Auliʻi Cravalho and Dwayne Johnson return as their iconic Disney characters, Moana and Maui respectively, in Moana 2. Three years after the events of the first film, Moana receives an unexpected call from her wayfinding ancestors and forms her crew, reuniting with her friend, the demigod Maui. As they journey to the far seas of Oceania to break the god Nalo’s curse on the hidden island of Motufetu—which once connected the people of the ocean—they confront old and new foes, including the Kakamora and the underworld goddess Matangi.
With the initial world already established, Moana 2‘s story feels similar to a story-driven video game, akin to Star Wars Jedi and God of War, where character upgrades are crucial. The story structure mirrors that of the first film, as Moana embarks on a journey to find others like herself while facing a villain. Without revealing too much, Moana grows in this film—both spiritually and personally. While the last film was about discovering who she was meant to be, this one focuses on her taking on a leadership role.
The special part of Moana 2 that the first instalment lacked was a solid team supporting Moana on her sailing adventures. Yes, she had Pua and Hei Hei, along with Maui, who was partly a supporting character and partly antagonistic in the first film. But in this movie, she receives much more help from her motley crew.
“The strengths of the songs continued to be the ones where Cravalho’s strong leading voice bellowed from her wayfinding chest.”
However, the film emphasizes how she must learn to lead by understanding all of her team’s strengths to tackle the problem at hand. It is similar to when the Spider-Men in Spider-Man: No Way Home had to learn to work together. Each new character had a distinct personality that audiences would connect with—some more than others.
The animation and cinematography are just as good as in the first film from 2016. I recently rewatched the original, and I could not tell the difference. This is not a bad thing, however. The animation showcases its strengths through stunningly vivid water simulations. One of the bold choices Moana 2 makes is using higher waves in the dark. The effect looks amazing in contrast to the purple lightning of the god Nalo. I would say the purple lightning effects are not as striking as the molten lava of Te Kā (the corrupted version of Te Fiti). There is something about lava against a dark storm that feels more menacing.
Another animation upgrade is seen in Maui’s song in Moana 2, “Can I Get a Chee Hoo?”, where some models and plates tell a story while the characters sing. The first film used similar techniques, but this sequel makes it look slightly more three-dimensional. For the rest of the film, the animation remains very similar to the first movie—no groundbreaking techniques are introduced.
The songs and score were not terrible, but they were not as catchy as those from the first film. Regarding Johnson’s standalone song, “Can I Get a Chee Hoo?”, it did not make my feet tap the way his standalone song in Moana, “You’re Welcome,” did. It was not even a case of needing to hear the song again to like it. Perhaps it was because Lin-Manuel Miranda was not involved in this project as he was in the first film—not to discredit the musicians and composers of this sequel.
The strength of the songs continues to be those featuring Cravalho’s strong leading voice bellowing from her wayfinding chest. Audiences will most likely enjoy “What Could Be Better Than This?” for its ability to incorporate foot stomps and hand claps within the beat—similar to Anna Kendrick’s Cup Song in Pitch Perfect. Most importantly, “We Know the Way” makes its return to Moana 2‘s soundtrack. It is not just a replay, either; it is a brand-new recorded version, where you can feel Moana’s voice has grown stronger.
Moana 2 has a tight one-hour and 40-minute runtime, slightly shorter than the first movie. However, this sequel has a solid jumping-off point—delving back into the Polynesian world almost immediately after how audiences left it in 2016. Without giving much away, the outcome of this film blows the world of Moana wide open. By the end of the film, the gears are already turning in predicting where the next story could go. Audiences should stay for the mid-credit scene if they want a glimpse of where Moana 3 could be heading.
