Earlier this week, Disney released the first full trailer for its live-action remake of Moana. Arriving in theaters just 10 years after the animated original, many have questioned how necessary a new take is, particularly as Moana 2 was only released in 2024.
Unfortunately for the studio, the sneak peek didn't change any minds.
In fact, it's been heavily criticised for being a visually bland interpretation of the 2016 hit, with Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson's live-action Maui—reprising one of his most popular film roles here—singled out for an undeniably comical curly wig.
Something has been lost in the translation from animation to live-action, and a tough few years for Johnson (which have seen him rejected by WWE fans and fail to land a sought-after Oscar nomination as a "serious" actor for The Smashing Machine), may only get worse now he's become meme material.
According to Variety (via Toonado.com), the Moana trailer splashed down to 132 million views in its first 24 hours, topping the likes of Moana 2, Mufasa, and Barbie, all of which were box office hits. Whether that translates to ticket sales is another matter; Snow White also generated a lot of interest, typically for the wrong reasons, before it was released and flopped at the box office.
The trade confirms that Moana isn't picture-locked, and that colouring and visual effects are currently unfinished. However, with only four months until Moana arrives in theaters, "sources say there are no plans to make a major creative pivot despite the social media pile-on."
Disney knows about the online backlash, but this means Maui won't be getting the Sonic the Hedgehog treatment. When the first trailer for that was released in 2019, the response to Sonic's new look was overwhelmingly negative, prompting Paramount to redo the VFX for a more game-accurate design.
What could Disney really do at this point? Spend millions to make the wig look a little better? They're stuck with it now, so only time will tell whether families, the target audience for Moana, will be put off by a questionable take on the Demigod's luscious locks.
The studio is no doubt scrambling to figure out how to turn the tide, especially as it's already seen what a wave of negativity did to Snow White in the months leading up to its release.
Talking to Entertainment Weekly, Moana director Thomas Kail said of the wig, "We knew that it had to be something that could have real lift to it. Because you’re doing this on the water, 'what does it look like wet?' is a real conversation when you’re making Moana. That one weighs seven pounds more with all the water in it for all those hours a day."
Johnson chimed in to add, "There’s a freedom when you perform, whether it’s as an actor or singing. So that was an adjustment on how to actually work my emotions through the 40 pounds of prosthetics and hair and body that I had on me."
In addition to Catherine Laga'aia and Johnson, the Moana cast includes John Tui as Moana's no-nonsense father, Chief Tui; Frankie Adams, who portrays Moana's playful and strong-willed mother, Sina; and Rena Owen as Moana's revered Gramma Tala.
Disney's reimagining of the beloved Oscar-nominated animated adventure is directed by Emmy and Tony Award winner Thomas Kail (Hamilton); produced by Dwayne Johnson, Dany Garcia, Beau Flynn, Hiram Garcia and Lin-Manuel Miranda; and executive produced by Kail, Scott Sheldon, Charles Newirth and Auliʻi Cravalho, who voiced Moana in the animated films.
Moana features original songs by Lin-Manuel Miranda, Opetaia Foa'i and Mark Mancina, and an original score composed by Mancina. The movie arrives exclusively in theaters on July 10.