MOANA 2 Is a Struggle

guest review by Leon Schwartz

Moana 2 (2024)
Screenplay by Jared Bush and Dana Ledoux Miller
Story by Jared Bush & Dana Ledoux Miller & Bek Smith
Produced by Christina Chen and Yvett Merino
Directed by David G. Derrick Jr., Jason Hand, Dana Ledoux Miller
PG, 1hr 40m

As soon as Moana 2 trailers began, my daughter was begging me to see the movie. What’s a Thanksgiving holiday without a good movie to watch? Because of my daughter, I had watched Moana so many times, by then even I was looking forward to the sequel. But now I am struggling to write this review because in my opinion, Moana 2 is not a very well-made film. My daughter still loved it and I assume most kids will enjoy it as well, but I don’t have the heart to tell her that I didn’t. I wonder if Moana 2 will become one of those movies you watch over and over as a kid, but then later you watch it as an adult and realize, hmmm this movie is not very good, why did my younger self watch this all the time.

I had a hard time pinpointing exactly what it was about this film I didn’t quite like or why I realized it was not a good movie. When it comes to animated films it is always harder to judge. Usually, the animation is good and there are no live actors on screen to critique, so I find even the most mediocre animated film is usually a cut above a mediocre live action film. Sadly, that is not the case with Moana 2. If I had to boil it down to one statement or phrase, the movie lacks the magic of the original.

The beginning of the film finds Moana (Auli’i Cravalho) looking for other people from the ocean. There are none to be found, but she holds out hope that one day they will be. Moana returns to her island where life is a paradise and everyone looks up to her, including a new addition to her family, her baby sister Simea (Khaleesi Lambert-Tsuda). The interactions between the two sisters are some of the better scenes in the film. Meanwhile, Maui (Dwayne Johnson) is off somewhere else fighting against a god and trying to settle an old score. Quickly we discover that Maui’s quest and Moana’s desire for finding other people are connected.

The plot has a very slow and unsure start. It relies heavily on call backs to the original and rarely introduces new jokes or material to discover. The awkward beginning leads to a second act that is very much like the original film. Moana has to be helped to find Maui. She descends to a nether region for a big musical act and rescues Maui. Then Moana and Maui set off together to break the curse that is keeping humans apart. The disappointing beginning failed to pull me in, so when Moana sets out for her quest, I was never as invested as I was with the original. Neither did I ever feel at any time the urgency or danger that necessitates Moana and Maui’s undertaking. I just didn’t care as much, nor did I ever feel that their quest truly mattered or that they wouldn’t succeed.

In this sequel, new characters were added to the story: three villagers set out with Moana to help her on the quest. However, they really don’t do anything nor add to the plot, and if they hadn’t come along, nothing would have changed in respect to the main storyline. Except for a couple short funny scenes, these new characters don’t even provide the intended comic relief.

The final act of the movie picks up the pace and is done well. It also leads into an after-credit scene that sets up for a third film.

Finally, the musical score is not as good as the original, which is a big failure for me. The music is always a big draw for any animated film, but in Moana 2, the Polynesian style is pushed aside for some more standard Disney animated musical style.

In summary, watching Moana 2 is like meeting an old friend that you haven’t seen for a while. Then one day, you bump into them and there is an awkward moment where neither one is sure how to proceed. Eventually after a bumbling greeting you begin to fall back into that old feeling of friendship, and the conversation becomes less forced and more natural. You walk away after exchanging numbers and you are looking forward to a future get together. Let’s hope Moana 3 will rekindle the friendship.

2 stars out 5