“Moana 2” Review
Auli’i Cravalho and Dwayne Johnson reprise their roles as Moana and Maui in “Moana 2”, a sequel to the iconic Disney animated film.
Like almost everyone, I love “Moana”. With gorgeous animation, likeable characters and toe-tapping songs, it has continued to enchant audiences of all ages ever since its 2016 release. Along with its strong box-office performance and two Oscar nominations, it seemed like a sequel was inevitable. The original “Moana” is so popular that a live-action remake is in the works despite the film not even being a decade old yet which makes me think that the executives at Disney who keep greenlighting these remakes spend the majority of their time huffing glue and, whenever pressed for new film ideas, rapidly select a title at random from the Disney+ app on their phones. In spite of my gripes with certain practices at Disney, I applaud the idea of making a sequel to “Moana”. But the final product left something to be desired. While a perfectly serviceable film that provided some fun times and heartwarming moments, “Moana 2” doesn’t have the same fresh energy as the first, resulting in an uneven sequel.
Set three years after the first, Moana (Auli’i Cravalho) and her village of Polynesian islanders have embraced their roots as explorers and sail the seas in search of other people so that they may enjoy the same connection as their ancestors. So far, they have had no luck. But this is not by coincidence. A storm god named Nalo purposefully wanted to separate the peoples of the sea, so he sank the island of Motufetu which connected all. Wanting to restore the island, Moana assembles a team of villagers and goes on a journey across the sea where she reunites with the great demigod Maui (Dwayne Johnson). Together, they must take on the god, defeat his hold on the sea and bring back balance.
One thing I like about this film is how Moana isn’t learning the same lesson which is done far too often in sequels. Having navigated the sea and restored the heart of the goddess Te Fiti, Moana really knows her way around a boat and has even been designated the official wayfinder of her village. But when she’s called to restore Motufetu, she knows that she’ll need help and it’s this crew that she needs to teach. Not just how to handle being on a boat, but also how to work together. It’s a lesson that we’ve seen plenty of times from Disney but this film does have a fun spin on it with the energetic animation that makes being on a boat in the Pacific look like the most enjoyable experience.
Auli’i Cravalho reprises her role as Moana and it is a welcome return with the optimism and confidence she brings to the role. But there’s also this vulnerability to her that is endearing, especially when she has to weigh the cost of going on this mission. She has to ask how is this going to effect her family, her little sister Simea (Khaleesi Lambert-Tsuda) in particular, and it’s a very relatable situation but also all the more inspiring when she steps up.
Dwayne Johnson is also making his return and his infectious performance as Maui showcases all of the likability and goodwill Johnson has spent decades cultivating. It would have been so tempting to have Maui appear throughout the entire film and even steal the show from Moana (how many of us still have “You’re Welcome” stuck in our heads all these years later?) but he’s smartly held back in the film until Moana goes on her journey and is put back in the world of monsters, storms and bizarre sights. When he does arrive, Maui and Moana are an excellent pair and it’s a fun time to see them work together to save the future of the sea.
Like the first film, the animation is absolutely gorgeous and completely immerses you in this world that we all fell in love with. As much as I lament what feels like Disney abandoning hand-drawn, 2D animation, “Moana 2” is a strong display of the advantages of computer animation, especially the texture it gives water. Along with a beautiful use of color, “Moana 2” is every bit as beautiful as its predecessor.
However, while the characters going on this journey are worth the ride, the actual quest doesn’t have the same kind of gripping stakes as the first and I think a lot of that is on the villain Nalo who barely appears in the film and has very little presence. While Te Fiti didn’t have much screen presence in “Moana”, she felt like a more formidable threat and the revelations made about her past made her stand out when she could have easily been a big, boring monster to defeat. Nalo is that big, boring monster and it does bring down investment in the film.
I also think the music of “Moana 2” left a lot to be desired because, while fine, the majority of songs feel trapped under the weight of the original. Only a few of them manage to stand on their own like the breathtaking “Beyond” but the majority feel like they’re trying to tap into the feeling of songs like “You’re Welcome”, “Where You Are” and even “Shiny”, the song which even the most die-hard “Moana” fan can admit could have been cut. It couldn’t have been easy to try and build off of such an iconic musical but one of the best ways is to cut the cord and to take a chance instead of trying to replicate such a bolt of lightning.
Despite my problems with “Moana 2”, I still find myself excited for the future because the film’s ending does open up quite a few possibilities for another sequel. It does evolve the characters to a new place that I would love to see explored. I just wish the journey there was a bit more exciting. But if you love the first film as I do, you’ll probably enjoy “Moana 2” enough. I can’t think very many people will claim it to be superior to the first but I think it will provide a good time for family audiences and Disney lovers of all ages. However, if you’re looking for a film that is going to break the same kind of ground as the original, I think that we missed the wave.
