MOANA 2 - Mark Reviews Movies

Moana 2, Disney

Follow on Facebook | Follow on Twitter | Become a Patron

Review by Mark Dujsik | November 27, 2024

Moana 2 begins with the promise of adventure, as our plucky protagonist, who still refuses to be known as a "princess" of any kind, continues her journey to find signs of people living on other islands in Polynesia. The first movie gave us Moana (voice of Auli'i Cravalho), who stood in such sharp contrast to the so-called Disney Princesses before her that the character felt a bit revelatory. There wasn't even the hint of a potential romance in that one, for example, because Moana had other, better, and more important things to do.

She essentially has more of the same to do in this sequel, made mostly by a new team of filmmakers. That's a shame, because Moana's adventure in the first movie was its weakest, most formulaic element—something that put a heavy damper on how different the character herself was. Here, she has to face off against another otherworldly foe, taking on the form of a primal element of nature, and reach yet another island in order to achieve a mythical quest.

What's most frustrating, perhaps, is that Moana is just part of a larger ensemble in this story. It's as if screenwriters Jared Bush, who returns from the previous movie, and Dana Ledoux Miller don't know what to do with such a strong figure at the center of this story, and since she worked so well the first time around, they might as well just keep having her do what she has already done. Only this time, there are more characters to try to distract us from how familiar everything is.

When we reunite with Moana, she's off on a hunt for other island-dwelling tribes in the region, climbing a tall mountain on a faraway island, blowing a conch in the hopes of hearing some kind of reply, and, once again, not receiving any response. She returns home, with her trusty animal sidekicks—a pig named Pua and that daffy rooster Heihei (voice of Alan Tudyk)—in tow, and wonders how much farther she'll have to go to find the remnants of other tribes like hers.

Even the songs here feel like vague copies of the ones from the first movie, although Lin-Manuel Miranda hasn't returned for the songwriting duties, leaving Abigail Barlow and Emily Bear to try to replicate his signature style (Composers Mark Mancina and Opetaia Foa'i do return, so the score and more traditional Polynesian songs possess the same quality). They do, and maybe that's why none of the tunes here reach the few peaks Miranda accomplished the first time—because we can sense the effort to give us more of the same.

Eventually, Moana has a vision of one of her ancestors, the last wayfinder of her tribe, who tells her to find the island of Motufetu, which he failed to reach in his lifetime but which could hold the key to reuniting the island peoples. With a longer trek and a more dangerous mission to accomplish, Moana enlists the ragtag crew of canoe builder Loto (voice of Rose Matafeo), muscle-bound historian Moni (voice of Hualālai Chung), and farmer Kele (voice of David Fane), who might be more put off by singing than he is by the water.

These characters don't take away a lot of attention from Moana, but with the return of demigod Maui (voice of Dwayne Johnson), the balance of focus is definitely off this time. Maui remains decent comic relief, with his alter ego of an animated chest tattoo advising and scolding him whenever he becomes too full of himself, but his purpose remains the same, while his role is diminished.

It doesn't help that he's held in captivity for about half the movie, captured by another demigod named Matangi (voice of Awhimai Fraser), who controls bats, while also having the power to transform into one, and whom the screenwriters quickly dismiss as a villain once the whole party sets off to find the lost island. Apparently, she's established here for the inevitable sequel, teased during the credits in a way that might explain why this installment feels so shallow.

The movie does feel more like a temporary placeholder for a wider narrative, to be continued later, than a tale that stands entirely on its own. That doesn't detract from the beauty of the computer animation, which captures the vastness and, especially in the third act, occasional violence of the sea in splendid detail (The ocean isn't like a character here—but only because it is a literal character, taking shape and helping Moana at times). There are some lovely moments here, such as Moana parting the waters to show her younger sister (voiced by Khaleesi Lambert-Tsuda) that she's safe amidst the ocean, and a few inspired sights, such as the crew teaming up with those anthropomorphic coconuts from the last movie to battle a giant clam.

Where it counts, though, Moana 2 feels stuck in the pattern of the first movie and a holding pattern for whatever's to come in any proceeding movie—or movies. Moana deserved better the first time, and she deserves much more this time.

Back to Home

Buy Related Products