Just yesterday, November 17th, Disney released a trailer for the live action version of the 2016 animated film, Moana. However, the response the trailer received was not all positive, like many within Disney were hoping to see.
The announcement of the live-action adaptation was a surprise, considering just how recently the original film came out compared to other adaptations. Usually, live-action adaptations of Disney films are done to older, classic films so they can be enjoyed by the newer generation with modern production quality. However, Moana was released in 2016, and the animated film still holds up to modern standards.
The trailer naturally had fans asking the question, ‘Why?’ It is a question that does not have an obvious answer other than making more money, but that is never a guarantee with modern live-action adaptations.
Live-action adaptations have gained a sort of stigma in the eyes of modern media consumers in recent years due to several disastrous shows and movies being released. These failed movies usually fail due to forgetting what made the original popular and taking the adaptation in a new direction that fans don’t like.
A critic wrote the following in a statement: “Look I hope it’s good but I just don’t understand the appeal of this. Like…the water, all the creatures, and everything looks exactly like the animated film. What’s the point? (Other than a billion dollars),”. Another critic added on to the statement: “It looks kinda cool, but… did we really need this remake??”.
From the looks of the trailer, with its significant use of CGI and the responses from the fans on the trailer, before the movie even releases, it looks like the movie is heading straight down the same road as the failed adaptations that came before.
I hope this movie ends up being just as good as the original, but I hold my reservations until we see more of the final product.
