Despite grossing less overall than Disney box-office titans like “Zootopia” or “Frozen” and with less of a presence in the Disney Parks than the likes of “Big Hero 6” or “Tangled,” “Moana” has slowly emerged as arguably the crown jewel of Disney’s 2010s second-wave renaissance. Not only has it shown huge and broad appeal, it was also the second most streamed movie in all of 2021, lagging only behind “Luca,” itself a 2021 release. So it's unsurprising that Disney would eventually greenlight a sequel, but the path to the big screen is far jankier than one might expect from the Mouse House. Because “Moana 2” wasn’t always a movie; “Moana 2” was originally intended as a Disney+ show, before being retooled into a feature film sequel. And, unfortunately, it shows.
“Moana 2” follows the titular Polynesian wayfinder, voiced again by Auliʻi Cravalho (“Crush,” “The Power”), setting out on a new adventure to find the mysterious cursed island of Motufetu. For the journey, she garners a crew consisting of Moni, a strong Maui superfan voiced by Hualālai Chung, Loto, a brilliant but scatterbrained inventor voiced by Rose Matafeo (“Starstruck,” “Baby Done”), and Kele, an elderly grumpy farmer voiced by David Fane (“Eagle vs. Shark,” “Next Goal Wins”). They also reunite with the demigod Maui, voiced by Dwayne Johnson (“Jungle Cruise,” “Furious 7”), and encounter the sinister Matangi, voiced by Awhimai Fraser (“Ahikaroa,” “Shortland Street”).
By far the biggest strength of the film as a whole is the return of Cravalho and Johnson. The pair inhabit their roles perfectly, and their easy chemistry is consistently a highlight. Put simply, the film is at its best when it's focused on either of them, apart or together, and as just an excuse to go on another adventure with them, it's a success. Chung, Matafeo, and Fane are all fun, filling in their archetypal roles well. Fraser makes a great, in short, appearance as the antagonistic Matangi, and her segment and song are one of the highlights of the film.
Segment is an apt way to describe it because the film as a whole feels extremely segmented. It feels as though you’re watching a film airing on a cable network, where commercial breaks might be, but with the commercials cut out. It leads to an extremely jarring pace, and while the adventure feels like a logical extension of the first film’s journey, it also lacks any development for Moana as a character. She does accomplish a lot, but there’s no character growth for herself, Maui, or any other characters by the end, leaving it feeling less like a theatrical event, and more like “just another day in the life.”
Instead of expanding the plot or world from the first film, “Moana 2” simply retreads most of the plot beats and events from the first. From an encounter with the Kakamora to the sinister antagonist-but-not-main-villain with a song, many of the same plot beats are hit with minor variations. It feels like first-time directors David Derrick Jr., Jason Hand, and Dana Ledoux Miller and screenwriters Miller, Jared Bush (“Zootopia,” “Encanto”), and Bek Smith (Maleficent: Mistress of Evil”) got cold feet and simply decided to stick to what worked before instead of trying to explore new territory. By the time the film does start to get into newer, different territory, the film ends.
The film does manage to keep the same gorgeous visuals from the first with some minor improvements, but it feels less like a new showcase of the world and more like a retread of the same kinds of locations we’ve seen before. Musically, it's definitely a downgrade from the first, with new songs from Abigail Barlow, Emily Bear, Mark Mancina (“Tarzan (1999),” “Brother Bear”), and Opetaia Foaʻi. Only Mancina and Foa’i return from the first film, and it's a noticeable downgrade. The songs either sound like retreads of the first film’s, like “Beyond”, or feel far too simple lyrically, like “What Could Be Better Than This?”. Only two really stand out, Matangi’s “Get Lost” and Maui’s “Can I Get a Chee Hoo?”, mostly due to the vocal performances of their performers.
It’s hard to describe “Moana 2” as anything other than a letdown. While the pure charm of Cravalho and Johnson’s performances and the supporting cast do a lot to keep things upright and it still proves to be a gorgeous film, it’s an adventure that feels like it's all going through the motions. That would be wonky enough, but the pacing and songs don’t help either. It all results in an adventure that absolutely feels like it came from the B team as opposed to those that made the first film such a classic. It’s doing a lot of the same things as before, but it all feels like something special at the core of it is missing. 3/5
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