PG | 1h 40m | Adventure, Comedy, Animation, Disney Musical | Nov. 27, 2024
The original “Moana” is beloved of Disney fans—second only to “Frozen,” and so I was hoping “Moana 2,” arriving eight years later, wouldn’t suffer from sequelitis.
“Moana” celebrated the strength and power of girls and paid tribute to Polynesian culture with specificity and reverence. It was a massive box office hit and was nominated for two Academy Awards in the categories of animated film and original song.
“Moana 2” picks up Moana’s (Auli’i Cravalho) journey three years after the happenings of the first movie. She is now a big sister and an established voyager. And now she’s tasked with a new mission: Her ancestors would like her to break the curse of the god Nalo, on the hidden island of Motufetu.
Naturally, she will team up once again with everyone’s favorite tattooed demigod Maui (Dwayne Johnson, who also executive produces).
Sounds Familiar
I know what you’re thinking—that all sounds very similar to the first film’s quest (which involved another island and another goddess). And that’s true. Much is the same.
There’s more beautiful, turquoise and electric blue oceans, with gold-sand beaches. More of chubby-but-built, demigod Maui’s little left-chest alter-ego tattoo, who tries, worriedly, to guide Maui via frantic gesticulations, to make good decisions. Also, the Kakamora—the wee-but-fearsome coconut-bodied pirates—have an extended storyline.
A decent crew of supporting characters has also been assembled for Moana’s new adventure, from Kele (voiced by David Fane), an elderly grumpy farmer who really didn’t feel like going on a seafaring voyage; to Loto (voiced by Rose Matafeo), a wisecracking inventor; and Moni (Hualalai Chung), an eager young man who, much to Maui’s annoyance, rabidly hero-worships Maui.
The new songs featuring British musical duo Abigail Barlow and Emily Bear face stiff competition, considering how high the first soundtrack of “Moana” raised the bar. While they’re likely not destined to attain the Disney heights of the Dwayne Johnson-sung “You’re Welcome” and “How Far I’ll Go,” “Beyond” from “Moana 2” might be the breakout hit of the bunch.
Overall
As mentioned, the film is visually stunning; the bright colors are deeply satisfying, and the cartoon CGI ultrarealistic in its portrayal and animation of everything from ocean water to Moana’s long eyelashes.It also has a fair amount of fun getting creative with its array of often slimy, imaginative sea creatures, including an Empire-State-Building-tall clam. It gets away with a fair amount of slimy grossness and potty humor by making everything look like delicious vibrant, sugar-filled slushies and slurpees on a hot summer day.
Furthermore, “Moana 2” offers a mysterious, shape-shifting, siren-like semi-villain in the form of Matangi (Awhimai Fraser).
The humor is appropriately kid-level: When Maui tells his young friend to “Go get ‘em, princess,” and she reminds him that she isn’t one, the Disney princess fans in the audience will appreciate his reply, that, “A lot of people would disagree.”
In retrospect, my impression, speaking as an adult and non-fan of the Broadway musical and the Disney movie musical genres, is that I couldn’t follow the content of the songs whatsoever. I have no idea what was said. I suppose I could google the content. But if I didn’t get it, the kids didn’t either, and that’s a shame.
I will say, though, that movies like “Moana 2” hit the little ones on a visceral level, and since I saw the movie in the regular theater, there were at least three tiny children dancing in the aisle, two more dancing in their seats, and all attempting to sing along, regardless. So is that sequelitis? I think so, but probably your kids won’t mind.
