What if, upon scrolling on YouTube, you see a video thumbnail titled “MOANA Official Trailer”? 

You click it out of curiosity, expecting a magical Disney trailer that shares the first look at a reimagined Moana story. 

And the first thing seen on the screen is a predictable, tedious ocean shot. Followed by the main character, Moana, the youthful, headstrong voyager. Whose actress, Catherine Laga’aia, has relatively unrealistic and flat hair for the movie compared to her original appearance.

And following multiple more scenes, you’re presented with Maui, the muscular, arrogant Demigod who tags along on Moana’s hazardous journey to save her homeland from Motonui. But instead of being presented with a more accurately astounding Maui, you, among 6 million other viewers, are surprised to see Maui’s character being played by 53-year-old Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson. A famous bald actor wearing a generic, wavy wig that just doesn’t quite succeed in appearing naturally attached to his hairline.

More Audience Observations

Throughout the trailer, it’s also observed that Disney attempts to combine CGI effects with real people and environments like they usually would for live-action remakes. But it gains repetitive backlash. Suggesting how the editing looks lazily done, and the scenery looks rather boring and identical to the previous reimagination films that took place by the ocean. And overall, the trailer seemed to lack what would typically ‘wow’ the audience. 

In short, much backlash implied that just from seeing the trailer, the movie lacked many of the visual elements Disney would usually incorporate into their movies. And it easily shifted from humorous to concerning when the trailer presented so many flaws. Especially ones that fans throughout online platforms like YouTube and Instagram were able to immediately point out. 

So, what could Disney have done differently to improve this movie, since the preview looks unimpressive, and has begun receiving similar criticisms as the live-action Snow White and The Little Mermaid did?

Why the Casting Choices Matter

The movie directors likely imagined it would have worked out well for one of the 2016 movie’s most iconic voice actors to reprise his role. Maui’s 2016 and 2024 voice actor is becoming a Demigod himself for the sake of the 2026 remake. 

But unfortunately, it did not succeed in ways that were intended. When actors play roles for characters who don’t look similar to them, it puts the film at risk of offending the audience. It can directly affect both the ratings and significance of the movie, as not everyone will be satisfied with it or receive the message of the story.

And this is what happened for this movie, because clearly the expectations of the audience were not met, given the wide variety of reactions people shared on the web. 

How Dwayne Johnson’s Reveal Backfired

Appearance inaccuracies are a massive factor that can easily disrupt the flow of movie storytelling. Especially when it consists of cultural details that might be directly tied to the emotional impact of the story. The movie just won’t be taken as seriously.

And because numerous flaws were spotted at just the first glance of the movie, it leads viewers to expect a poorly cast movie that will not be worth spending money on.

The YouTube comment section was flooded with critical responses to the trailer. Many YouTubers even began releasing video reviews titled things like “Moana Trailer Is Awful”, “What The Heck Is Disney Doing??”, and “WHY IS THIS HAPPENING?!”.

Disney is such a large franchise, and people expect the best quality content and writing from it. Especially since their previous movies have been huge successes, which satisfied the audiences.

But as low-effort as his wig alone looks in the final trailer, one might argue that the movie directors still put immense effort into making Maui’s accessories, physical appearance, and body tattoos look as good as possible.

The Challenges and Opinions of the Main Character Cast

Dwayne Johnson had higher hopes for his trailer appearance. When he was interviewed recently in 2026 by Entertainment Weekly, he discussed the lengthy, almost three-hour process it took for him to get into a 40-pound body suit every time it was time to film. Not to mention the weeks’ worth of physique maintenance it required for him to accurately retain a muscular build for his role. 

54-year-old Johnson went above and beyond for live-action Moana. And despite the many details in the trailer pointed out as clear flaws, like his comically unrealistic wig combined with his script lines being identical to the first movie, it might be considerable for fans to acknowledge that this movie was likely set on a tighter budget than previous live actions, and therefore, the movie producers worked with what they had in order to still write a movie that’s just good enough even if not perfectly flawless. Given the attention to detail in Maui’s body suit, it can be concluded that they did put effort into Maui’s appearance, even if not from head to toe.

For anyone to successfully take on the role as a live-action Maui, it would take the same patience and strength it took for Dwayne Johnson to. As the suit itself is made up of prosthetic materials, like silicone, it can trap heat and be heavy to wear. 

And nonetheless, it would be fairly difficult for most people to properly function while wearing the 40-pound costume.

But despite all the obstacles Johnson faced, he responded by expressing his gratitude to “represent Polynesian culture through the empowering message of traveling beyond the reef and taking risks”. What is the main message of the Moana movies?

