Eight years after Moana made a splash at Walt Disney Animation Studios, we’re back with Moana 2. This sequel sees the return of Moana, the daughter of a village chief, who sets sail on another adventure to break a curse on the island. The first film was a smash hit, and this movie had a lot to live up to. However, Disney sequels rarely reach the quality of their predecessors; Frozen II and Ralph Breaks the Internet are two recent examples. Moana 2 is a safe, well-crafted sequel that never quite reaches the heights of the original.
It’s an uphill battle to compare sequels to their originals, but it becomes inevitable when the 2016 Moana film garnered such a lasting cultural impact. On its own, Moana 2 is an entertaining experience. There’s so much fun to be had with animated adventures, and this movie makes full use of it. Animals like Pua and Heihei can emote so much in animation, which leads to hilarious moments (keep this in mind for when the live-action Moana remake comes out). This movie offers high-quality belly laughs and excellent moments with characters you love watching.
This film brings back our leading players, including Auli’i Cravalho as Moana. She brings so much ferocity to this character and steps back in seamlessly. Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson stars in his second November 2024 movie after Red One. Johnson failed to impress in that film, but he is excellent as Maui. The first Moana has always been one of my favorite movies and performances of his. He brings all his charisma to this role once again, and he’s typically at his best when directors allow him to be funny. Johnson’s handling of comedy is superb in both Moana movies.
But Moana 2 also introduces new characters. Rose Matafeo plays Loto, a quirky member of Moana’s crew who brings brains and perfectionism to the team. David Fane portrays a grumpy farmer named Kele. Hualālai Chung plays perhaps my favorite new character, Moni, a superfan of Maui. All of these characters get funny moments, and they’re all different and quirky enough to round out Moana’s ragtag wayfinding crew. The only new character that feels out of place is Matangi (Awhimai Fraser), who appears to be a threat near the film’s beginning but is almost entirely forgotten about halfway through. She does not play an important enough role to justify having a song, and she feels like a character designed to have more development in a sequel or spin-off.
Speaking of songs, Moana 2 lacks the memorability of the first film. Lin-Manuel Miranda’s presence is sorely missed. The songs in this movie are written by Abigail Barlow and Emily Bear, two talented musicians known for The Unofficial Bridgerton Musical. Their work here is acceptable, and “Beyond” might be the best song on this soundtrack. But most of the music in this movie is forgettable, with none reaching the heights of “How Far I’ll Go” or “You’re Welcome.” Johnson gets a song in this movie that reminded me more of “it’s about drive, it’s about power” than anything else.
The adventure Moana and her crew go on is fraught with danger. The film features a few scary monster designs, and it gets to build action sequences around how our characters face off against them. There is fun to be had here, even if it doesn’t feel like there are many more places for Moana and Maui to grow as characters. They worked well together in the first movie, and that continues here. Moana 2 continuously proves to be a safe sequel that doesn’t take any risky swings but doesn’t disappoint you with poor quality.
It doesn’t have the same emotional pull as the first, but the story works surprisingly well. This movie was initially supposed to be a TV series for Disney+, but it was repurposed into a feature film earlier this year. It’s not easy to tell where the episode breaks would be, and it deserves to be experienced on a big screen. Sequels are not always easy for Disney to pull off, but this is one of their better ones. Directors David Derrick Jr., Jason Hand, and Dana Ledoux Miller all manage to bring together a singular creative voice that lends itself to a very watchable Moana sequel.
While Moana 2 may not reach the unreachable heights of its predecessor, this movie offers enough laughs and visual spectacle for the whole family. The animation is astounding, and everyone on this project brings passion and life to a long-overdue sequel.
SCORE: 7/10
As ComingSoon’s review policy explains, a score of 7 equates to “Good.” A successful piece of entertainment that is worth checking out, but it may not appeal to everyone.
Disclosure: ComingSoon attended a press screening for our Moana 2 review.
