Moana is the latest live-action Disney remake to hit theaters and, so far, it isn’t quite making waves as the studio would’ve hoped. Early reactions to the film were mostly negative, and that mostly continued when the formal reviews were released shortly after. Reports also point to the film having a tepid opening weekend at the box office. As of this writing, none of the cast or crew have formally responded to the less-than-positive responses to the movie. Before all that, though, the director did weigh in on reading reviews in general.
Thomas Kail is Moana’s director and, over the last several months, he’s spoken enthusiastically about his remake of the beloved animated 2016 film. While doing press for the fantasy flick, Kail spoke to Variety and was asked for his take on reading reviews of his work. What needs to be pointed out is that it’s unclear whether the Hamilton helmer shared his thoughts before he caught wind of the reactions to his 2026 movie schedule entry. Regardless, his perspective on film criticism is quite level-headed:
