Moana 2 (2024)

​"Moana 2" stars Auli'i Cravalho, Dwayne Johnson, Temuera Morrison, Nicole Scherzinger, Rose Matafeo, David Fane, Hualālai Chung, Rachel House, Awhimai Fraser, and Alan Tudyk.  Released on November 27, 2024, the film has Moana and Maui journeying to reconnect all of Oceania.

The film features the directorial debuts of David Derrick Jr., Jason Hand, and Dana Ledoux Miller, and it is a sequel to the 2016 film, "Moana".  For those who've been living under a rock, Disney celebrated its 100th anniversary last year, and let me tell you.  It was far from celebratory.  Besides the thoughtfully entertaining short "Once Upon a Studio", the once-profound studio was plagued by some questionable choices that caused everyone's heads to spin.  Its previous animated feature, "Wish", was supposed to be a unique piece of the puzzle to make its celebratory landmark memorable since it involves one of Disney's iconic story elements in its fairy tales: a wishing star.  Unfortunately, it wound up wishing that it didn't exist so it didn't have to be the victim of online bullying.  That film became the latest original property to suffer from box office losses due to the company's handling of its marketing, with its mixed-to-negative reviews being the nail in the coffin.  Oh, how the mighty have fallen.  Although, I didn't think "Wish" was that bad.  It was just…inoffensively fine.  So, how will Disney recoup most of the money it lost throughout the past three years?  By making more sequels for the next couple of years, of course.  

The first sequel out of who knows how many takes us back to the world of Oceania for another seaworthy adventure with everyone's favorite Wayfinder, Moana, and her demigod ally, Maui.  The 2016 animated feature, inspired by Polynesian mythology, was an instant classic among critics and families that featured memorable characters and an entertaining plot that combines humor and heart.  It also kickstarted the career of the voice of Moana herself, Auli'i Cravalho, who recently starred in the musical version of "Mean Girls" and Disney's canceled animated series "Hailey's On It!".  Considering the endless amount of times kids have viewed "Moana" on Disney+, it was inevitable that the CEOs found themselves another franchise on their hands.  But why did it take so long to get a "Moana" sequel?  Long story short, it was originally developed as a series exclusively for Disney+.  However, it was reworked as a theatrical sequel that I'll be talking about this week, possibly due to losing their money on their less-than-stellar original content.  Does this last-minute decision help make the sequel as entertaining as its predecessor or make us want to drown it in the ocean?  Let's find out.

The story takes place three years after the first film.  Moana (Cravalho), the daughter of village chief Tui (Morrison), has brought back wayfinding for her people and is now becoming the next chief of Motunui.  During the ceremony, Moana receives an unexpected call from her ancestors, warning her of a curse placed by the storm god Nalo, preventing people from journeying through Oceania.  This forces Moana to form her wayfinding crew and travel to the hidden island of Motufetu to break the curse and reunite her people.  Her crew consists of craftswoman Loto (Matafeo), grumpy farmer Kele (Fane), and historian Moni (Chung).  Accompanied by the demigod Maui (Johnson), Moana and her crew face numerous challenges that'll test her new role as a chief and a Wayfinder, including Matangi (Fraser), an underworld goddess with a mysterious motive.

"Moana" is one of the two Disney animated features in 2016 that I loved when it first came out.  While I think "Zootopia" is the best of the two regarding its ambitious narrative and themes, "Moana" was a great movie in its own right.  The animation was sublime, its simple story was engaging and heartfelt, and the main characters were instantly lovable, benefitting from the vocal performances of Cravalho and Johnson.  Even though I haven't watched it as much as others, I still appreciate the film's refreshing ideas involving Disney's princess fairy-tale formula.  However, it also left me concerned about its direction with "Moana 2".  With the film being initially produced as a Disney+ series before switching to a theatrical route months before its release, I was internally worried that this surprising change would deteriorate the film's quality into a needless cash grab.  Don't get me wrong.  I didn't mind seeing more of Moana and Maui in some form or another, but like many sequels, it takes more than reuniting with our favorite characters to make a continuation worthwhile.

