I am against the idea of a "pointless" film. I find the accusation to be derogatory but, Disney's live action films have really run into a wall as of late. Moana (2026), the latest in their live action remakes, is really confusing for many reasons. There are currently 26 live action remakes of Disney films. So many that it really begs to question, "what more could they do?" There's an alleged 5 in the works based on older films with the exception of Tangled which is now in production. Moana's issues is, the movie just isn't that old to begin with. The animated film released back in 2016 to great box office success, critical acclaim, and won multiple awards. A sequel series was then announced back in 2020 to debut on the Disney+ platform. During the development process, the show became Moana 2 (2024) which went on to gross over a billion at the box office. It was a massive success and two short years later, audiences were greeted again with Moana, Maui, and company with the live action release. As of now, the film has generated $264 million against a $250 million reported budget. It will be, without a doubt, one of 2026's biggest box office flops. So, what happened? I believe it was a combination of timing and audience confusion. For starters, Moana (2026) release between Minions 4, Toy Story 5, and a week before The Odyssey, and two before Spider-Man: Brand New Day. Even if it the movie received good scores and had strong word of mouth, its legs were almost immediately cut off by two of 2026's most anticipated releases. It didn't help that Toy Story over performed as well, also grossing over a billion in an impressive box office year. What seemed turn audiences was the lack of creativity in the live action adaptation. Amazing songs aside, there were too many shots that were either 1:1 remakes of the original or examples of the unique style and heightened comedy animation can achieve. It was especially apparent with Maui (played again by the Rock) who just doesn't move as cartoonishly as his animated counterpart. The live action has the heart and the songs but misses the mark when it comes to everything else that made Moana unique. Clearly the audience felt the same as the repurposed show turned movie was a mage hit just two years prior. If you're a super fan and want to hear the music again, check out Moana (2026) but, I'm afraid you might be ok skipping this one.
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