Catherine Laga’aia’s Confusing Moana Character

As for 17-year-old Samoan Australian actress, Catherine Laga’aia, who played as Moana, she elaborated in a recent interview on her excitement to be in the movie as well. 

Laga’aia said she is “honored to have an opportunity to celebrate Samoa and all Pacific Island peoples,” and “to represent young girls who look like me.” But, because her hair is actually straightened and given a slight wave on the ends as seen in the trailer (compared to her naturally curly hair), it sends a mixed message to that same youthful audience she intends to positively influence.

The thing is that curly hair has a great emphasis on the importance of Samoan culture. And since live-action Moana’s hair is straightened, it negatively impacts her character because it is one of the strongest traits to her physical appearance. Moana lacking this huge detail is another reason why the trailer got more backlash. 

Journalist Sonia Thompson’s “Disney Faces Backlash Over Moana’s Hair: Here’s Why It Matters” explained how, because of the significant hair change alone, Disney got accused of “whitewashing” Moana’s character.

Thompson also emphasized how Walt Disney Animation Studios used to put much more effort into animating characters, like in Moana 1 and 2. She wrote that the animation studios had created a whole new technology just for more efficiently animating the movements of long curly hair. And this makes it all the more questionable why Disney would now decide to straighten and manually wand-curl Moana’s hair for the live action, if their animators had put so much time into animating their natural hair in the animated movies. 

So while Laga’aia and Johnson’s interview responses show their appreciation for the culture of the movie, their appearances can accidentally confuse rather than inspire Disney’s diverse audience.

The actors themselves have had much brighter outlooks for the movie. But this matters less when the public has expressed firm disappointment. A great majority of Disney’s inconsistencies are the reason for this imbalance. And it comes to a point where one could conclude that Disney is putting less effort into their movies than they used to.

Could the CGI Characters Create Confusion Too?

Immediately after the release of the trailer, without a doubt, the internet exploded. A live action Moana and Maui were stirring up a bizarre variety of laughs, criticism, and pure frustration from fans. But the mixed reactions were not only caused by the actors.

The CGI (computer-generated imagery) of the fictional animals received backlash as well. They were being described as “freakish”, “creepy” and simply “unnecessary” for the development of the movie. 

People began having flashbacks and started referencing the live-action Little Mermaid, which included similarly eerie CGI animal friends. Like Flounder the reef fish, Sebastian the Jamaican crab, and Ursula’s evil eel henchmen. So as for Pua the pig, Hei Hei the Rooster, and the shiny, songful crab Tamatoa, they weren’t receiving better feedback in the movie they would be included in. 

It’s becoming more and more difficult for live-action productions to continue featuring CGI characters because audiences have repeatedly expressed dissatisfaction with them.

Is Disney Truly Trying Their Best?

It can be challenging for animators to design realistic animals with the same humorous personality and animated expressions that their 2D characters can display. And so often, almost the entire background setting and interactive environment is made up of VFX (visual effects) and CGI, too. 

To make things a little easier, many live-action film producers will work behind the scenes, having actors use puppets to portray the animals interacting with them, like in both The Jungle Book and Lilo & Stitch.

And because actors sometimes also have to pull different stunts for more action-filled scenes, they will perform while attached to strings or wires for scenes that require more effort to pull off in CGI environments. They sometimes even wear green-screen bodysuits that replace their costumes for certain scenes, and then it gets edited later on, also like in The Jungle Book!

And when it comes to producing live-action remakes of fictional originals, CGI technology can become excessively relied on. But it’s used to create the most realistic environment possible, while also staying compatible with the animated nature of the story’s fictional animals. And it doesn’t always start with complex computer editing, because movie directors for Disney often have to get creative behind the scenes before animators can get to work afterwards!

So when Disney goes to great lengths to produce visually impressive films with unique, magical elements, it’s easy to see how fans have high standards for the quality of the movie they’re watching. Especially when other live actions proved to be impressive and moving.

A Turn of Optimism for Moana?

Despite the many issues with the movie so far, Disney is planning to feature various songwriters like Lin-Manuel Miranda, who will be joining the original song composers in writing reimagined versions of Moana’s beloved songs! Like “How Far I’ll Go” and “You’re Welcome”. 

And because a large number of songs he wrote for other animated films have also been a massive success, there may be something more to look forward to regarding live-action Moana. 

Fun and catchy songs are one of the things people look forward to the most when watching Disney movies, so there can be only faith that the music won’t disappoint!