The live-action Moana arrives for digital rental and purchase today, 8 September, on Prime Video, Apple TV and Fandango at Home, two months after opening in theaters on 10 July. A 4K, Blu-ray and DVD release follows on 6 October.
The story keeps the shape of the 2016 original: teenage Moana defies her father's warning, sails past the reef with the demigod Maui, and sets out to restore her island's fortunes, guided by her grandmother's stories and the ocean's own pull. Thomas Kail directs from a script by Jared Bush and Dana Ledoux Miller, the same writing team behind the animated film.
Kail's name belongs to Broadway more than film. He won a Tony for directing Hamilton and built his career with Lin-Manuel Miranda going back to their earliest work together at Wesleyan and with Freestyle Love Supreme. Moana marks Kail's first time directing a feature, and he made it with Miranda back at his side, again writing songs and producing, so their reunion runs through the project more than any single scene does.
Catherine Lagaʻaia takes the title role in her first film credit, chosen from more than 32,000 people who tried out worldwide. Acting runs in her family: her father Jay Lagaʻaia has a long career on screen, and several of her siblings perform too. Auliʻi Cravalho, who voiced Moana in the original, produces this version and has spoken up in support of her successor.
The film's problem is the one every close remake of a beloved title faces: beyond the new cast, it struggles to give itself a reason to exist. Which makes this one for people who already love Moana and want to hear those songs again in a new register, more than a way to win over anyone who was not sold the first time. For that audience, Lagaʻaia's performance and the reunion between Kail and Miranda behind the camera are reason enough to press play tonight.
