MOANA (2026)

Here's the decision. This live-action MOANA is, on the surface, genuinely impressive filmmaking — an epic, operatic adventure with great songs, spectacular visuals, and real heart. Moana herself is a heroine worth cheering: brave, selfless, loyal to her people, and determined to call out the best in a broken, self-absorbed demigod. The story ends by stressing repentance and forgiveness, and that matters.

But the film tells this story through a thoroughly pagan lens. Multiple "gods" populate the world — a lava monster god, a goddess of nature, a demigod hero — and the ocean itself acts with a mind of its own, an animistic touch reflecting real pagan belief systems, not just fantasy set dressing. There's nothing crude here — no language, no sex, no drugs — but the worldview asks for real discernment.

If you're an adult or older teen who can watch this and talk honestly afterward about where its mythology parts ways from the Bible's account of creation, this is rewarding. If you're choosing for young children without that conversation ready, wait.

Moana, daughter of her island's chief, has always felt the pull of the open ocean — against her father's wishes. When her grandmother warns that a legendary doom is closing in on their people, Moana learns the ocean itself has chosen her to make things right. Guided by an old story of a stolen stone and a world losing its life, she sets out in an ancient sailing canoe to track down the one figure who might help her: the vain, reluctant demigod Maui.

Three stars means this: MOANA earns its epic feel. The film has real operatic scale — big songs, spectacular visuals, and comedy that lands — all serving a personal, emotional core. Moana's journey works as both spectacle and character piece.

The film runs into trouble in the middle, though — it's a bit too long and drags before reaching its climax. The acting is fine across the board, but the material seems to fit animation more naturally than live action; something about the story's scale and stylization loses a little in translation. The result is a well-crafted, entertaining adventure that falls just short of its animated predecessor.

MOANA exalts real virtues: courage, humility, selflessness, sacrifice, and a hero willing to set aside his own ego for someone else's good. The story ends by pointing toward repentance and forgiveness — themes any biblical worldview can affirm.

But the film tells all of this inside a frankly pagan cosmology. The world is populated by named "gods" — a lava monster god, a goddess of nature who is also a living island, and a "demigod" hero whose power comes from a magical hook given by the gods. The ocean itself acts with intention and consciousness, an animistic touch reflecting real Polynesian religious belief, not simply movie magic. None of it is softened or explained away; it's presented as how this world actually works.

Interestingly, the film's own mythology may carry more truth than it knows. Some Polynesian creation stories describe a Sky and Earth separated by a benevolent god so light could enter and life could begin — language that echoes, faintly, the opening of Genesis, where God separates light from darkness to make the world. Whether that's cultural memory or coincidence, it's worth noticing.

Underneath the film's polytheism runs a genuine ache: a broken world losing its life, waiting for someone to restore it. Scripture answers that ache directly: "In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth... And God said, 'Let there be light,' and there was light" (Genesis 1:1, 3).

MOANA is a beautifully made, big-hearted adventure with real moral virtue at its center — and a thoroughly pagan mythology running through its bones. That's exactly why our verdict stands: worth the trip — adults only. Bring teens and adults who'll talk it through afterward; if you're choosing for young children, look elsewhere first.