Disney hoped to have another million hit with the live-action version of Vaiana (2026), but the first reactions are a lot less enthusiastic than expected. There had previously been strong criticism of Dwayne Johnson’s appearance. Not only do the cinema returns lag behind expectations, the visual style of the film also takes a serious hit.
The ugliest
An opening weekend of more than 60 million dollars was expected in advance in the United States alone. However, the latest estimates put the film at around 40-45 million. Although Vaiana which will probably still be the most visited film of the weekend, this is considerably less than Disney had hoped. While it was Johnson who was previously under fire, it is now mainly the design. The animation Vaiana (2016) was praised for its colorful ocean, fun characters and beautiful animation, but now all the enthusiasm is gone. The live-action would be dull, soulless and the icing on the cake is ‘the ugliest blockbuster of the year’.
Pure commerce
In fact, it is raining buckets of criticism from critics. There are now also comments about the little added value that remakes have. Just like before The Lion King (2019) in Beauty and the Beast (2017), the story follows the original animated film almost scene by scene. Vaiana is therefore seen by many as a commercial ploy rather than a creative production. Fortunately, there are also more positive voices. A large number of moviegoers are positive about the film, mainly families find it great entertainment. The film is rated with an A cinema score.
5.7
Moana is a live-action version of Disney’s animated adventure. Moana (Catherine Laga’aia) answers the call of the ocean and sails past the reef of her island Motunui for the first time.
Vaiana turns not at the cinema.
Are you curious what our reviewer thinks of the film? You can read it here.
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