Disney’s ‘Moana’ live-action remake sparks controversy over CGI and styling choices

Disney has finally released the first teaser trailer for the upcoming live-action remake of Moana and the online reaction has been overwhelmingly negative.

In less than 24 hours since the video was published on YouTube, it garnered 6.1 million views. But with only 32,000 likes and the dislike numbers disabled, it is clear that many viewers are not completely on board.

Fans in the comment sections of Disney’s social media platforms are calling the live-action remake unnecessary, Computer Generated Imagery-heavy, and rushed.

The one-minute-long video opens with the line, “I am a girl who loves my island,” featuring Moana, played by 18-year-old Sāmoan actress Catherine Laga’aia, walking along a rocky mountain top that overlooks the ocean.

The teaser includes glimpses of vaka sailing on the water alongside whales, Moana and her parents emerging from a fale dressed in siapo (tapa cloth) and wearing a tuiga (Sāmoan headdress). Even the coconut-like tribe of kakamora make a brief appearance.

The teaser also shows a beetle transforming into Maui, with Dwayne Johnson reprising his role as the cheeky shapeshifting demigod.

The live-action remake comes 10 years after the original animated Moana film became a worldwide box office hit, grossing NZ$1.2 billion (US$687.2 million).

Typically, Disney's recent live-action remakes, such as The Lion King, The Little Mermaid, Aladdin, and Mulan, have been adaptations of films released at least two decades prior.

Some social media users argue that it feels too soon for a remake, especially since the original was released in 2016, and the sequel, Moana 2, hit theatres just last year, crossing the worldwide $1b mark.

Snippets from Discney's 'Moana' live-action remake. Photo/cinemaexpress

One of the top comments on Instagram read, “Bro all y’all do nowadays is make sequels, prequels, and live actions. Moana isn’t even that old yet y’all could have done like Princess [and] the Frog.” The post has garnered 17.1 million views and a slew of negative remarks.

A recurring complaint is that the film doesn’t feel “live-action” at all due to the heavy use of CGI.

“This somehow looks more digital than the original movie did,” one YouTube user says.

Another user comments, “Live action = 1 per cent real actor, 99 per cent animated environments.”

The trailer features sweeping CGI shots of islands and the ocean, leading some people to feel that it appears more animated than the original. Others mistook it for a fan-made trailer or an AI-generated parody.

It’s not until the final seconds of the teaser that fans finally get a close-up of Laga’aia as Moana, but one key feature has drawn major backlash: Moana’s hair texture.

Many comments accuse Disney of whitewashing an essential part of Moana’s character, arguing that while she is fictional, she represents very real physical features of young Pacific girls and women.

“Why did they wand-curl Moana’s hair for the live-action remake?” Aynsley Broom Moananu Pula, who often reviews books, films, and television shows, asks in a TikTok video.

“What was so beautiful about Moana, when we got the animated version, especially for a girl who grew up in a predominantly white community…was to see someone on screen who not only looked like me physically but had hair like me,” an emotional Pula says.

Disney actually modeled animated Moana’s hair after Fiona Collins, an extraordinary Sāmoan actor, writer, and director. The animators flew Collins to the United States and filmed extensive footage of her moving, turning, jumping, running, and flipping her hair in various ways.

Many say Laga’aia’s naturally curly hair resembles the animated version of her character, but this adaptation opts for a stylised loose-curl instead.

“Why the hair salon aesthetic for her hair? She had the perfect island girl curls,” a top YouTube comment reads.

Catherine Laga'aia. Photo/IMDb

Pula questions the decisions made behind the scenes.

“I don’t know who in the make-up and hair department thought, ‘Nah’. And yes, there are islanders who have that hair texture…But you took her curls away and I just don’t understand why.”

Many in Pula’s comment section agree, saying, “It really is that deep”.

While there is some positive reaction to the live-action remake and anticipation for its release, it is clear that Disney has some work to do to regain the same level of excitement that surrounded the original.

Moana the live-action remake is set to be released on 10 July 2026.