Moana 2: Film Review
I absolutely adored the first Moana when it was released in 2016 but I wasn’t calling out for a sequel. This follow-up doesn’t come close to the original but it’s still an enjoyable film.
Set three years after the events of the original, Moana (voiced by Auli’i Cravalho) is now a wayfinder who regularly embarks on ocean voyages to discover more islands and new civilisations. After receiving an unexpected call from her wayfinding ancestors, Moana puts together a crew, including Maui (Dwayne Johnson), and sets sail for the hidden island of Motufetu to break its curse and connect the people of the ocean once more.
I had low expectations for Moana 2 because it was originally conceived as a TV series before being reworked into a theatrical feature. But you wouldn’t know that from watching it – the sequel feels like it was always designed as a movie and is worthy of a theatrical release. Presumably, each episode followed a different wayfinding mission and then they decided to focus on the Motufetu one.
Anyway, back to the movie. It’s very hard for a sequel to recapture the magic of the original and that’s certainly true here. The story is quite similar to its predecessor (saving an island) and there are perhaps too many new side characters but I’m sure children will still enjoy the adventure because it’s a lot of fun. I particularly enjoyed Moana’s hilarious animal sidekicks, Maui’s moving tattoo and the Kakamora coconut pirates, who have more to do this time around.
Moana is a terrific role model; she is physically and mentally strong, a highly skilled sailor and fearless on the ocean. I’m thrilled that she exists so young girls can look up to her.
There are some lovely songs here, particularly Moana’s new belter Beyond, but none of the tracks are memorable enough to have the staying power of How Far I’ll Go or You’re Welcome. The latter was a catchy earworm while the former was so beautiful it gave me chills and I sang parts of it on the way home. None of the new songs gave me that feeling. They are very good musically and vocally (Cravalho has a sensational voice) but ultimately quite forgettable. This could been down to the departure of songwriter Lin-Manuel Miranda, but even he doesn’t produce bangers every time.
Moana 2 is a visually gorgeous animation that offers another enjoyable adventure. It’s not as good as the first film but it’s still worth checking out.
In cinemas from Friday 29th November