It’s only been a decade since the original animated Moana debuted and became one of Disney Animation’s biggest modern hits. And yet, those ten years are long enough, as the movie will be the most recent release to receive the live-action remake treatment. It will also see the return of one of the film’s original voice actors when Dwayne Johnson reprises his role as Maui. Johnson understands that this movie has some big shoes to fill, and it sounds like he put a lot of time and care into one specific aspect of it.
The recency and quality of the original Moana were absolutely on the actor’s mind while making the new live-action Moana. In a new video posted to Instagram, Johnson said he was very protective of Moana because that first movie was so good. He explained…
For me, Moana is special. To be able to showcase our Polynesian culture in this way has been a real honor. You want to be protective because the animated film was so good.
One of the major problems that people have with Disney live-action remakes is that, in most cases, the movie being remade is a literal classic. So their feeling is that there’s little to be gained from a remake. Johnson seems to understand this very clearly. He knows that a remake of Moana that doesn’t match the quality of the original is going to be a disappointment for fans.
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As part of that, today, we got a new trailer for the live-action Moana, one that gives us our first look at Dwayne Johnson’s live-action Maui. It’s hard to imagine that The Rock could look small in any movie, though compared to his animated counterpart, he certainly does. Also, while perhaps accurate, I’m going to have to get used to that hair.
The incredible success of Moana 2 at the global box office ensures that the audience for this newest iteration of Moana is certainly there. It feels like the live-action reamke is all but assured a massive opening weekend.
Now, the only question is whether it will have the long-term box office success it will need to be the sort of billion-dollar blockbuster that the top Disney live-action remakes have been. That will be determined by whether those fans think the movie did live up to the original, so Dwayne Johnson’s protection of that film makes perfect sense. He, and all of Disney, surely want this movie to look more like Lilo & Stitch than Snow White in when it comes to its financial results.
And success with the remake likely means even more Moana in the future. The animated sequel hinted at a future for that franchise, and the more animated Moana movies they make, the more opportunity there will be for live-action sequels if this first movie is a success.