Eight years ago, Moana found box office success thanks to a rich and heartfelt story grounded in Polynesian culture, combined with catchy tunes. A lot has happened in the film industry since then, but Disney will be hoping to capture the same excitement from audiences with Moana 2. Set years after the events of the first story, Moana (voiced by Auliʻi Cravalho) is now a confident Wayfinder, putting a crew together to find the lost island of Motufetu.
This sequel began life as a streaming series, before being adapted to a feature. Unfortunately, this shows in the storytelling, as while the stakes of the story might have been fine for a multi-episode show, they feel paltry next to the all-or-nothing feel of the previous movie. The script is more polished, and the gags come in all the right moments. The new villains, storm god Nalo and the mysterious Matangi, have enough menace to illicit a boo from the crowd.
Yet, something has been lost from the rough-and-ready antics of last time. There’s no pleasant surprise of action man Dwayne Johnson (returning here as demigod Maui) huskily belting out You’re Welcome, and while there are moving moments like the relationship between Moana and her little sister, there isn’t enough here to delight you in the same way. The conflict feels there for the sake of it, rather than offering any moral dilemma. Like Frozen 2 before it, this is another case of Disney repeating familiar rhythms but being unable to capture the same magic.
While it will more than satisfy younger viewers, Moana 2 is a disappointingly safe sequel that offers none of the energy of its predecessor. Given a live action remake of the first film is currently filming, this follow-up feels like the most perfunctory of Disney’s recent endeavours.
Moana 2 is in cinemas from 29th November