Di latest Disney live-action remake, Moana, wey open dis week, fit be big flop. From di moment dem announce am, e don get wahala.
When trailer for di new live-action remake of Disney’s Moana go online for March, one of di main tins wey people dey yarn na di sight of Dwayne Johnson‘s long, curly wig wey no convince at all. Di Rock’s hair cause plenty unkind comments, but di worst insult come from Weird Al Yankovic, wey post photo of Johnson wey wear wig for Instagram, with caption: “We don tell all di casting agents say di Weird Al biopic sequel dey hold for now, but dem just keep sending headshots.” Ouch.
Yankovic’s assertion say he and Johnson be lookalikes fit be joke, but e be part of mocking trend. Moana no dey get di reverence wey Disney hope for. Before e release, di new version of di Polynesian princess’s ocean-going adventures bin dey hit by wave after wave of criticisms.
Now, various cinema tracking specialists don predict say Moana go earn between $50m and $85m for im opening weekend for US: dat one less dan half of wetin anoda Disney remake, Lilo & Stitch, earn for di same period one year ago – and far from wetin di studio expect from one of dia most popular pieces of IP.
As e turn out, di quality of di film itself fit be di problem. Di live-action Moana dey uncannily similar to di cartoon – but at no point e ever match am. While di cartoon’s animation bin dey dazzlingly bright and rich, with joyous character design and luminescent views of turquoise waves and verdant island scenery, di live-action rehash get plenty relatively ordinary-looking actors wey dey stand for blurry CGI settings.
Even before di new film bin screen to critics, dere bin dey sense say Moana dey run low on Disney’s signature magic. Di first grumblings bin hear as soon as di project officially unveil by Johnson for April 2023.
Tim Robey, film critic for The Telegraph and author of Box Office Poison: Hollywood‘s History in a Century of Flops, note say some of di hostility directed at am include bigoted element. “Di live-action Disney remakes wey focus on female, non-white main characters – look at The Little Mermaid – get habit of doing particularly badly, and dey bullied online more dan di ones with boy heroes,” he talk.
But plenty oda non-political reasons dey for all di Moana moaning too. For one tin, di cartoon come out just decade ago for 2016, so e no be like anybody dey cry out for di new film. One selling point of Disney’s remakes na nostalgia. But simply no get enough time for anybody to feel nostalgic about Moana.
Dat particular issue become even more pressing early for 2024, when Disney announce say nearly-finished Moana television series no go show for Disney+, after all, but rejig as feature film with cinema release. Dis prove to be financially savvy decision. Moana 2, wey come out for November 2024, na di third-highest-grossing film of di year, raking in just over $1bn worldwide. But e make di live-action Moana seem less like momentous event.
“I feel like [di remake] just too soon after Moana 2,” Tim Robey talk. “People no particularly like [Moana 2], and think e be kind of cash-in. So for Disney to release remake of di first film straight afterwards, e feel like such production-line decision.”
Di sequel also confuse potential audiences about wetin dey happen with di franchise. One common comment beneath trailers for di live-action Moana na: Dis one no come out already? Wetin more, di prospect of seeing Johnson on screen as Maui, di character wey he voice for both cartoons, don lose some of im attraction. For 2021, Johnson bin be box-office colossus wey dem talk of as future US president. But im subsequent succession of flops – Jungle Cruise (2021), Black Adam (2022), Red One (2024), The Smashing Machine (2025) – show say im gleaming grin and boulder-like pecs no dey enough to sell tickets again.
As for im co-star, di initial rumour na say di actress wey voice Moana for di cartoons, Auli’i Cravalho, go play di title role again on screen. But Cravalho confirm for May 2023 say she go step aside to let younger actress take over. Her decision bin well received, and Cravalho’s successor, Catherine Laga’aia, well cast, but some of di live-action film’s unique appeal bin dilute. Di intriguing Johnson-Cravalho reunion no go happen.
Di trailers dampen enthusiasm too. Dere bin dey CGI monsters, CGI animals and CGI waves – all of which suggest say plenty of di live-action film essentially go be animated film. “E dey seem like audiences dey grow restless with sloppy-looking CGI as half-measure,” Kyle Meikle, author of The Live-Action Animated Film, and Associate Professor of English and Communication at University of Baltimore, tell BBC. “Dis summer, practical effects don rule: Backrooms, Obsession – heck, even The Devil Wears Prada 2 and Michael [get limited digital trickery]. And now I dey see Christopher Nolan dey talk up The Odyssey’s practical effects for di press. Compare dat with Supergirl’s reception, or audiences’ distaste for di dismal, half-CGI Masters of the Universe. Either fully commit to computer animation, as for Toy Story 5 or Minions & Monsters, or go practical.”
Maybe di reliance on CGI bin inevitable, given say Moana feature plenty supernatural creatures. But di result na say di digitally rendered creatures for di new film more or less identical to di digitally rendered creatures for di 2016 cartoon. And, crucially, e too easy for people to make dat comparison. Di original Moana so fresh for im fans’ minds, and so frequently rewatch for Disney+, dat commenters keep pointing out di same punchlines, di same character designs, and di same camera angles for di trailers. Instead of anticipating fabulous reinvention of beloved film, dem complain say dem dey offer faded photocopy. And as e transpire, dat na pretty much wetin dem dey get.
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Disney’s executives probably no dey worry: for every one of di studio’s live-action remakes wey sink without trace, anoda one dey triumph. The Little Mermaid flop for 2023, whereas Mufasa: The Lion King (prequel to di photorealistic remake of di 1994 animated classic) bin big hit for 2024. Last year, Snow White bomb so badly say Disney lose $170m, whereas Lilo & Stitch (one of di biggest films of 2025) make dem $1bn. E no wonder say remakes of Tangled and Hercules dey plan, along with sequel to di live-action Lilo & Stitch. But Moana be example of how careful Disney suppose be. Each of dia remakes get to feel comfortingly familiar yet excitingly new. Di source material get to be recent enough for audiences to dey fond of am, but no so recent say dem know am off by heart. And if di wigs no right, den dem suppose scrap di whole enterprise and start again.
Moana dey release for cinemas on 10 July. If you like dis story, sign up for The Essential List newsletter – handpicked selection of features, videos and can’t-miss news, wey dem deliver to your inbox twice a week. For more Culture stories from BBC, follow us on Facebook and Instagram.