Fortunately, despite being animated by a Vancouver studio, "Moana 2" still boasts the vibrancy and detailed immersion that made its predecessor a gorgeous experience for all ages.  But what about its story?  Well, I hate to say that that was when my interest drifted off to sea.  Do you remember the mid to subpar theatrical sequels that Disney made in the 2000s to capitalize on the success of some of its classics like "Return to Neverland" and "The Jungle Book 2"?  "Moana 2" is the big-budget version of that format but with better animation.  On the one hand, the film had the makings of a fundamental and visually dazzling adventure for younger audiences.  On the other hand, it's an example of what would happen if a project went from a streaming series to a theatrical movie months before release.  You get an underwhelming and uninspired follow-up that resembles a television series.

But, to give the film credit, "Moana 2" did have some interesting ideas that could've worked in its favor.  One of those ideas is Moana's journey, continuing her quest to reunite the people of Oceania by breaking Nalo's curse.  But, of course, she'll also have to deal with her misfit crew, which would've tested her leadership skills.  There's also the mysterious goddess Matangi, who clearly has a thing for bats and the reason for our beliefs that Disney was returning to the straightforward villain route from its earlier films.  The film also emphasizes the world-building's gods more than its predecessor.  Unfortunately, its direction and screenplay didn't quite mesh well with those ideas, as it provided a few rehashed elements of the first film but with none of the charm or surprising thematic depth that made the predecessor a modern classic.  Sure, it didn't need narrative depth and maturity to be good, but it should have something to maintain my intrigue as an adult regarding its characters, world-building, and fun humor.  While it had some serviceable moments from these elements, they're sadly not enough to elevate its lackluster and lazily structured plot.

Jared Bush returned to write the screenplay for the sequel, but he and co-writer Dana Ledoux Miller (one of the film's directors) didn't find a way to overcome its messy waters.  While Moana and Maui serve as the movie's heart, the script focuses more on Moana's relationship with her crew members, Moni, Loto, and Kele.  This would've allowed the film to deliver more depth into Moana's villagers and its themes of leadership.  Instead, it's more intent on making them the comic reliefs to sell more toys for kids, similar to Pua and Heihei (Tudyk), and the result was pretty disappointing.  Regarding their one-dimensional personalities and forgettable chemistry, Moana's misfit crew made me more eager to reunite with Maui sooner rather than later.  The humor continued to provide a mixture of Polynesian culture and modernity and the chemistry between Moana and Maui, similar to its predecessor.  However, most of the jokes in the sequel were something we've seen before in the original, which failed to capture lightning twice with their lack of charisma and clever dialogue.  As for the villains, Matangi and Nalo, I don't see them joining Disney's Villainous Hall of Fame in the future due to their disappointing roles.

There's also the matter of its world-building or lack thereof.  With "Moana 2" continuing the pursuit of finding more wayfinders, it had the opportunity to expand its world through newer territories that would benefit from its technological achievements.  Sadly, it didn't offer much that stood out from its typical voyage through uncharted oceans.  There was Matangi's lair inside a massive clam-like monster that's effective in its color and lighting effects, but that's about it.  Additionally, it had a couple of moments that felt rushed or lacked a clearer sense of how specific elements work.  If the film added a few more tweaks to its world-building, especially regarding the gods' relationship with humanity, it would've made the sequel more refreshing and fun than its predecessor.  Much of this is due to the direction of David Derrick Jr., Jason Hand, and Dana Ledoux Miller.  These three first-timers were chosen to steer the ship instead of John Musker and Ron Clements, who directed the first film.  While they seem to have understood the first film's world and characters, they didn't have the wayfinding skills that Musker and Clements had to chart their course to newer territory.  One reason was its structure, which understandably felt like narrative-driven episodes stitched together to make a feature-length movie.  It not only made the pacing a bit more chaotic but also didn't give enough room for growth in its world-building, characters, and emotional themes.    

