Variety's chief film critic Owen Gleiberman has published a highly positive review of Disney's new live-action remake of "Moana", calling it the first such remake to work "100%" and the best of the genre he has seen. This matters because Disney's run of live-action remakes has been widely regarded as creatively unnecessary and generally inferior to the animated originals, so a genuine critical success marks a notable break from that pattern.

Gleiberman argues the film succeeds partly because so much of it is effectively animated, with artful CG creating a world that sits halfway between live action and animation. He praises newcomer Catherine Laga'aia, who makes her screen debut as Moana and sings "How Far I'll Go", alongside Rena Owen as grandmother Tala and, crucially, Dwayne Johnson, whose real-life persona fits the demigod Maui perfectly. Directed by Thomas Kail, the film retains the songs of Lin-Manuel Miranda and Opetaia Foa'i, which the critic feels have aged well, and centres on the spiky battle of wills between Moana and Maui.