Moana 2, directed by Dana Ledoux Miller, Jason Hand, and David Derrick Jr., the sequel to the 2016 film, was released on Thanksgiving 2024. Auli’i Cravalho and Dwayne Johnson return to play Moana and Maui on a new adventure after being called by their wayfinding ancestors to reconnect their people by removing the curse on the island Motufetu.
With approximately $717 million currently, it has already become a success for Disney. But while the original had 95% on the Tomatometer and 89% on the Popcornmeter on Rotten Tomatoes, the sequel has decreased significantly to 63% on the Tomatometer but maintained 87% on the Popcornmeter. It’s not bad, but it could be because the plot of the movie was faster than the original and not as engaging.
The pacing felt almost like a gust of wind, making the journey seem less important than it is said to be. It felt like the tension wasn’t enough to keep the audience excited even though the stakes were higher than the situation with Te Kā. The performance of the main characters, including Auli’i Cravalho as Moana and Dwayne Johnson as Maui were good. They delivered decent humor and the same personality from the original movie. I even found some of the characters’ personalities to be cliche, such as Kele being grumpy and reluctant to adventure like an old man.
The music wasn’t as memorable as Lin-Manuel Miranda’s songwriting in the original 2016 film. It didn’t seem that creative or engaging, and I found some of the music annoying and cliche. Still, the animation was on-top and amazing. The details of the ocean, islands, and characters were imaginable but decent.
The final battle didn’t give enough tension and it went so fast that the consequences didn’t have enough emphasization. Unlike the original, it showed some characters persevering throughout the story unconditionally. While admirable, it doesn’t empathize with their struggle to try to adapt and change their personality and perspective on adventures. The approach to this story could have been better, but it’s decently fun and adventurous. Towards the end, after what felt like a fast-paced but decent climax, the ending should have been shorter because it reasonably should not have lingered on any longer.
I like that they had a mid-credits scene with Nalo and Mantagi, but with the rushed plot and poor storytelling, it’s less exciting compared to Marvel Cinematic Universe films in the 2010s. It’s almost no surprise that movies recently are not as engaging as those released in our childhood years. If the Walt Disney Company makes a profit from making this sequel, that’s really all they care about nowadays. Children will still be able to enjoy it as they consider Moana’s journey adventurous and exciting. But for older audiences, it can feel as if the whole movie was not that engaging and the plot was rushed.
