I am well aware of the case against Disney’s live-action remake of its 2016 animated hit “Moana,” namely that the original film is less than 10 years old and doesn’t need a remake, and also that Disney live-action remakes are lazy cash grabs in general.

And, I agree with a lot about that argument.

I’d rather see Disney put its resources into developing new ideas instead of rehashing old ones, especially when it means trading the magic of Disney animation for the limitations of live action. At the same time, no amount of discouragement — of which I offer a lot — can stop Disney from making and releasing this movie, and the movie they’ve made and released isn’t terrible.

The story remains the same. Moana (Catherine Laga’aia), teenage daughter of Chief Tui (John Tui) and his wife, Sina (Frankie Adams), is destined to one day take over her island home but is told she must never go out on open water. Her wise grandmother, Tala (Rena Owen), encourages her to take her duties........

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