Australian Catherine Laga’aia makes her screen debut in Moana, the live action remake of Disney’s 2016 hit animated film. Source: Australian Catholics.
The film was photographed in Atlanta and Hawaii in 2024.
The plot sees Moana, the daughter of an island chief, leave her island of Motanui to find the demigod Maui (Johnson) in order to rescue the wellbeing of her beloved community, whose future is threatened.
Dwayne Johnson reprises his role as Maui the demigod from the animated film.
Kail makes his directorial debut, following his involvement as producer for the highly successful film, Hamilton, which captured the musical’s original Broadway cast live from Broadway’s Richard Rodgers Theatre. The music of Moana was written by Hamilton’s creator, Lin-Manuel Miranda.
This live action adaptation preserves the look and impact of the original 2016 movie and Johnson makes for an impressive demigod.
As Moana, Laga’aia convincingly takes the lead role.
Overall, this is an entertaining, adventure film that does solid justice to the original animated version.
Laga’aia acts her role in a high-spirited, engaged way which fits in well with the film’s plot. The film uses animation of a high standard and fuses it well with live performances.
The litmus test to understanding viewer reaction to this film version depends on viewer-responsiveness to the same plot as an existing movie being covered in a different way, a second time around.
This action version has an impact that anticipates a positive response to such a question. The film itself is a slightly longer version of the 2016 animation with a high-action style throughout.
Moana: Starring Dwayne Johnson, Catherine Laga’aia, John Tui, Frankie Adams, Rena Owen. Directed by Thomas Kail. 115 minutes. Rated PG (Mild threat).
FULL REVIEW
Moana (Australian Catholics)
