead of making live-action? It just ruins the Disney magic tbh.”
“So it’s half live action? 😂”
The backlash underscores a growing frustration among audiences over Disney’s current trend of remaking animated classics into live-action films. While the remake promises updated visuals and star power, many fans feel the original story and animation were already perfect.
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