The ocean chose wrong on this unnecessary remake.

Important distinction: the 2016 Disney animated musical “Moana” was a delightful movie made with some “Little Mermaid” spirits by John Musker and Ron Clements. The songs were co-written by Lin-Manuel Miranda, Opetaia Foa’i, and Mark Mancina, and the voice actors consisted of Auli’i Cravalho as the title Polynesian princess and Dwayne Johnson as the Demi God Maui. And all these people knew how to make a worthy addition to the Disney library. My nephew George loves the movie with the songs on my sister’s Spotify account. And I’m happy he gets to enjoy this hit as much as I did.

And now, here’s another important distinction: I’ve praised “Toy Story 5” out of love, not indulgence. It’s literally been a decade since we got “Moana,” and two years since we had a sequel. So, why make this live action remake so soon or at all? Because “Cinderella” did, “The Jungle Book” did, “Beauty and the Beast” did, “The Lion King” did, “Lady and the Tramp” did, “Pinocchio” did, “The Little Mermaid,” Snow White” did, and “Lilo and Stitch” did. But there must be a fine line. After all, even “Frozen” never had a live action remake in 2013, so I was right to put that film on my Best of the Decade list after all.

You know the story of how Maui steals the heart of the Te Fifiti, and puts the world into desolate chaos. And you also know how Moana is forbidden to leave the island, but has no choice when the ocean chooses her to find Maui and fix all this mess.

Australian young actress Catherine Laga’aia now plays Moana, and I think she has nothing on Cravalho. I’m sure she can sing, but she’s like the second young actress I’ve criticized this decade for trying Tatum O’Neal dispositions after Chloe Coleman in the “My Spy” movies. And without Cravalho’s strong voice, she seems more like an awkward teenager trying to be tough.

Johnson once again plays Maui, who has his bad long wig and animated Little Maui tattoo on his body suit. But if you ask me, he reminds me of how Steve Carell dressed up as a Gru when he was promoting “Despicable Me 2” on “Ellen.” While Little Maui is still a cartoon, he seems to be sleepwalking through his Disney role. And when he does get mad at Moana when he’s worried about his magic fish hook (the thing that makes him change form) being destroyed, it’s inferior to how he handled it through voice acting. “Without my hook, I’m nothing!!!!!” is in animation,” but here, “Without my hook, I’m nothing.” It’s like “The Lion King” remake when it made James Earl Jones sound like Billy Dee Williams when he asks Scar: “Is that a challenge?.”

And the other actor to reprise his voice role in this movie is Jemaine Clement, who voices the evil giant crab Tamatoa. Now, I’m sure this live action remake was uncalled for.

How far does this movie go? Let’s say Will Smith’s title end credit song is the only good thing about “Wild Wild West.” There’s an end credit song that Cravalho, Johnson, and Laga’aia all sing together and Miranda wrote called “Along the Way.” Now that’s the most original thing about this movie. The sad thing is you can hear it either during the end credits or on YouTube, ITunes, or on a CD.

Every scene is so recycled from its animated counterpart, that I knew when to use the bathroom at the critic’s screening. And that’s when Moana has to be the cynic and asking the ocean to take the heart of Te Fiti back. As I was growing restless with the film waiting to tell the audience who the giant lava monster Te Kā really is, I’m thinking: “No…..I could have sworn it was going to be Kathryn Hunter.”

Johnson already mentioned that “Moana 3” is in the works, and I’m talking about the animated version. And that’s the one we should be looking forward to, not this. Another thing, this version was directed by Thomas Kail, who directed “Hamilton” on Broadway, and I think he missed the bet: make “Moana” on to Broadway. The 2024 animated sequel was no masterpiece, but it was compared to this A.I looking pool of fish pee.