An exciting back-to-it with karaoke logic

At this point, it's not even worth questioning that Disney has decided to go a step further in its collection of live actions and tackle contemporary classics, as is the case with this Moana, based on the animated film from 2016 that doesn't seem so long ago. In addition to economic reasons, the sense of the remake is justified here in the nostalgic reunion with karaoke-worthy songs: it's the same logic thanks to which The Lion King has been playing on Madrid's Gran Vía for nearly 15 years.

Faced with the franchise, the viewer is only asked to feign dementia and ignore that it is, shot for shot, the same film. Anyone who ventures into Moana will continue to find the beautiful story of an adolescent (Catherine Laga'aia), the heir leader of a Polynesian tribe, chosen by the ocean to save the ecosystem where she lives. The poor studio lighting and the parade of wigs are disguised by the comedic presence of Dwayne Johnson, in the tattooed skin of the demigod Maui. The actor adapts to the choreographic demands of what remains a solemn soundtrack by Lin-Manuel Miranda, creator of the Broadway phenomenon Hamilton and producer of the film. Ten years after the original film, its messages about identity and historical memory remain necessary, and the emotion of many of the scenes remains intact despite the transfusion of the format.