After its 2016 release, the Disney movie “Moana” cemented itself as the perfect combination of everything a tropical adventure needed: vibrant, dynamic animation, lovable supporting characters that sang karaoke-worthy anthems and, most importantly, a tenacious heroine who remained commendably uninterested in searching for a prince. On Wednesday, Nov. 27, eight years after making waves with “Moana,” Disney continued the Polynesian princess’ electrifying journey with the release of the highly-anticipated “Moana 2.” However, “Moana 2” is an underwhelming, unnecessary and half-baked attempt to upgrade a story that never needed a sequel.
Three years after restoring the heart of island goddess Te Fiti with her demigod friend Maui, Moana revels in her newfound stardom in her prosperous village of Motunui and helps her family lead the island. One night, Moana gets an alarming premonition from her ancestor that she needs to defeat the storm god Nalo, who guards the sunken island of Motufetu that prevents islanders from connecting with one another. She is tasked to connect peoples across the ocean by raising Motufetu above sea, or else the people of Motunui will die.
Despite her fear of never seeing her family again, Moana takes on the challenge and embarks on a voyage with the support of three other villagers: the peevish agronomist Kele, quirky engineer Loto and excitable storyteller Moni, each having very minor roles in their adventure She eventually reconnects with Maui, and the ragtag group works to break Nalo’s curse.
To its credit, the story “Moana 2” stays true to the themes of family and community connection that initially humanized Moana’s character, telling an immersive story of the heroine’s tenacity and determination to keep her people safe. The intimate portrayal of Moana’s emotional struggle as she matures tugs on the heartstrings of a wide range of audiences, especially to due her protectiveness of her new younger sibling, the energetic three-year-old Simea.
Unfortunately, familial aspects seem to mark the end of “Moana 2’s” meaningfulness — the rest of the film’s storyline contributes to only one-dimensional characters and resolutions. The plot, like Moana’s crumbling canoe, seems prone to imminent sinkage if inspected too closely. Even though the Disney continues to avoid the cliche love tropes that served the company well and create a new story for Moana, the film still disappoints by resorting to predictable and surface-level storytelling.
The movie’s superficiality is exacerbated by its distractingly large cast — screen time is spread thinly between many side characters, randomly inserted to diversify the cast. Although the inclusion of such a mixed crew is an appreciable effort to show how success is only achieved through the effort of many, its effect is a let down due to the flat characterization. Similarly, Simea’s introduction suggests that she would play a more active role in Moana’s adventure, but she was mainly used as a source of Moana’s sacrifice instead of as her own character.
The movie’s main antagonist, Nalo, also needed a more developed backstory. His lack of characterization and unknown form of appearance in the film led to a generic and predictable plot, even though he had potential to have a threatening spirit. When the crew finally reaches a gigantic storm hovering over the sunken island, it reveals itself as the only glimpse viewers have of Nalo. Though the confrontation is stress-inducing as the group makes numerous efforts to go through the storm as waves come crashing down, the climax only lasts a few disappointing minutes.
However, the mediocre climax is preceded by a rather thought-provoking build up. Matangi, Nalo’s enforcer that can control bats, captures Maui at the beginning of the plot. Matangi was portrayed as mysterious for most of the movie, as we only see her silhouette and hear her voice. Unfortunately, her story remains surface-level and unresolved by the end of the film. Other important aspects of the storyline were too ambiguous, specifically with Moana becoming a demi-goddess at the end of the movie. As Moana sports a sleeve of tattoos similar to Maui, the creators leave it up to the viewers to infer her new identity and brush over any reaction or emotion from other relevant characters in the movie.
Also, towards the end of the movie, Maui sings “Mana Vavau” in Samoan, accompanied by ancestors singing in Tokelauan, to save Moana’s life. Dwayne Johnson delivers his emotion exceptionally through his vocals in the 1 minute and 30 second song, highlighting this as one of the only thoughtfully produced songs in the movie. In general, the setlist of songs were dull, as Lin Manuel Miranda’s absence in “Moana 2’s” soundtrack left a noticeable void in the movie. The songs did not have the same musical appeal compared to the catchy and memorable ones in the first film, such as “You’re Welcome” and “How Far I’ll Go.”
“Moana 2” compensates viewers with beautiful artistry and precision: the same sparkling cerulean waters, gleaming sunsets and lush foliage that enchanted Moana’s first journey to restore Te Fiti’s heart are back and better. The intentionality and investment behind the movie’s creation is evident in every scene and the movie still achieves incredible cinematic quality through beautiful framing in scenes like Moana’s vision of a glowing whale shark spirit. “Moana 2” is a reassuring recovery from Disney’s recent plunge in animation quality, especially in its 2023 movie release “Wish,” which was criticized ruthlessly for looking cheap and unfinished.
In addition, “Moana 2” marks Disney’s first animated movie to release versions in Indigenous Polynesian languages: Hawaiian, Samoan, Tahitian and Māori. Moreover, the film exhibited much more Polynesian history and culture compared to the baseline representation in the first installment. At important points in the movie, hakas were performed, a ceremonial Māori dance that symbolizes pride and unity.
Despite the admirable cultural and community representation in the sequel, its poorly planned plot falls short relative to its prelude. Though more diligence could have justified the creation of another film, its drawn out narrative shows how the film is an inessential addition to the series. As the magic essence of “Moana” had the perfect blend of adventure and passion that made a lasting impression on viewers, “Moana 2’s” falters to leave a sense of missed potential to audiences.
RATING: 2/5
