After an ancestor gives her an ominous look into the future of her island, Moana is thrust yet again into an adventure with obstacles ahead. Once more, viewers are left to ask: how far is she willing to go to save the people and the home that she loves?
The sequel to the beloved “Moana” premiered on Nov. 27, 2024, introducing the protagonist Moana with another journey across the ocean to save her people yet again. “Moana 2,” while having its touching and funny moments, felt like a carbon copy of its antecedent, just with a lower-quality soundtrack and additional main characters.
The movie opens with Moana (Auliʻi Cravalho) searching for proof of other communities, endeavoring to break the curse of the god Nalo and find the island of Motufetu to reunite all the islands. She sets sail with a crew of three members: farmer Kele (David Fane), architect Loto (Rose Matafeo) and storyteller Moni (Hualalai Chung). They run into the beloved demigod Maui (Dwayne Johnson) halfway through the film. With his demigod powers and Moana’s problem-solving skills, they work together to recover the lost island of Montufetu and reunite other islands.
As soon as we sat down, we could tell that Disney outdid themselves with the visuals of this film. Watching it on the big screen and being able to see all of the details and effort put into the film was truly amazing. Bright shades of purples and blues, and scenes with complex graphics like tornadoes and storms above the oceans left us in awe. We were impressed with Disney’s classic style of animation.
But despite the visual experience, the soundtrack fell short. We may be biased, but we enjoyed Lin Manuel Miranda’s songs in “Moana” far more than we did Abigail Barlow and Emily Bear’s music in “Moana 2.” We felt as though none of the songs would have the same longevity and popularity as the hits “You’re Welcome” or “How Far I’ll Go” from the first movie.
We found the plot of the movie just as underwhelming as the soundtrack. The message was unclear, and the entirety of the movie was building up to a climax that turned out to be only the last 20 minutes. Comparing the elongated introduction to the story and characters, it had a somewhat abrupt ending.
However, we recognize this was a movie made for kids and had a heartwarming—albeit cliche—message. Moana’s strength and resilience was an overall inspiring message for young audiences. Moana was the leader of a five-person crew who sailed through hardships and eventually came out victorious. Maui’s character development throughout the film was evident, and he gave Moana the credit she deserved at the end. If “Moana 2” had come out without the high expectations that “Moana” brought, we think that it would have been an amazing movie to see in 2016.
Similar to the first movie, the humor stayed consistent throughout. The entertainment value was strong and brought the movie together. Whether it was the clueless chicken Hei Hei, the incompetent farmer Kele or the self-centered demigod Maui, the jokes did not disappoint and they kept the film lighthearted.
The humor was not the only part of “Moana 2” that we enjoyed. There were a few scenes that sparked memories from the first, mirroring them to the point where they might be indivisible. Moana’s relationship with her younger sister, Simea (Khaleesi Lambert-Tsuda), contributes to the cruciality of her return home. A bittersweet moment between the two that clinches their bond takes place in the same cave we saw in the first movie, where Moana originally called out to her ancestors. In both movies, Moana uses a drum rhythm to get their attention, and the same shot of the horizon is shown.
Later, to comfort Simea before embarking on the journey and leaving her, Moana brings her to the ocean. The waves crawl back and form a beautiful space around them, precisely as they did for Moana in the first movie when she truly connected with the ocean and its power.
As children, we all thought a village boy at the beginning of the first movie was hilarious. This young boy dances in front of her as part of a playful interaction, during a scene where Moana is growing up and learning the ways of her people. The boy acts flirtatiously, doing a little dance and making a “kissy face” at her. This and his slight smirk toward Moana brought laughter time and time again. Yet, we see this exact character again in “Moana 2”. Though a little older, he uses the same dance moves to impress her, again sparking a reaction in the audience. This led us to question how entangled and similar the producers aimed for the two films to be, either to remind us of the first movie or to recycle the laughter it brought.
These parallels often enhanced the story and made every character seem more meaningful. Through the recurrence of certain scenes and minor details, the movie allowed us to intertwine lessons from it with ones from the first movie, even carrying them into our own lives as we’ve grown since it was released in 2016.
