Moana 2 (2024)
Directed by: David G. Derrick Jr., Jason Hand, Dana Ledoux Miller
Premise: A sequel to the 2016 film. Moana (voice of Auli’i Cravalho) sails in search of a long-lost island that is a meeting place for other Polynesian nations.
What Works: Moana 2 has been designed to appeal to what viewers loved about the first film and it mostly recaptures that, if sometimes superficially. Like its predecessor, Moana 2 is a tale of seafaring adventure in which the titular character encounters mythological creatures. The sequel has some fun with this and it reintroduces Maui (voice of Dwayne Johnson) but also a variety of other characters. This time Moana sails with a group of people from her village and each of them is distinct. They must learn to work together in order to survive and the heroes go out on a limb to save one another, especially Moana and Maui who level up as characters. The supporting cast is also the source of a lot of humor and like the original Moana the comedy is consistently the best part of the movie. Moana 2 looks great. The animation was one of the most outstanding qualities of the original picture and the sequel matches its predecessor, creating vivid settings and funny visual gags.
What Doesn’t: Moana 2 is a sequel lacking an obvious reason to exist. The original picture was a closed story that did not suggest a follow up. Moana 2 is a same-but-different sequel that cannot escape its predecessor. Whether for commercial reasons or lack of creative inspiration, Moana 2 comes across too tethered to the previous film and it repeats what we’ve seen before but with less dramatic impact. Once again, Moana goes on a seafaring quest, this time with the community’s blessing but without a compelling motivation. Moana searches for a lost island but where she’s going and why are vague. The stakes for her and for everyone else are low. There is no concrete problem to be overcome and in the end it’s not clear what was resolved. Moana and her team work together but they don’t grow in a meaningful way. Moana 2 introduces new characters but this feels like a setup for another installment; much of the second film feels like a place holder between the first and third movies. And like its predecessor, the music of Moana 2 is adequate but unexceptional. The Moana films have some song and dance numbers but no memorable tunes.
Bottom Line: Moana 2 is a second helping of what so many viewers enjoyed about the first movie. It is competently done and sufficiently entertaining but Moana 2 is also dramatically thin and does not meet the level of its predecessor.
Episode: #1027 (December 15, 2024)