“Moana” key art featuring Catherine Laga’aia and Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson.
Disney Enterprises, Inc.
Moana, starring Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson and Catherine Lagaʻaia, is back on the big screen but in a live-action setting, but Rotten Tomatoes critics aren’t too thrilled about it.
Directed by Thomas Kail, Moana plays in Thursday preview screenings before opening in theaters nationwide on Friday. The film is a live-action reimagining of the 2016 Best Animated Feature Oscar nominee, where Moana (Lagaʻaia) answers the ocean’s call an voyages beyond the reef of her island of Motunui.
Along the way, Moana teams with the infamous demigod Maui (Johnson, in a reprisal of his voice role of the character in Moana and 2024’s Moana 2) to help on her mission of restoring prosperity for her family and fellow island residents.
Rated PG, Moana also stars John Tui, Frankie Adams, Rena Owen, Amaya Masoli and the voice of Jemaine Clement.
The review embargo for Moana lifted Wednesday morning at 11 a.m. ET/8 a.m. PT. As of the publication of this article, the film has earned 34% “rotten” critics’ score on Rotten Tomatoes’ Tomatometer based on 44 reviews. RT’s Critics Consensus, Audience Summary and Popcornmeter based on verified user ratings are still pending.
Note: This article will be updated as the critics’ score is updated and more reviews are submitted to RT.
What Are Individual Critics Saying About ‘Moana’?
David Fear of Rolling Stone is among the top critics on RT who gives Moana a “rotten” score. Fear writes in his RT review summary, “The live-action Moana is simply spectacle that’s indistinguishable for any other generic spectacle out there — it’s peak Disney déjà vu.”
Alison Wilmore of New York Magazine/Vulture also deems Moana “rotten” on RT, writing, “To devalue their own output this way feels like pulling the material to its breaking point, testing its tensile strength in hopes that it can hold for another round.”
William Bibbiani of The Wrap isn’t a fan of Moana, either, writing, “The only time the live-action Moana comes alive is when it’s animated.”
Owen Gleiberman of Variety is among the top critics on RT who gives Moana a “fresh” critic score, albiet with some reservations. Glieberman writes in his RT review summary, “Moana never makes live action more captivating than animation. On some level these movies will always be unnecessary. The remake of “Moana” can’t, and shouldn’t, replace the original. But it earns a place alongside it.”
Nell Minow of RogerEbert.com also gives the film a “fresh” score on RT, writing, “It may not deliver anything new, but Maui and Moana are two of Disney’s most appealing characters; this version retells their story with sincerity, humor, and songs that remain among the all-time bangers.”
Moana also gets a “fresh” score on RT from David Rooney of The Hollywood Reporter, who writes, “Much of the enjoyment comes from the scrappy rapport of the seemingly mismatched voyagers, as Maui keeps looking out for himself and Moana refuses to let him shirk his responsibility.”
Moana plays in Thursday previews before it opens in theaters nationwide on Friday.