PLOT: After receiving an unexpected call from her wayfinding ancestors, Moana must journey to the far seas of Oceania and into dangerous, long-lost waters for an adventure unlike anything she’s ever faced.
REVIEW: Whenever a studio gets a hit film, you can almost guarantee that there will be a sequel eventually. And after Moana took the world by storm in 2016, it was clear that we had a new franchise on our hands. So Disney has gotten to work, creating a Moana theme park at Disney World and even producing a live-action version set to release in 2026. But it would be silly to ignore the actual source of all this success, so they’ve taken to making a direct sequel to their hit film, and it’s pretty much exactly what you’d think it’d be.
I wasn’t a massive fan of the first film but I’m pretty open-minded when it comes to Disney Animation. Give me a heartfelt story that tugs at my heartstrings and I’m all about it. Moana 2 follows the title character (voiced again by Auli’i Cravalho) as she sets out to find other islands of humanity. Her and Maui (Dwayne Johnson) must raise an entire island in order to bring the people together. While Moana and Maui are clearly the stars of the show, this also works as a team-up film, with her getting various characters to join her on her journey. They each are set up with good characterizations and feel distinct from one another. I had a blast with all of them and they bring an energy that was mostly reliant on The Rock the first go around.
Often these films need a big villain for our heroes to go up against but this time around it’s mostly an omnipotent being. That means we’re saved from any stereotypical monologues or story beats that we’ve seen time and time again. Instead, the villain is essentially a force of nature that our heroes must contend with. Given the elemental approach to the lore of this world, it feels very apropos. This may be a weird thing to highlight given that this is a musical, but I was extremely impressed with how appropriately timed the music sections felt. They didn’t undercut any dramatic moments and are there to bring that trademark Disney joy and happiness. Though I certainly missed the Crab.
I really loved the visuals as I just can’t get enough of that fantastical mysticism mixed with islander culture. The two blend together very well and make for some visually impressive moments. Animation is getting so good that, if there wasn’t already a caricature look to the design, these people would enter uncanny valley. The hair looks like it could be in live-action it’s so realistic. At a certain point, live-action stuff is going to feel moot with how close animation can get to the real thing.
Lin-Manuel Miranda did not return for the music this time around but it still sounds very similar. There’s that Pacific Islander theme mixed with various contemporary stylings. The biggest difference is that is seems like they weren’t able to hide Dwayne Johnson’s lack of singing talent. He’s mostly just reciting the lines and it really stands out amongst the other powerhouse vocals. He only really gets the one song and that’s probably for the best. I still really enjoy the Maui character and get that he’s the main attraction for many.
We are in a strange time because, with the live-action version on the horizon, we could very well be seeing this sequel take a similar route. But the world of Moana is so much fun; allowing for dramatic moments amongst the more light-hearted ones. Moana 2 is able to bring a similar flavor to the original while actually improving upon it in many ways. This is clearly not the last we’ve seen of Moana and friends, and I’m sure that Disney will be making bank along the way.
MOANA 2 RELEASES IN THEATERS ON NOVEMBER 27TH, 2024.
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