Moana, Disney‘s latest live-action remake of one of its beloved animated classics, held its world premiere at the iconic Hollywood Bowl, Los Angeles on Tuesday night, and not long after the screening early reaction to the film hit social media.
While official, full, critics reviews for Moana are embargoed till July 8, ahead of the film’s theatrical release on July 10, press and attendees of the premiere were allowed to post brief thoughts on the film on social media, and the consensus reaction seems to be mixed, at best, and in some cases incredibly hostile, with some viewers questioning why Disney bothered making the film.
Directed by Thomas Kail, Moana sees Dwayne Johnson reprise his role of demigod Maui from the animated hit, with Catherine Laga’aia making her film debut with the role of the princess with wanderlust Moana, taking over from Auliʻi Cravalho who voiced the character in the 2016 film and its 2024 animated sequel. The live-action cast also includes Rena Owen, John Tui and Frankie Adams. Jemaine Clement also returns from the first film to voice a CGI version of the giant treasure-hungry crab Tamatoa.
The live-action film follows the two animated Moana movies. The first Moana animated film, released in 2016, was a big critical (95 percent on Rotten Tomatoes) and commercial success, making $687 million at the global box office. It also later became a big success on streaming via Disney+. The animated sequel Moana 2 was released in November 2024 and was an even bigger hit commercially, garnering $1.059 billion at the box office worldwide, although it fared less well with critics (61 percent).
Jared Bush, who wrote Moana (2016) and Moana 2 (2024) returns to write Moana (2026), penning the script with Dana Ledoux Miller. Composer Mark Mancina, who wrote the much-loved musical score for the original film and its sequel, also returns as does songwriter Lin Manuel Miranda, and the live-action film features all the same classic tunes, including “You’re Welcome,” “Shiny,” and “Where You Are.”
The new live-action version of Moana is the latest in the series of live-action remakes of Disney animated classics, following in the footsteps of Beauty & the Beast, Snow White, Cinderella, Dumbo, The Jungle Book, Aladdin, Mulan, The Little Mermaid, The Lion King and most recently Lilo & Stitch. The critical and commercial record of the remakes has been mixed with huge successes like Lilo & Stitch, Beauty & the Beast, The Jungle Book, The Lion King and Aladdin, standing in stark comparison to the big box office bombs such as Dumbo, Mulan and Snow White.
Moana (2026) is released in theaters on July 10. See a selection of social media reaction to the film below.
