As live-action ‘Moana’ arrives, Disney’s remake machine shows no signs of slowing

PARIS, July 5 — Disney’s reliance on its back catalogue of characters and franchises will be underlined again next week with the release of a live-action version of “Moana”, a remake of the Polynesian-themed animation hit that is only a decade old.

The original Moana from 2016 follows a young Polynesian girl who sets off on an adventure across the ocean, accompanied by the demigod Maui, to save her people and their atoll.

A sequel came out in 2024 and a third animated instalment is in the works, while the new live-action version starring Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson will hit screens worldwide from Wednesday.

It is a shot-for-shot rehash of the original, with the same songs and similar dialogue, directed by Thomas Kail of Hamilton fame.

“The way that the movie breathes is so different than animation the way that you fill a frame is quite different and I think there’s an opportunity to access emotion in a distinct way,” he told AFP.

With a budget estimated at 200-250 million dollars, the film is banking on spectacular special effects to draw in crowds at a time when animated sequels Toy Story 5 and Minions & Monsters are riding high at the box office.

Nostalgia

Remakes and franchises have become a cornerstone of modern Hollywood production, despite criticism that they are a sign of declining creativity and risk-taking by the industry’s big beasts.

Concepts and characters that are already familiar to viewers are seen as bankable profit-makers by under-pressure studios, while offering attractive merchandising, games and other spin-off possibilities.

Disney’s appetite for live-action re-makes of its animated hits was whetted by the huge success of 2010’s Alice in Wonderland by Tim Burton, which grossed more than a billion dollars worldwide.

Aladdin, Beauty and the Beast, and Lilo & Stitch have each broken the billion-dollar level at the box office since.

“Overall, they’ve done very well, especially the films based on the Disney Renaissance of the 1980s and 1990s,” said Stephane Durand, a pop culture and Disney specialist in France.

“The biggest hits are films that recreate the original almost shot for shot,” he explained. “For people interested in storytelling, it’s pretty poor. But as long as the films make a billion dollars, it will go on.”

Not all have been a hit, however.

The Little Mermaid (2023) earned a lacklustre reception, while Snow White (2025) proved a disappointment.

“Studios need to ensure that the charm of the original is retained and need to be extremely judicious with their creative license,” Caroline Reid, a journalist at Forbes magazine specialised in the film and entertainment industries, said.

But even those that don’t draw crowds to cinemas can still turn out to be commercial hits thanks to the rise of streaming.

“Many of the live-action remakes that don’t succeed at the box office are hits on streaming. The Little Mermaid is a good example of this,” Reid said. — AFP