Disney's 'dismal' live-action Moana panned by critics

Here is the latest breaking news from around the world: Disney's 'dismal' live-action Moana panned by criticsImage source, DisneyByAnnabel RackhamCulture reporterPublished20 minutes agoDisney has once again taken one of its biggest animated hits of recent years and turned it into a live-action remake - but the new take on 2016's Moana has been panned by most critics. Dwayne Johnson reprises his role as demigod Maui, with 19-year-old Australian-Samoan newcomer Catherine Laga'aia playing Moana, the teen daughter of a Polynesian chief. However, the movie, which was released on Friday, has been described in reviews as "flat", "dull" and "dismal".

There were some more positive voices, including Variety's Owen Gleiberman, external, who said it "escapes the remake blues - in fact it soars above them". Image source, Walt DisneyImage caption, Catherine Laga'aia takes on the lead of Moana in the live-action filmGleiberman added that the film "truly delivers 'Moana' - the beauty, the comic personality, the fairy-tale enchantment", and described Johnson's "fit" for the film as "perfect". Peter Bradshaw is disagreed in The Guardian, external, calling the film a "competent but pointless and unexciting back-to-basics live-action remake" in his two-star review.

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He said Johnson's performance was "on autopilot, like a piece of software" and criticised the use of CGI, which he said was "so deeply embedded" it feels like "another animation". Bradshaw ended his review by saying it "feels like a superfluous piece of monetisable content". The Independent's Clarisse Loughrey, external called Moana "a waste of everyone's time and talent" in her one-star review.

"Is the situation really so dire that we'll now accept Dwayne Johnson repeating the exact same voice performance he gave a decade ago? She also criticised the animated feel of the movie, writing: "Supposedly, some scenes were shot on location in Hawaii and not in a studio in Atlanta - I couldn't tell you which. "Image source, Walt DisneyImage caption, The film has been criticised for leaning heavily on CGI and animation, despite being billed as live-actionEmpire's John Nugent, external said Johnson's character "feels like an AI interpretation", and to call the film "live action feels like a misnomer" because of the heavy use of animation.

His two-star review said the remake feels "so pointless" when the original film was "a fun, funny, poignant coming-of-age yarn with fantastic music and a winning Polynesian spin on the Disney Princess template". Kevin Maher from The Times, external said 54-year-old Johnson was "three decades too old to play Maui", with "his performance oddly lacklustre and restrained". Maher, in his one-star review, also described the film as "a lazy cash grab for shareholders".

"This live-action remake takes everything that was sprightly, expansive and ambitious and makes it leaden, limited and dull," he wrote.

The development has drawn wide international attention, with diplomatic circles watching closely.