The Stream: Lacking memorable songs and storyline.

The Big Screen: Great animation with some cute laughs.

The Final Bill: Quality animation that just can’t match the magic of the first one.

– S2S: Movie Review
Director: David G. Derrick Jr., Jason Hand, Dana Ledoux Miller
Writers: Jared Bush, Dana Ledoux Miller, Bek Smith
Stars: Auli’i Cravalho, Dwayne Johnson, Hualalai Chung
Genre: Animation, Adventure, Comedy, Family, Musical
Rating: PG for action/peril
Runtime: 1 hour 35 minutes (mid-credit scene)
Production Companies: Disney Television Animation, The Walt Disney Company, Walt Disney Animation Canada
Platform: Released in theaters November 27, 2024
Notable Trailers: Bad Guys 2, A Minecraft Movie, Snow White, Mufasa

Hope you had a great Thanksgiving, Streamers! This holiday brought us the long-awaited sequel to Moana, Moana 2. If you remember, Moana is a teenage gyal that feels the call from the ocean instead of only being stuck on her island. She finds that her ancestor also traveled the oceans and defies her father to return the heart of Te Fiti. Well, this time our wayfinding gyal is back at it again. In Moana 2, Moana hers a call from her wayfinding ancestors asking her to reunite the island people once again. We follow Moana’s journey across Oceania to find the key to reconnecting the other people of the islands, if they are really out there. Moana hijinks ensue.

Let’s get the obvious out of the way, the movie looks great. Was that ever going to be in doubt? Don’t think so. Next, the voice acting was fine. Here’s where it starts going wrong – the storyline. I guess the storyline makes sense, but does it really make sense? To viewers, I’m going to guess it makes sense, but it’s the most whatever theme ever and on top of that it lacks the heart, empathy, and drive of the first movie. Now, I don’t know if they are truly setting this up for more movies in the series but ultimately, the movie kind of feels like a transition piece. The first movie had us returning the heart and finding who we really are meant to be, but Moana 2 lacks that personal touch. Of course, it’s not bad but it doesn’t compare to Moana.

Now, we all know why we liked Moana in the first place, the songs. Moana 2 took a hard hit by losing the annoyingly brilliant lyricist, Lin-Manuel Miranda, for its original songs. The Grammy winning Tik Tok team that created the songs this time probably just lacked experience. The songs were not bad individually but the magic that’s in Moana and many other Disney/Pixar animated fare is that memorable song or songs. The songs are what keep the kids coming back, and I just don’t think Moana 2 has that.

Long story short, Moana 2 is a nice movie that lacks the heart and spirit of the first installment. While the movie looks great and has a few laughs like the first, the lack of musical catchiness and cultural originality makes the movie a bit forgettable. Catch Moana 2 at a matinee time or pay for Disney+ to watch both installments together.