Moana 2 movie review: Once that one-of-her-kind Disney “not a princess” had proven that she was a queen of the seas, Moana (Auli’i Cravalho, reprising her role from the 2016 film) was bound to get some new adventures. Moana 2 is as new as it gets these days – that is, not very new – in the era of sequels, prequels and multiverse-quels.
As Moana ventures into a new mission, a demi-goddess who helps her, Matangi (Awhimai Fraser), does drill into her with a song whose refrain goes, “There is always another way.” However, Disney for one isn’t trying it.
So we get a lot of what we had in the truly entertaining Moana, particularly the Polynesian teen heroine and the braggart demi-god whom she befriends Maui (Dwayne Johnson). Several new characters fill the screen but few make an impression. Moni (Hualalai Chung) is just a mini-Maui, and pointless once Maui himself comes around.
The one new character who you want to see and hear more of is Loto (Rose Matafeo), an inventor who keeps fiddling with their rackety, Moana-led canoe so that it can brave whatever the evil Nalo throws at them. But given that it is her brains which take the motley crew put together by Moana as far as they get, Loto gets to be little more than a sidekick to Moana.
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The weakest link is that we don’t even get to see Nalo except as a snarling voice or a towering silhouette in the sky, though if you wait around for the credits at the end, you get a glimpse. Which is one way of saying that there will be a Moana 3.
The 2016 Moana’s biggest achievement was that it gave Disney fans, particularly young girls, a hero who looked nothing like they had seen before – it was a ‘she’, with dark, curly hair that was not blonde, a waist that had some substance, and friends who did not include a handsome prince.
With that established, Moana 2 needed to find some uncharted waters. The search for a hidden island, Motufetu, sunk by Nola to ensure that different peoples of the ocean stayed apart, is not really a brainwave.
One can be happy for Moana, especially her little sister, and especially for a brief moment they share with a playful ocean. The coconut minions draw some chuckles while they last.
But the songs are mostly dead in the water, and the jokes even more so. At one point, Maui drops the word “butt dial”. And goes on to explain: “That would make sense in 2,000 years.” Right.
Moana 2 movie directors: David G Derrick Jr, Jason Hand, Dana Ledoux Miller
Moana 2 voice cast: Auli’i Cravalho, Dwayne Johnson, Hualalai Chung, Rose Matafeo, David Fane, Awhimai Fraser
Moana 2 movie rating: 2 stars
