Directed By David G. Derrick Jr, Jason Hand, and Dana Ledoux Miller

Starring – Dwayne Johnson, Auli’i Cravalho, Alan Tudyk

The Plot – This adventurous sequel takes audiences on an expansive new voyage with Moana (Cravalho), Maui (Johnson) and a brand-new crew of unlikely seafarers. After receiving an unexpected call from her wayfinding ancestors, Moana must journey to the far seas of Oceania and into dangerous, long-lost waters for an adventure unlike anything she’s ever faced.

Rated PG for action and peril

Moana 2 | Official Trailer

POSITIVES

It’s hard to believe that it’s been eight whole years since the original ‘Moana’, but the seamless execution of the production make it feel like practically yesterday, with breathtaking animation in the rendering of this world that majestically immerses you once more into the fantastical imagination of this wonderous water world. Capturing the free-flowing consistency of water, which makes up roughly 40-60% of every shot, is one thing, but balancing it with a boldly intoxicating color scheme emanating the alluring magnetism of these exotic landscapes is definitely another, emphasizing an effortless reminder to every canvas just what these characters are so passionately fighting for, all the while serving as another triumphant achievement for Disney Animation Studios in the transition to three-dimensional animated schemes that have dominated the genre over the last decade plus of animated studio releases. Likewise, the lore and traditionalism of this Oceanic tribe that bares such a strong significance to both Johnson and Cravalho’s own real life as proud Samoan heritage is explored and emphasized in the depths of this story, which candidly steer it towards one very meaningful message of togetherness that both adult audiences will appreciate, and youthful audiences will take great knowledge from. While that is undoubtedly a reoccurring theme that binds so many of these family films together, it hits so much more effectively when conjured in the depths of supernatural beings requiring the help of mortals to pull off insurmountable feats, attaining with it an earnestness of heart that proves this sequel to be so much more than just another superfluous cash grab without anything in the way of soul or distinguishment that can once again entertain its audience. But while messages go a long way, distinguished performances push it so much further, with the re-teaming of Johnson and Cravalho affording us the impeccable chemistry and radiant charisma that elevates lukewarm material towards feeling effectively impactful. This time around, it certainly feels like Cravalho takes more charge of the occasion, as her majority of the film’s focus entails the same adorable adventurousness and elegance that made her such a compelling protagonist in the first film, but this time with a palpable maturity that has evolved the character gracefully in becoming the leader for her tribe that she was destined to become. Johnson’s limitations of time during the film’s first half require him to double down on charms during its second, and as Maui, Johnson leans effortlessly into the role that he was undoubtedly born to play, with all of the machismo, bravado, and resiliency that make him such a three-dimensional character, but never in ways that forcefully distract or even detract away from the bigger picture of this being an ensemble effort, instead reserving him for those moments where his influence can be felt the boldest, primarily when the script transitions into more comedy during the film’s second half. On that subject, ‘Moana 2’ isn’t an uproarious riot in the laughs department, but it does elicit more than a few noteworthy gags that did resonate with me, without the use of toilet humor to degrade the intelligence of its child audience. More times than not, it involves situational humor appraising the overwhelming vulnerability of these characters in dire situations, and while this could easily become tediously repetitive in the structure of the ever-changing scenery, the tone is very well controlled and maintained by the film’s trio of directors, allowing it the freedom to explore a levity in personality without ever truly compromising the stakes of the conflict, which always feel at the forefront of the film’s creative focus. Lastly, if you seek out ‘Moana 2’, be sure to stay for a meaningful mid credits sequence that not only lays out the future of this popular franchise, but also recalls a familiar character from the first film whose wink and nod to the audience harmlessly pokes fun at how interchangeable so many of these post-movie sequences are. This one fortunately doesn’t fall into that category, but it does get me excited at the idea of a third film in ways that I never got to experience with an unforeseen future after the first film, especially with the introduction to one new key character who feels greater and grander than anything Moana or Maui have ever faced.

NEGATIVES

While ‘Moana 2’ is better than most Disney sequels, it proves that the company still hasn’t found a comfortable rhythm with secondary installments, leaving this an admirable but inferior sequel that might have a soul, but doesn’t have a heart towards recapturing that lightning in the bottle of the original. As a result, many vital ingredients are missing this time around, but none of them as noticeable as the absence of Lin-Manuel Miranda, who served as the songs composer for so many memorable tracks during the first film. While the songs here occasionally attain an infectious rhythm (‘What Could Be Better Than This, Can I Get a Chee Hoo’), most of the tracks lack the charming personality and catchy hooks of their predecessor, which echo all the louder during the seven inferior songs that come and go with about as much relevance and lasting power as a passing wave. Another part of the problem is that the songs themselves lack the wind instruments and 808 drums that gave the original a tribal intuition with its compositions, and as a result the tracks here in both rhythm and tone feel like they could’ve been plucked from any Disney property, which is a grave shame to something as distinguished and original as the Moana franchise. In addition to unmemorable songs, the script is quite lackadaisical and underwhelming, primarily during the opening act, where it lazily pieces together its primary conflict with one of the more unoriginal heavy exposition dumps that I have seen this year. Because the film leaves Moana and Maui separated for the first fifty minutes of its run time, it already has quite an uphill climb in settling in a comfortable consistency, but it’s even worse between the inferiorities of a weak antagonist, dully dumbed boat load of dumb or passed over new characters, and a complete lack of chance taking with its newfound tribe and world-building expansion, deducting its appeal in ways that aren’t necessarily ambitious or original with where this story takes us, leaving it feel very underdeveloped for a film that clocks in at the meager 90-minute mark that mainstream audiences absolutely appreciate a movie for. In this instance, the brief allowance leads to evidence that less is simply just less, and as a result of so many cylinders continuously misfiring within a script that was factually and obviously written by three different screenwriters, this sequel never finds a voice of its own in a kitchen with far too many cooks. This disorganized reality also undercuts the emotional layers that made the first film such a cherished triumph for all members of the family, with nothing that even comes close to the loss of Moana’s grandmother during the predecessor. I can understand that a sequel’s best intention is to avoid familiarity with its counterpart, but it feels like a gravely missed opportunity for the film to juggle lost cultures and not fully commit to exploring those tragedies, and as a result it lacks the kind of emotional profoundness that could take a film like this to the next level, especially with one particular scene during the third act that isn’t directed with the kind of urgency and vulnerability needed to summon such remorse.

OVERALL
‘Moana 2’ fails to capture the musical infectiousness or emotional undertow of its iconic predecessor, but it is nevertheless another delightful dip into mesmerizingly radiant waters, made affirming with the idea of togetherness conquering the unconquerable. Cravalho and Johnson prove capable of the charismatic heavy lifting, and the animation continues to bridge the gap between fantasy and reality, but ultimately this is one surface level sequel that refuses to submerge itself, leaving it comfortably riding the waves of shallow storytelling without journeying out too deep

My Grade: 7/10 or C+