I already said this before and I'm gonna say it again: I think the main reason critics and audiences are softer on the How to Train Your Dragon remake than Moana, despite both being overly faithful, is that HTTYD simply lends itself far better to live action. Its medieval fantasy setting, human characters, and dragons can actually benefit from a more grounded sense of scale and realism, whereas Moana is so dependent on the colors, exaggeration, and visual freedom of animation that photorealism strips away what made it work.
You can watch the HTTYD remake and simply enjoy it as a fantasy adventure on its own, but Moana just looks atrocious and constantly reminds you why it worked better in animation.