MOANA 2 Review: A Delightful Return to the Ocean
Does MOANA 2 live up to its predecessor? The short answer – absolutely. Stunning animation combines with a solid story and songs to create an enjoyable film ready-made for holiday viewing with the whole family.
MOANA 2 Synopsis
MOANA 2 picks up three years after MOANA, and our heroine has become an expert Wayfinder. Her ultimate goal as Wayfinder is to find other civilizations on neighboring islands. After three years of searching, Moana (voiced by Auli‘i Cravalho) finds proof that there are isolated islands of people waiting to be reconnected. She assembles a crew, including HeiHei (voiced by Alan Tudyk) and Pua, and sets out on a quest to find the lost island of Motufetū. This island is the key to reuniting her home island of Motunui with others. The only problem is that the vengeful storm god Nalo (voice of Tofiga Fepulea’i) has hidden Motufetū, and to get past his super storm, Moana will need the help of a demigod by the name of, you guessed it – Maui (voice of Dwayne Johnson). Anchoring her heart to her island of Motunui is a new character, her little sister Simea (voice of Khaleesi Lambert-Tsuda), who idolizes her big sister. So Moana must not only build up her team and confront Nalo, she also must return home.
Review
MOANA 2 has every element of the first film – badass hero, funny sidekicks, music and animation that brings you to the South Pacific, no matter where you are. It has a journey across the ocean and an epic battle at the end. Fans of Moana’s sidekicks, HeiHei and Pua, will be pleased to know that both return and journey with Moana’s crew. HeiHei is still the necessary and delightful comic relief. Moana and Maui’s chemistry is still amazing. And Maui’s tattoos are still 2D animated, supervised by Eric Goldberg (Disney Renaissance animator). With each ocean wave, ripple of hair, and 2D tattoo, Walt Disney Animation proves it is best in class. I invite you to watch just to be transported to the South Pacific.
Even more than the first film, Moana proves she is a badass. She climbs cliffs, dives into deep waters, and swings around on ropes. She and Rapunzel would get along great, and fans of both will love Moana’s agency. The character continues to grow, and while in the first movie it was all about finding out who she was inside, now Moana must learn to teach others ,and herself, how to work with and succeed as a team.
The only element that didn’t measure up to MOANA was the villain, Nalo. In fact, I had to look up his name while writing this review because he didn’t leave that big an impression. Our characters have to fight his super storm, not the villain himself. There’s another character, Matangi (voice of Awhimai Fraser) who I was unclear whether she was a sidekick to Nalo, or a character helping Moana. Matangi is much like Loki is to Thanos – Loki works for Thanos, but ultimately Loki has his own agenda. It feels like Matangi was intended to have more backstory, or even a bigger part, teased in a possible MOANA 3 mid-credit scene. I invite you to share your impression of Matangi once you’ve seen the film.
MOANA 2 delivers a solid musical soundtrack, even though Lin-Manual Miranda did not have a hand in the music. Returning composers Opetaia Foa’i and Mark Mancina created a score that rivals the first, while TikTok-famous songwriters Abigail Barlow and Emily Bear deliver catchy songs that fit the same style and will grow on you after repeated viewings. Fun fact: the songwriting team’s claim to fame is The Unofficial Bridgerton Musical, which they composed through a series of live sessions inviting listener feedback. The succeeding album won the Grammy Award for Best Musical Theater Album in 2022, and Disney brought them on board for MOANA 2.
Overall, MOANA 2 is perfect holiday viewing for the whole family. MOANA 2 (running time 100 minutes) releases in US theaters on November 27th, 2024 and is rated PG. Will you plan to see it? Let us know @skywalkingpod and join our weekly YouTube livestream every Monday at 6pm PT to share your thoughts.
