Moana
Why we love it ❤️
Catherine Lagaʻaia IS Moana in a way that feels both completely faithful to what people love about this story and entirely her own, which is the hardest thing to do with a character this beloved. The fact that Auliʻi Cravalho, the original animated voice of Moana, came back as executive producer tells you everything about how carefully this was made. Thomas Kail directing means the scale feels real and the emotion lands where it needs to. We did not expect to be this emotional going in and yet here we are.
What is Moana about?
The live-action adaptation of the beloved animated film stars Catherine Lagaʻaia as Moana, a spirited young woman from the Polynesian island of Motunui who answers the ocean's call and sails beyond the reef for the first time. Against her father's wishes, she seeks out the demigod Maui, played by Dwayne Johnson, to help her return a stolen heart and save her people from a spreading blight. The two face mythological sea creatures and the fearsome Te Ka across an open ocean quest that tests everything Moana believes about herself and her people. Directed by Thomas Kail, the film also stars Rena Owen as Gramma Tala and John Tui as Chief Tui.
