‘What can I say except You’re welcome?': 25 Moana memes in prep for the upcoming live-action movie

Giuliana Tiscioni • Writer

Jul 8, 2026 6:00 AM EDT

How far will Disney go with these live-action versions of classical movies?

It's been a few good years since Disney started releasing the live-action versions of our favourite classics, and since that very first movie, we've been questioning whether or not it makes sense to produce them. We absolutely get it with some. Cinderella? Pff, it first came out in the '50s, it could use some touch-ups here and there. Beauty and the Beast? Loved the casting, the dress and furniture design could have been better, though. Aladdin? Absolutely gorgeous costume design for Jasmine, and the song they gave her was great, even if the set and the final battle lacked something.

But what do all these movies have in common? They came out in the nineties or before! They've had decades to become classics and be a part of more than a few generations' childhood. Moana came out only ten years ago. Those who are young adults now went to see it as teenagers, not children, so it doesn't count as one of their childhood favourite movies. And the younger kids who saw it are now probably rebellious teenagers, not old enough to appreciate it as a classic, and want nothing to do with children's movies. So, for me, it's not clear who the intended audience is for this movie; if you know, please enlighten me. It's not exactly playing on nostalgia, it hasn't been long enough for that to make sense. My best guess is: money. As simple as that. They want to sell toys. And tickets. They're probably running out of ideas of how to do so, and instead of investing in new, good-quality productions, they're going back to what already worked before.

They gave us a few new and original movies these past years, but they didn't even have half of the marketing budget as the live-action movies. Some of them didn't even play in theaters, and went straight to the streaming app. It's no wonder they didn't do so well.

I was still excited to see this one, though. As a curly-haired girl myself, I loved the idea of having a live-action princess with hair as crazy as my own. But then, the production used straightened wigs on her... This is getting better and better, isn't it?

I don't really know what to expect from this movie; I'll have to see it before I can get a proper opinion. But while I wait for it to play in theaters, we'll meme about the original film. Because if there's something that they got right the first time, it was the animation. It's one of the most beautiful I've ever seen.