Disney’s Moana live-action adaptation is sure to be a hit. Starring Catherine Laga’aia as the Disney “not a Princess” and Dwayne Johnson as the demigod Maui, it’s the latest Disney live-action remake. This is all the more remarkable given Moana only released ten years ago, showing just how powerful a force to be reckoned with this franchise really is. We haven’t even had a live-action Frozen yet.
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Moana‘s popularity means this latest live-action adaptation is pretty much guaranteed to break $1 billion in the global box office. That said, a new Moana trailer hasn’t really gone down the way Disney likely hoped. The core problem lies with Dwayne Johnson’s Maui, who doesn’t exactly look impressive. Viewers have taken to social media to express dissatisfaction with the design.
Disney Faced an Impossible Challenge With Maui
Dwayne Johnson is bald by choice, because he doesn’t like the texture of his natural hair. Even if he’d grown it out, though, it wouldn’t have been right for Maui – hence the need for a wig. But a wig is a very difficult proposition when filming in the water. Director Thomas Kail told Entertainment Weekly that the ocean environment was a major problem; “Because you’re doing this on the water, ‘what does it look like wet?’ is a real conversation when you’re making Moana. That one weighs seven pounds more with all the water in it for all those hours a day.”
Making matters worse, it was naturally impossible to translate Maui’s exaggerated animated physique into a perfect live-action form. The solution lay in prosthetics and a bodysuit, but these again added weight. “That is an additional 40 pounds on you,” Johnson explained. “There’s a freedom when you perform, whether it’s as an actor or singing. So that was an adjustment on how to actually work my emotions through the 40 pounds of prosthetics and hair and body that I had on me.” The colors of the bodysuit don’t really match Johnson’s face; there’s a necklace visibly hiding the shift from his neck to his bodysuit. It’s surprisingly jarring.
Disney could have chosen a different route, depending more on CGI than prosthetics and the like. There is a problem with that approach, though, one that has been seen with other adaptations and de-aging; it risks creating an “uncanny valley” effect, where someone just doesn’t quite like right. While a demigod should naturally feel a little more than human, Disney won’t have wanted to generate the kind of discomfort and unease typical of a CGI role. Besides, this is already a live-action adaptation that requires an awful lot of visual effects work, and Johnson is a draw in himself – meaning nobody would have wanted to “hide” him.
The live-action remake may not look as impressive as viewers would hope, but it’s sure to be a hit regardless. The Moana brand is one of Disney’s most valuable; the two animated features grossed over $1.7 worldwide, the film is one of the most-streamed on Disney+, and it’s believed to be worth several times its box office in terms of merchandise value. Johnson’s wig and bodysuit may not look as good as viewers had hoped, but that won’t stop Moana becoming one of the biggest films of the year.
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