But, at the very least, the animation managed to compensate with its visual-heavy and detailed environments, especially the Polynesian culture.  The animation was produced by Walt Disney Animation Studios' Vancouver studio when it was first developed as a series, which made me think it wouldn't be as stellar as the first film.  Thankfully, I was proven wrong, as the presentation matched the predecessor's gorgeous sceneries and balanced fluidity with ease.  Another element I enjoyed was the cast.  Auliʻi Cravalho continued to deliver her acting and singing talents through her lovable performance as the title character, expressing the humanity and energetic charm responsible for making her another source of Disney Princess inspiration for younger fans.  While I'm still happy Cravalho's finding success with the "Moana" franchise, I am hoping she continues to find another source of success through works outside the Disney brand, especially regarding what happened with "Hailey's On It".  That show deserved better.  Dwayne Johnson also provided the watchable charisma we've expected from him regarding his role as the strong-willed yet narcissistically charming Maui.  Hualālai Chung, Rose Matafeo, and David Fane were tolerable as Moni, Loto, and Kele, respectively, but again, their personalities seemed more one-noted than three-dimensional.  I would also credit Awhimai Fraser as Matangi, one of the movie's new characters.  Matangi offered a kooky and seemingly mischievous personality that worked well with Fraser's vocal performance, but the character itself was lackluster enough to drive me batty.  Also, Moana's little sister, Simea (Khaleesi Lambert-Tsuda), was pretty adorable.    

But what about the songs, you ask?  Were they catchy enough to guide this ship away from its humdrum appeal?  Well, yes and no.  While Mark Mancina and Opetaia Foaʻi returned to compose the score for "Moana 2", Lin-Manuel Miranda did not come back to write more songs for the characters to sing.  Instead, Abigail Barlow and Emily Bear were brought on board to fill that role, and I thought they did okay with what they delivered.  Despite not matching the inspiring and thoughtful heights of the first film, the songs in "Moana 2" were serviceable in filling the story's gap, but not enough to remember them on the drive home.  "Beyond" by Cravalho was the most tolerable song in the library, while "Can I Get a Chee Hoo" by Dwayne Johnson didn't capture the similar charm and energy of "You're Welcome".  As someone who likes movie musicals, I didn't mind songs that make me tap my foot with delight, whether they're memorable or not, but regarding their impact, they're a far cry from what the predecessor brought. 

Overall, "Moana 2" charts itself through rougher waters with an uninspired and narratively tame continuation that drowns its predecessor's soulful appeal to the depths of the ocean.  Undoubtedly, the film boasts some of the most impressive animation Disney can offer regarding its world-building and Polynesian mythology, and Cravalho and Johnson still deliver the chemistry we expect from the duo due to their performances.  Sadly, those elements weren't enough to take this ship as far as it wanted to go regarding its mediocre narrative and messy structure.  This is a vastly inferior and money-grabbing voyage through uncharted waters plagued by its weak screenplay, generic direction, forgettable humor, subpar songs, and one-dimensional side characters.  

Of course, Disney making effortless cash-grab sequels to their classic films is nothing new for the studio, as it had done so back in the 2000s with their direct-to-video catalog and a couple of theatrical follow-ups from Disneytoon Studios.  Still, I couldn't help but feel downhearted that it didn't meet the expectations I was hoping for, considering how much I love its predecessor.  Hopefully, this will serve as a valuable lesson for the studio to learn.  If you want to make a continuation of one of your finest works as a theatrical film, you develop it as one rather than passing off a television series format as a theater-exclusive experience.  I'm sure fans of the first film would enjoy specific moments from "Moana 2", but besides that, this is an unfortunate misfire from Disney.

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