Moana has now sailed into cinemas, and to say the reviews for Disney's latest live-action remake have been unkind is an understatement.
Before it had even reached cinemas, eyebrows were raised over Disney's decision to revisit a film released just 10 years ago. Then, when the first trailer dropped, the internet weighed in on everything from Dwayne Johnson's questionable wig to complaints that the overall vibe made it almost indistinguishable from its animated counterpart.
Now, with critics lambasting it as a "creatively bankrupt" and "soulless", Moana has found itself among Disney's worst-reviewed live-action titles to-date. But we'd argue Moana is simply the latest casualty of a much bigger problem as Disney has backed itself into a corner where it's damned if it does and damned if it doesn't.
When Cinderella arrived in 2015, it was a cinematic event. Kenneth Branagh's remake proved audiences were happy to revisit the studio's animated back catalogue, while The Jungle Book and Beauty and the Beast suggested Disney had found a winning formula.
After Cinderella, Disney settled into releasing one live-action remake a year, making each release feel like an event audiences could genuinely look forward to. Then, in 2019, it went all in.
In the space of just eight months came Dumbo, Aladdin, The Lion King and Lady and the Tramp. What had started as an occasional return to beloved classics increasingly became a business model. It was reminiscent of the direct-to-video sequel boom of the late '90s and early noughties, when Disney decided to catch up on the lives of some of its best-loved characters and introduce their offspring before audiences inevitably grew tired of them.
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The problem is that remaking a beloved classic is a thankless task. Stay too faithful and people question why it exists. The Lion King was criticised for sticking so closely to the 1994 original that, stunning visuals and actual Beyoncé aside, many struggled to justify its existence. Even Sir Elton John, who wrote the music for both versions, admitted he was left scratching his head.
Moana now finds itself facing similar criticism for being a copy-and-paste job, but making bigger changes has hardly proved to be the answer either. Tim Burton's Dumbo felt like it had mashed together the original animation with The Greatest Showman, flopping with critics (46% on Rotten Tomatoes) and at the box office ('only' $353 million worldwide).
Then came Snow White, perhaps the best example of Disney's tallest order. Rachel Zegler found herself unfairly vilified long before audiences had seen the finished movie after speaking about the need to modernise elements of the 1937 classic.
Some changes, however, were arguably inevitable. The Prince in the original is barely a character, appearing only briefly before returning to wake Snow White with a kiss while she's unconscious. Disney was never going to recreate that romance unchanged in the post-#MeToo era, instead introducing Jonathan, a Robin Hood-esque bandit.
Even the Seven Dwarfs became a no-win situation. Disney initially explored replacing them with a more diverse group of magical creatures before reversing course and opting for CGI dwarfs instead. Neither decision escaped complaints.
There was method behind what many saw as madness. Disney itself acknowledges on Disney+ that some of its older classics contain outdated cultural depictions or stereotypes. The same thinking could be seen in The Little Mermaid. Prince Eric was given a much bigger role, complete with his own 'I Want' song, while Disney updated the lyrics to Kiss the Girl to place greater emphasis on consent.
These weren't arbitrary alterations. They reflected the fact that movies made decades ago inevitably contain ideas and relationships that modern audiences view differently. While Disney was busy adding new material, fans were equally vocal about what had disappeared, with songs such as The Daughters of Triton noticeably absent.
That's also why some movies remain conspicuous by their absence. Disney legend Alan Menken, whose music helped give a mermaid her voice, a beast his humanity and helped usher in the Disney Renaissance, still hopes The Hunchback of Notre Dame can find its way to the big screen despite the challenges of adapting it for modern audiences. Some classics simply present far greater creative challenges than others.
Yet Disney shows no sign of slowing down, with live-action versions of Hercules and Tangled already in development.
The irony is that audiences want these remakes to justify their existence by offering something new while simultaneously preserving the magic of the originals they grew up with. Talk about setting yourself up for failure.
That’s why Moana feels less like the exception and more like the inevitable next chapter in Disney's remake era. The House of Mouse isn't apologising any time soon. If anything, like Maui himself, it's simply smiling and saying, "You're welcome".
Moana is in cinemas now.
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