The film, released on July 9 in Australia and July 10 in the UK and US, sees screenwriter Jared Bush modify the original script, with Broadway veteran Thomas Kail making his directorial debut. Lin-Manuel Miranda’s songs are also featured. Nineteen-year-old Australian Samoan actor Catherine Laga'aia plays the lead role of Moana, the headstrong daughter of a Polynesian chief. Rena Owen portrays Moana's grandmother, Tala.
Moana's quest involves restoring the heart of the goddess Te Fiti to address an eco-crisis on her home island of Motunui. She must team up with Maui, portrayed by Johnson, who is noted for his cartoonishly muscly and vast physique. Maui also has a personal quest to retrieve his hook, confronting his nemesis, the giant crab Tamatoa, voiced by Jemaine Clement. Heihei, Moana's pet chicken is also part of the animated cast.
There is some pretty funny stuff from Johnson here, certainly, and there’s a nice enough rapport between him and his young co-star, but it feels as if he is on autopilot, like a piece of software. He can do all this as casually as raising each of his eyebrows individually or flexing each of his pectorals in turn.
The review suggests that despite the presence of "funny stuff from Johnson" and a "nice enough rapport" with Laga'aia, his performance seems automatic, akin to software executing a program. The film, while supposedly live-action is heavily reliant on CGI, making it feel like another animation. A live stage musical adaptation is mentioned as a potentially different and more platformed proposition compared to this "superfluous piece of monetisable content."
Featured names
- Dwayne Johnson
- Catherine Laga
- Screenwriter Jared
- Manuel Miranda
- Australian Samoan
- Jemaine Clement
