Moana is the latest Disney Vault escapee to receive the obligatory “live-action remake” treatment, and to its credit, the trailer does contain live-action elements. Moana, for one, as played by Catherine Laga’aia, taking over for Auli’i Cravalho, who voiced the character in the two animated versions, is a flesh-and-blood human. That’s more than we can say for Dwayne Johnson’s Maui, who we only get a look at from the back. The sand and, occasionally, water look real, too. Still, released earlier today, the teaser features more “photorealistic” versions of cartoon characters that looked better in their natural, animated state.
Aside from the cynical calculations of charging audiences twice for the same movie, the obvious hit on these remakes, notably the billion-dollar-grossing Lion King and its all-but-forgotten follow-up, Moufasa (which only made $720 million), is that they aren’t that live-action. In fact, one could say they’re 3-D animated movies. But the speed at which animated classics become live-action advertisements for the animated film on Disney+ is ramping up, too. At least Lilo & Stitch took 25 years to reach the remake stage. In contrast, the original Moana came out less than a decade ago.
If the last year is any indication, Disney might stop trying so hard to remake its golden-era classics, like Snow White and Pinocchio, and stick to its recent output, especially as it runs out of Disney Renaissance titles to reinterpret. Despite all the finger-pointing at Rachel Zegler, Snow White’s failure has more to do with the fact that the kids aren’t as familiar with 1939’s Snow White, and the parents bringing them have more nostalgia for The Little Mermaid than the magic mirror. The same might be true for Pinocchio and Peter Pan & Wendy, which vanished onto Disney+ after reportedly costing more than$150 million each. Given how well Moana 2, a TV show forced into movie shape, and Lilo & Stitch, a TV-movie that became Hollywood’s only billion-dollar grosser of the year, it’s fair to anticipate another quick payday for the Mouse House. We’re still waiting to see one we like, though. Thus far, none of Disney’s “live-action remakes” has generated better than a C+ from The A.V. Club‘s critics.
