Moana 2, an animated sequel to Moana (2016) was originally developed to be a series on Disney+. However, in February 2024, it was officially announced that the series would be reworked into a theatrical sequel. The sequel brings back Auli’i Cravalho as Moana and Dwayne Johnson as Maui, alongside new characters like Hualālai Chung as Moni: a fan of Maui who enjoys drawing legends, Rose Matafeo as Loto: a smart craftswoman, and David Fane as Kele: a grumpy farmer who joins Moana’s wayfinding crew.
The movie sets its premise on Moana traveling around neighboring islands to connect with people. The ocean chooses Moana to break the curse on Motufetu – an island that once connected all the islands – sunk by the storm god Nalo. Throughout the movie, we follow Moana and her way-finding crew as they try to find Montufetu.
While watching the movie, I noticed that its pacing felt like the pacing you would find in a TV show. You don’t get the same chemistry level between Moana and Maui as in the first movie because we don’t see them much until the second half. Instead, we are introduced to three new characters. The addition of characters in movies is good, but it felt like they didn’t need to be there. The new characters do bring their strengths to Moana, but it feels like they’re only there to be there. It would have been nice if the plot focused on Moana stopping at different islands where she could explore and add new characters to her crew – rather than her crew already being from her home island and already knowing each other. It’s why Moana was so memorable; most of the movie was only Moana and Maui, and we got to see how their dynamic and relationship built off of each other.
Although I believe Moana 2 didn’t give enough time to establish how urgent the main conflict of the story was, the movie is still a fun and beautifully animated movie. You can tell there was a lot of thought and care put into each frame of the movie, with its vibrant colors and scenery.
