Disney’s live-action reimagining of Moana was hoping to catch a wave of success on the backs of star Dwayne Johnson and composer Lin-Manuel Miranda, both of whom were key to the original animated feature’s blockbuster success. Instead, the film has run aground with critics, opening with a dismal 38% on Rotten Tomatoes and a 44 on Metacritic. That ranks among the worst of the Mouse House’s live-action remakes; not surprisingly, per some estimates, Moana‘s opening box office is tracking lower than such bombs as Snow White and Dumbo.
This tide of negative reception raises an important awards-season question: Can Lin-Manuel Miranda’s Oscar hopes for his new original song survive a critical wipe-out?
There are the odd positive reviews. Variety’s Owen Gleiberman says it “escapes the Disney live-action remake blues — in fact, it soars above them. It’s the best of these movies I’ve seen.” And Nell Minnow at RogerEbert.com states, “Thomas Kail’s live-action remake of Disney’s 2016 animated Moana is very entertaining, with gorgeous visuals, great song.” But the overwhelming consensus is that the film is a redundant, shot-for-shot rehash. Critics panned the heavy CGI and lack of creative spark. Robbie Collin at The Telegraph writes, “Disney’s awful live-action Moana could have been made by a ChatGPT prompt.” And Nick Schagger at The Daily Beast insists the film “is as purposeless as big-screen summer spectaculars get—a would-be blockbuster driven purely by financial concerns and incapable of capturing its forerunner’s buoyant spirit.”
Yet, even within the most blistering reviews, the music remains a shield. Miranda’s new original song, “Along the Way,” performed by newcomer Catherine Laga’aia, Dwayne Johnson, and original voice actress Auli’i Cravalho, has received high praise. In his review, Michael Rechtshaffen of The Hollywood Reporter highlighted the film’s stellar score, noting, “when you add in a selection of infectious, soul-stirring songs by Hamilton sensation Lin-Manuel Miranda along with score composer Mark Mancina and Samoan musician Opetaia Tavita Foa’i, you’ve got a tropical Frozen with the potential for a similarly wide-reaching audience.”
Miranda needs an elusive Oscar to complete his EGOT status (he already has two Emmys, three Tonys, and five Grammys), and before the reviews hit, he was tracking as an early contender in the Best Original Song category. “Along the Way” seemed specifically engineered to give the live-action remake its own unique awards footprint.
However, the Academy’s music branch typically reward songs attached to films that carry genuine cultural or critical prestige or tunes that are big enough to transcend mediocrity. Since 2000, only two Best Original Song winners have come from films with an Rotten Tomatoes score of 70% or less: Sam Smith’s “Writing’s on the Wall” from Spectre (63%) and “El Mal” from Emilia Pérez (70%). Moana’s low rating drastically shrinks its awards footprint, if not disqualifying the film altogether.
Compounding Moana’s uphill battle is a tough field. Taylor Swift has jumped out to front-runner status with her Toy Story 5 ballad “I Knew It, I Knew You,” while previous winner Lady Gaga could mount a campaign with her track “Shades of a Woman” from The Devil Wears Prada 2. Christopher Nolan’s upcoming The Odyssey features a song by Travis Scott and James Blunt that could also be swept into contention by that film’s likely awards gravity. Songs from Hoppers, Power Ballad, and The Debut are also eyeing the shortlist.
Considering Miranda’s star power and inevitable push by studio campaigners, it’s too soon to count him out, but there’s no doubt “Along the Way” has a long way to go to overcome the sinking film.
