‘Moana’ Live-Action Remake Sets Disney+ Streaming Release Date

Moana of Motunui is coming to Disney+ soon. The live-action “Moana” remake will begin streaming on Disney+ on Oct. 21.

Catherine Laga’aia makes her film debut as Moana in Disney’s latest live-action remake. The film follows her voyage to restore the heart of Te Fiti and help her village. Dwayne Johnson returns as the larger-than-life demigod Maui, joining Moana on her sea-faring adventure.

The live-action “Moana” also stars Rena Owen as Gramma Tala, John Tui as Chief Tui, Frankie Adams as Sina and Jemaine Clement as Tamatoa the shiny king crab. Moana’s trusty pet pig Pua, confused rooster Heihei, the Kakamora and fiery Te Kā also return in the film.

“’Moana‘ is a Disney live-action remake that escapes the Disney live-action remake blues — in fact, it soars above them,” Variety’s film critic Owen Gleiberman wrote in his review. “It’s the best of these movies I’ve seen…And it’s a rather odd bar, since this is an entire genre in which the definition of the genre is that it’s completely and totally unnecessary. These movies add nothing (except to Disney’s revenues).”

“But in the case of ‘Moana,'” he continued, “for maybe the first time, if you told me that a child who’d never seen the animated version was going to see the remake, I’d say, ‘All good.’ Because the new ‘Moana’ truly delivers ‘Moana’: the beauty, the comic personality, the fairy-tale enchantment.”

The film is directed by Thomas Kail, with a screenplay by Jared Bush and Dana Ledooux Miller. It features music by Mark Mancina and Lin-Manuel Miranda.