Moana (2026)
Moana is a 2026 family movie directed by Thomas Kail and Mark Mancina, with a running time of 1h 55m. It stars Catherine Lagaʻaia, Dwayne Johnson and Rena Owen.
Motunui gets rebuilt in daylight. Disney's live-action retelling of its 2016 animated film keeps the shape of the story intact: Moana, a chief's daughter pulled toward an ocean her island long ago stopped crossing, sails past the reef for the first time to restore what her home has been losing, with the demigod Maui as a reluctant guide.
Catherine Laga'aia takes the title role in her first film, opposite Dwayne Johnson, who returns as Maui and also produces. Jemaine Clement is back as Tamatoa from the animated films, and Rena Owen, John Tui and Frankie Adams play Moana's grandmother, father and mother. Thomas Kail directs in his feature debut, from a screenplay by Jared Bush and Dana Ledoux Miller, with Lin-Manuel Miranda among the producers and Mark Mancina scoring.
The interesting part is what survives the translation. Wayfinding, open water and a teenager who has to argue with her family before she is allowed to leave it all read differently against a real horizon than against a drawn one, and the songs, which carried so much of the original's appeal, now have to land without animation helping them. Everything the story is about, ancestry, navigation and a people who used to voyage, gains something from being filmed on actual water.
Quick answers
What is Moana about?
Motunui gets rebuilt in daylight. Disney's live-action retelling of its 2016 animated film keeps the shape of the story intact: Moana, a chief's daughter pulled toward an ocean her island long ago stopped crossing, sails past the reef for the first time to restore what her home has been losing, with the demigod Maui as a reluctant guide. Catherine Laga'aia takes the title role in her first film, opposite Dwayne Johnson, who returns as Maui and also produces. Jemaine Clement is back as Tamatoa from the animated films, and Rena Owen, John Tui and Frankie Adams play Moana's grandmother, father and mother. Thomas Kail directs in his feature debut, from a screenplay by Jared Bush and Dana Ledoux Miller, with Lin-Manuel Miranda among the producers and Mark Mancina scoring. The interesting part is what survives the translation. Wayfinding, open water and a teenager who has to argue with her family before she is allowed to leave it all read differently against a real horizon than against a drawn one, and the songs, which carried so much of the original's appeal, now have to land without animation helping them. Everything the story is about, ancestry, navigation and a people who used to voyage, gains something from being filmed on actual water.
When was Moana released?
Moana was released on 8 July 2026.
How long is Moana?
Moana runs 1h 55m.
Who made Moana?
Moana was directed by Thomas Kail, Mark Mancina and Jared Bush.
Official site
Cast
- Catherine Lagaʻaia as Moana
- Dwayne Johnson as Maui
- Rena Owen as Gramma Tala
- John Tui as Chief Tui
- Frankie Adams as Sina
- Jemaine Clement as Tamatoa (voice)
- Emma Puahi-Shapazian as Moana (4 years old)
- Amaya Masoli as Moana (8 years old)
- Sam Puefua as Village Fisherman
- Sione Milford as Coconut Farmer
- Kapeneta Te'o-Tafiti as Coconut Farmer
- Eric Scanlan as Tulafale
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A few thoughts on Moana
For the feeling this film is chasing, Tchia gets closest: an open-water game set in a New Caledonian archipelago that treats island life and language with real care instead of as scenery. Chief of War takes the Pacific seriously in the other direction, a historical drama told from inside Hawaiian history rather than about it. Wavetale is the lighter option for younger players, all momentum and water. And The Mermaid of Black Conch is the adult read on the same ocean, Monique Roffey's novel about an island, the sea, and what happens when someone pulls something out of it that should have been left alone.
Ocean voyages where the sea holds real magic
This Moana keeps the wayfinding at its center, a girl who reads the ocean and sails past the reef her people fear. Tchia hands you that same feeling as a game, sailing through a Pacific-inspired archipelago. The Sea Beast and Finding Dory trust the water to carry wonder and danger together, and Ruby Gillman, Teenage Kraken and Muppet Treasure Island send their heroes to meet what lives beneath the surface.
Family adventures led by a girl who won't stay put
Moana is about a girl who won't accept the boundary her island has drawn around her. Finding 'Ohana sends its heroes chasing a family legend across the Hawaiian coast, Nim's Island strands a resourceful girl to defend her own patch of paradise, and The Legend of Ochi follows one who bonds with a creature no one else can see. Pippi Longstocking and the Scooby-Doo gang share that same restless spirit.