Well, here we are. My girlfriend and I were finally free to catch up on one of the movies she wanted to see, and it’s the sequel to the 2016 Moana. What can I say? I am dating a Disney fan. As for Moana, it was a lush and fun movie with some good songs and a new “princess” who can save the day while a shapeshifting demigod can’t really get anything done. It was, for me, a new world. It was also a big hit for Disney, so no surprise that a sequel came along at all.
Well, it’s been over two months, but I finally got to see the new one. Will it be as fun as the first?
It’s been a few years since Moana (Auliʻi Cravalho) became a wavefinder, and she’s been spending that time trying to find more of the sea peoples. She’s sure they’re out there, but she can’t find them. A vision suggests that she needs to find the lost island of Motufetu, hidden by the malicious storm god Nalo to give him power over humanity. This time around, Moana will need to take a crew with her, so she selects hyperactive builder and science enthusiast Loto (Rose Matafeo), historian and Maui fanboy Moni (Hualālai Chung), elderly grump and farmer Kele (David Fane), her pet pig Pua, and particularly stupid chicken Heihei (Alan Tudyk) to come along for the ride. There’s a shooting star to follow and a handful of clues.
However, there are others invested in finding Motufetu. For one, there’s Maui (Dwayne Johnson), trying to be his heroic demigod self. But then there’s Nalo himself, various agents, and the coconut people, the Kakamora. Moana will need all of her wits, particularly with a rookie crew that never went to sea before. But she’ll also get help in unexpected places, many times with a song included. Still, Moana herself isn’t sure she’s up to the task. However, she can’t fail because, according to her visions, if she doesn’t find the lost island, the story of her people will end. Can she get to Motufetu and save the people of the sea?
So, funny thing: after the movie’s mid-credits scene, my girlfriend and I got to talking, and it turned out that we had some issues with opposite ends of the movie. She thought the beginning of the movie was too contrived. I thought the ending was too formulaic. I expect a certain amount of both for many a Disney movie, but for me, I never quite felt that Moana was ever in any real danger. I don’t necessarily expect her to be in actual danger. This is a kids movie after all. But I still want there to be some sense of danger or risk. I also would like for the villain to have something of a motive, but this one barely even talks. In the first movie, Moana saved the day by realizing what made the villain of the movie the villain: she was hurt, not evil. This time? I don’t know.
Still, it wasn’t a bad movie or anything along those lines. The new characters are amusing, and the animation, as fits a Disney movie, is great. The songs are fine even if none of them are quite on par with, say, “You’re Welcome” from the first movie. Basically, it’s like a lot of sequels: it does again what people like, but it lacks the originality that made the first one fun.
Grade: C+
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