Disney will recreate one Moana scene a little differently in this year's live-action remake. The House of Mouse has had varying degrees of success and failure with its live-action remakes, from disastrous flops like Snow White to billion-dollar hits like last year's Lilo & Stitch. While adaptations such as Cinderella and The Lion King have been known to stay rather faithful to the source material, others have strayed away in key ways, such as Lilo & Stitch.
The first teaser trailer for Disney's Moana featured many iconic moments from the animated modern classic reinvited for the upcoming live-action remake. One such moment comes from the movie's opening, in which a young Moana is guided to the heart of Te Fiti by the ocean itself, many years before the rest of the story.
This kickstarts the events of Moana and her perilous quest across the ocean to return the heart of the goddess Te Fiti and lift the curse placed upon the world.
However, this iconic scene appears to be playing out a little differently in 2026's Moana compared to the version from Walt Disney Animation Studios. While Moana was originally an early toddler who had just started walking in this flashback, she is noticeably much older and in early childhood in the live-action version.
Disney may have altered this iconic Moana moment due to the logistical issues in recreating the scene with a young toddler. Doing so could have ended up requiring a completely CGI child, making it a far cheaper and quicker alternative to slightly delaying the moment where she first received the Heart of Te Fiti.
The young actress playing Moana in the opening flashback is unclear, but across the rest of the remake, Catherine Laga’aia will be filling in for voice actress Auliʻi Cravalho while Dwayne Johnson reprises his role as Maui.
Moana's Live-Action Remake Will Make Even More Changes
This isn't the first time fans have heard about Disney making some changes to Moana for the upcoming remake. During the movie's production in December 2024, a set video emerged that hinted at an extended reunion between Moana and her parents compared to the 20-second scene found in the 2016 flick.
It's unclear what other changes may await in this summer's Moana, but Disney has never been shift to switch things up for its live-action remake. Just last year, Lilo & Stitch made seven major changes for its modern update, going as far as to remove and add key characters while completely changing significant story moments.
But, as Moana is getting its live-action remake just 10 years after the animated fan-favorite, while Lilo & Stitch waited a much longer 23 years, there may be fewer changes to be made to match modern storytelling norms. It also seems likely that Moana will have a far higher budget than the measly $100 million cost for Lilo & Stitch, possibly stretching as high as $200 million, thereby reducing financial limits.
