‘Moana’ Review: Dwayne Johnson returns for Disney’s lazy live-action remake that resembles AI slop
A Fox News opinion piece reviews Disney's new live-action remake of "Moana," in which Dwayne Johnson reprises his role as the demigod Maui alongside newcomer Catherine Laga'aia and under the direction of Thomas Kail. The reviewer is scathing, arguing that Disney is "phoning it in" and describing the film as a lazy cash grab that arrives less than a decade after the beloved 2016 animated original.
The article places the remake within Disney's wider strategy of reworking its animated classics for live action, citing "Beauty and the Beast," "Aladdin," "The Lion King," "The Little Mermaid" and last year's poorly received "Snow White." It acknowledges the commercial success of this approach, noting several such films have grossed over a billion dollars globally, including 2024's "Lilo & Stitch" remake, but contends that Disney should offer audiences more artistic justification than simply chasing profit. (The supplied text is truncated and does not contain the full review.)