Ezan Charo 
So “Moana” is getting a live action remake. Cool?
The Disney live action movies so far have not gotten the best reception. The live action “Lion King,” “Pinocchio,” and others have been labeled as baiting audiences for nostalgia value and having no merit to exist. And yet, they make a lot of money. As of now, the public has their heads reared in the direction of the upcoming live action remake of recently released “The Little Mermaid” starring Halle Bailey.
Announced only a mere seven years after the original animated feature film via Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson’s, and shortly afterwards, Disney’s Twitter account, it’s a wonder how or why this movie is being announced and going into production this early if it were for nostalgic value. If the movie were to expand on Polynesian culture and mythology in the live action space, more so than the original, then that would be really compelling.
A very interesting bit of information is regarding who is and who isn’t returning for this film. The Rock is coming back to play the role of Maui. The original voice actor for Moana, however, is not. She said in an Instagram video, “In this live-action retelling, I will not be reprising the role. I believe it is absolutely vital the casting accurately represents the characters and stories we want to tell.” If you ask me, this is perfectly reasonable.
Hopefully this movie won’t fall into the same traps that the other Disney live action remakes have fallen in. This has the potential to showcase Polynesian culture and display excellent visuals whilst maintaining the essence of the original to a wide audience that Disney has in front of them.
I just hope Tamatoa’s still in it!
What do you think? Will you be watching this?
By Ezan Charo, Junior, ChiArts
Twitter: @digitalwarlock8 / Instagram: @ezancharo
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