‘Moana 2’ drowns in money and fails to make waves

“Moana 2” grossed $389 million worldwide at the box office in its opening weekend, dethroning the $377-milion record of “The Super Mario Bros. Movie.” Yet, it fails to capture the magic of the original. 

A whole seven years after its release, “Moana” (2016) was the most streamed movie of the year in 2023 and an eventual sequel had been in the works since 2020. However this sequel was initially going to be in the form of a TV show. It wasn’t until February of 2024 that Disney announced “Moana 2,” a feature film that would come out nine months later. The film suffers from the hard pivot from show to movie — a big reason why it fails to live up to the original.

“Moana 2” reunites us with Moana as she gets a call from her ancestors to break a curse and reconnect the ocean. This is a huge task for the 100-minute runtime, and the film fails to fully develop the story. 

The presented story feels like glimpses of what the TV show story originally was. The movie is just okay, and the glimpses show just how great the film could have been. A clear example comes in the form of Moana’s crew as she embarks on this journey. We are introduced to Moni (Hualālai Chung), Loto (Rose Matafeo) and Kele (David Fane), who are disappointingly one dimensional; their presence feels residual from the show and doesn’t add to the story.

Another example of the story’s lackluster quality is the antagonist of the film. While in the first film, Te Fiti is presented as an evil lava monster, by the end of the film we understand her complexity. “Moana 2” initially presents Awhimai Fraser’s Matangi as an antagonist, but we only learn about their backstory through a brief exposition drop; the film’s true antagonist, Nalo (Tofiga Fepulea’i), doesn’t have a speaking role until the post credits. The lack of motives and development in the villains make the film feel flat, contrasting drastically to that of the first film.  

The runtime of “Moana” was 107 minutes, and while I doubt that another seven minutes would have saved “Moana 2” from feeling incomplete, the original proves that it’s possible to tell a compelling story in a short amount of time. Fundamentally, it fails because the story is too large. It’s true that the role of a sequel is to expand the world and the story, but the presented story feels as though Disney took the show’s story and pressed the fast forward option. I would even go as far to say that Moana herself almost feels like a viewer to the events unfolding than a true protagonist. In the midst of so many new characters the film struggles to draw focus to her. In group settings, she usually feels like a background character rather than the leader of the crew.

This is all without mentioning the songs. While Lin-Manuel Miranda (creator of the musical “Hamilton” and songwriter for Disney’s “Encanto” (2021)) wrote the songs for the first film, his absence in the second film is felt. The songs are okay, but they fail to be catchy or as sentimental as the ones in the first film. 

What “Moana 2” continues to do well from the original is the animation. The different scenes where Moana interacts with her ancestors are powerful and are a beautiful testament to the craft. Dwayne Johnson’s Maui, while featured sparingly, is comedic, and we see how he has developed from the lessons he learned in the first film. Auliʻi Cravalho’s Moana does a phenomenal job with what she is given. Her voice performance truly makes you care for Moana’s journey in this film and what shines are the moments when Moana is with her sister, Simea (Khaleesi Lambert-Tsuda). The film understands the important role their sisterly bond plays in the story, and these slow and thoughtful moments of siblingship are the soul of the film.

I saw “Moana 2” with my seven-year-old sister, who admittedly loved it, but at a fundamental level it feels like a cash-grab. Its success will most likely only have Disney continue pushing more sequels and less fully developed products. Recent films such as “The Wild Robot” (2024), “Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse”(2018) and “Puss in Boots: The Last Wish”(2023) have shown that animation can delve into complex stories that are entertaining for both children and adults. “Moana 2” even has story elements that feel complex, but ultimately the film waves off the complexity in search of trying to tell a complete story. 

There is no doubt that Disney will continue to tell stories in the Moana universe, with a live-action “Moana” scheduled to have a 2026 release date. One can only hope that these movies feel less like a money grab and at least try to live up to the original.

Editor’s Note: This article is a review and includes subjective thoughts, opinions and critiques.

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