Moana 2

The decision to continue the sailing ways of Moana – the strong-willed daughter of a chief of a Polynesian village – as an animated musical feature film instead of a TV series will be a major success when making money. The first “Moana” was a huge massive box office hit and is one of the most streamed films on Disney+ that more stories were an obvious decision.

Because the sequel, “Moana 2,” released last month, will make so much money, there will be either a third film or the original plans to create a TV series will be brought up again. Either choice will be another smart moneymaking decision.

The problem with making a sequel – whether or not it started out as a TV series – is that there are certain parts that can’t be done again. Rick Bentley said in his review, “In this case, the fact Moana is no longer an untested champion, the lack of a specific villain and a musical soundtrack that doesn’t have the same spirit leaves “Moana 2” a good movie but nowhere near as great as the initial offering.”

Moana, voiced by Auli’i Cravalho, was an underdog in the first film. There was a natural tension created by her journey to free her island after being selected by the ocean to place a mystical relic back in the goddess Te Fiti. “Moana 2” takes her on a new journey to lift a curse that has isolated her people from the other islands. She’s confident there are other people beyond her island but finding them means facing and overcoming many deadly trials.

Joining Moana on her journey are her faithful sidekicks, Hei Hei (Alan Tudyk) the chicken, Pua the pig, expert repairwoman Loto (Rose Matafeo), grouchy Kele (David Fani), Moni (Hualalai Chung), and demigod Maui (Dwayne Johnson). They must sail to the far seas of Oceania and into dangerous, long-lost waters for an adventure that she’s never done before.

Because she demonstrated such heroism in the first film, no one thinks that she will fail. Bentley said, “The addition of a worried little sister adds some tension to Moana’s brave expedition, but those moments play toward the sappy side.”

Bentley continued, “The bulk of the journey is a very linear trip across the water interrupted by various dangers that must be faced. There is no drop in animation quality from the original as the team has created a blend of colorful characters (suitable for merchandising) and built stunning worlds for them to exist. The design of the water is so close to the real world it is almost as if a heavenly hand had been involved.”

What is missing is an antagonist. Moana and her team have to survive a clam and deal with the evil Matangi (Amhimai Fraser), a storm demigod who appears to be the villain of the film but is actually working for Nalo (Tofiga Fepulea’i).

Bentley pointed out, “Matangi would have been an acceptable villain, but writers Jared Bush and Dana Ledoux Miller use her only as a filler.” Nalo doesn’t make an appearance until the mid-credits scene. Bentley said, “Not showing Nalo to the end is like watching “Peter Pan” and Mr. Smee is the villain until the closing credits.” Saving the reveal of the bad guy in “Moana 2” for the end is nothing but setting up for more stories of Moana to come.

Bentley noted, “It is also odd that Fraser’s Auckland accent comes through in her performance as it sounds very out of place compared to the rest of the cast. Not enough had been established about the world of Moana to make such an accent appropriate.”

The other flaw of “Moana 2” is that composer Lin-Manuel Miranda didn’t create the music for the sequel. The Grammy-winning team of Abigail Barlow and Emily Bear have written the songs for the film. Their songs are good but not memorable.

Bentley said, “The curse of a hit movie is that there is a reason the production had so much success from original ideas to unexpected surprises.” “Moana 2” has enough good characters, great action and nice musical numbers to be entertaining but it can’t solve the problem that just hurts so many sequels where they always look like a step down when compared.

Don’t get me wrong, when my mom, siblings, and I went to the theaters to see this a few weeks ago, we loved it. However, we do admit that it is not as good as the first one, but we are glad we saw it. I was surprised that they decided to make a sequel as I felt the first one stood on its own and didn't need one, but since we got a sequel, I'm glad. I will say this was a better sequel than “Frozen 2.” If this is still playing in the theaters, I would say go see it because this is not a waste of time. You will love it, but just not as much as the first one.

Alright everyone, we have now come to the end of “Disney Month 2024.” I hope everyone enjoyed this as we have now reached the end of the year. I did a little less reviews this year compared to last year, but that’s fine as each year is unpredictable of how many reviews I will do. Hopefully everyone enjoyed these reviews as I will plan on what excitement I have in store for everyone next year. Have a great end of the year and let’s ring in the new year with some hopes and plans that will help everyone out.

I will see everyone next year as I will take a few days off before starting back up with my regular Friday reviews.