Moana live-action trailer sparks whitewashing claims over character’s hair

The trailer for the live-action Moana movie has sparked fierce controversy after fans slammed Disney for changing the lead character’s hair.

Almost a decade after the original animation came out – starring Auli’i Cravalho and Dwayne Johnson – Disney are following their classic pipeline with a real-life cast with The Rock reprising his role as Maui.

Brand new actor Catherine Laga’aia is stepping into Moana’s shoes (with Auli’i serving as executive producer) as we revisit the tale of the Polynesian teen who leaves for the ocean to return the heart of the Goddess Te Fiti.

Originally soundtracked by Lin-Manuel Miranda, the 60-second teaser trailer for the remake features the movie’s most iconic song, How Far I’ll Go, alongside familiar snippets of Moana’s adventures across the sea.

Fans, however, have already shared their disappointment at how the live-action version has handled bringing the beloved character to life, specifically accusing the Mickey Mouse studio of whitewashing her hair.

In the animation, Moana has long, ocean-tossed curly locks, but in the trailer, Catherine’s hair looks considerably flatter and straighter, which some people have claimed is a mark of whitewashing.

Especially as Catherine’s natural hair, seen outside the role, closely matches the animated Moana’s.

‘Seeing the changes to Moana’s hair in the live-action remake is heartbreaking. Other than Merida, it was one of the first times I saw my texture represented in a Disney film and it was a huge boost to my confidence as a tween,’ X user anaiis wrote.

‘Her natural hair is exactly the same as the animated version of Moana make it make sense,’ PlanetRoxy shared.

‘Why would Disney and the styling team play the actress and Moana like this???? Her hair is already naturally curly and wavy like animation Moana’s hair, why wouldn’t they make her have this hair instead of straightening it?’ wateryonce asked.

‘Why in the world did they straighten Moana’s hair…,’ gi! echoed.

‘They whitewashed Moana,’ MelanatedTarg said.

‘Why are we doing 2000s era whitewashing of non-white characters? Her natural hair looks exactly like cartoon Moana,’ izme_josh posted.

Fans were even more confused, given the fact that when Moana was first created in 2016, the animators developed special technology to make an accurate hair texture.

The official Walt Disney Animation Studios website shares insight into the intricate process.

‘Moana featured characters with long curly hair interacting heavily with both the characters and their environment. This level of complexity in hair interactions and dynamics presented demanding simulation needs, which led to changes throughout the hair simulation pipeline, from grooming to technical animation,’ the website reads.

This is far from the first time Disney has been accused of whitewashing Black leads.

When The Princess and the Frog’s Princess Tiana appeared in the Wreck-It Ralph 2 trailer with Eurocentric features and lighter skin, the outcry led to them going back to the drawing board to correct their mistake.

The company has also been called out for being ‘guilty of colourism’ in the casting of Nani in the live-action Lilo and Stitch, and petitions were pre-emptively created to stop the potential whitewashing of the live-action Mulan.

As for how popular the movie will be, it seems there is plenty of appetite for the franchise with the sequel grossing over $1billion after coming out in November 2024.

Moana will come out in cinemas on July 10, 2026.

Metro has reached out to Disney for comment.

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