Moana 2 Review: Finds The Island, Loses The Sea

RATING - ⭐ ⭐ ✨ 2.5/5*

Moana 2 Review:

Moana and Maui said goodbye on a good note back in 2016 with Moana, and now they meet again in Moana 2 to break the curse of an island called Motufetu. Assumably, Moana is all about the ocean and voyage as "that's what they were meant to be," and this is where Moana 2 falls short. Instead of the ocean and voyage, it becomes more about the curse and the island, leaving its soul incomplete. Moreover, Moana is not alone anymore. She is joined by a pig, an old man, a chicken (repeated), and a lady. Maui joins later on, and together, they must find a way to break the curse, but the odds are not in their favor. Moana 2 tries to cash in on the same theme again but doesn't really update itself for the 2024 movie experience. The same mistake that some of the recent Pixar movies made.

Set 3 years after the events of the first film, Moana (Auliʻi Cravalho) receives an unexpected call from her wayfinding ancestors and forms her own crew. Reuniting with her friend on this journey is the demigod Maui (Dwayne Johnson), who is captured by underworld goddess Matangi (Awhimai Fraser) and must break free. Moana and her gang set off on a journey to the far seas of Oceania to break the god Nalo's curse on the hidden island of Motufetu, which once connected the people of the ocean. They confront old and new foes, including the Kakamora and Matang. The condition is that a human must reach the island while Maui breaks the curse with his weapon. Will they be able to do that?

Moana 2 follows traditional methods of writing, as we have characters on a voyage to unveil a secret and bring people together. What it lacks is some entertainment, wholesome action-packed scenes, and, most importantly, comedy. An animated film by Disney cannot go ahead with low comedy; it has to be the first ingredient, as kids love it. Kids will still find it funny on occasions, but it's just that they are lower than expected. We also miss some high-scale action sequences that make these movies big, except the one in the climax. I still don't understand how those ancestors came along and made everything alright without any logical explanation. That's too weak to argue. Despite such flaws, Moana 2 has some gorgeous frames and beautiful moments that make it a decent watch. Remember those two minutes in the opening sequence of Moana (2016) and how cute Moana looked as a kid there? Here, we have Moana's sister to fill that frame. Simea, Moana's little sister, hides in a bucket and makes that innocent face—that's my cutest moment from the film.

The voice cast does well again, but I'd like to take a dig at the humor, which doesn't work at all. "I am 3000 years old, so that makes me older. Older-er," says Maui to an old man, and my cheeks didn't give a damn. The chicken and the pig also don't have anything special, but the Kamata leader, coming out of nowhere, surprises. Just like every animated film, the voice cast has been quite okay with names like Auliʻi Cravalho, Dwayne Johnson, Hualālai Chung, Rose Matafeo, David Fane, Awhimai Fraser, Khaleesi Lambert-Tsuda, Temuera Morrison, Nicole Scherzinger, Rachel House, Gerald Ramsey, and Alan Tudyk doing their job as expected.

On a positive side, Moana 2 isn't exactly a bore despite the slow first hour. The next 30 minutes take good care of that. A bit of an emotional climax helps, but like I said, those ancestors' spiral binding does not have a theoretical explanation. It's visually amazing, though. The cinematography was fine, especially the way those hard sailing scenes have been designed—they reminded me of the climax scene of Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End (2007). David Derrick Jr., Jason Hand, and Dana Ledoux Miller direct a hyped sequel and make it a so-so wannabe-better film, but as a whole, it's a decent entertainer. It finds the islands it was looking for, but forgets that the sea was more important.