MOANA 2 Review: Stellar Animation, Wobbly Storytelling, Middling Outcome
Repurposed from a limited series initially intended for Disney’s streaming platform, Moana 2, an eight-years-in-the-making sequel, arrives in movie theaters with the usual expectations associated with big-screen Disney fare: vividly realized, sometimes stellar animation, relatively well-drawn, well-rounded, arc-driven characters, and a compellingly strong, goal-driven storyline with clearly defined stakes.
Unfortunately, Moana 2 meets only the first criterion, leaving the other two woefully underdeveloped and haphazardly structured, respectively, It’s all the more disappointing once the new-to-the-series songs drop into the film at periodic intervals, each one sadly less memorable than the last.
Despite the involvement of three directors, David G. Derrick Jr., Jason Hand, and Dana Ledoux Miller, two credited screenwriters, Jared Bush and co-director Miller, and additional contributions from others (some named, some not), Moana 2’s conversion from a limited series to a single, standalone film still manages to underwhelm, starting with the title character’s vague motivation for jumping into another adventure on the high Polynesian seas: A hazily constructed future vision of her island home, Motunui, bereft of people stirs Moana (once again ably voiced by Auli'i Cravalho), hereditary heir to the island’s leadership and wayfinder general, to seek the mythical sunken island of Motufetu. Find and raise the lost, cursed island of Motufetu, a task easier said than done (no) thanks to a humanity-hating sky god, Nalo, and Moana will help connect her island-dwelling people with all the other seafaring peoples of Polynesia.
With Moana’s one-time ally, Maui (Dwayne Johnson, in familiar blustery form), the broad-bodied, lushly curled, fishhook-wielding demigod on an away mission, Moana decides to take on the task without Maui’s help, at least for the immediate future. In a rapid, get-the-crew-together sequence, Moana recruits several fellow islanders, including Loto (Rose Matafeo), the island’s chief canoe builder, Moni (Hualalai Chung), the world’s biggest Maui super-fan and the island’s storyteller, and Kele (David Fane), an oldster and farmer brought alone primarily for his cantankerous personality. Moana’s longtime companion, Hei Hei (Alan Tudyk), a dim-witted chicken, and Pua, a mostly silent member of the porcine class, round out the makeshift crew.
Wayfinding crew set and goodbyes said, Moana eventually heads out to sea for a set of loosely connected misadventures, one involving the first film’s coconut pirates, the Kakamora (used to better effect here), another involving a gigantic clam, and yet another involving Matangi (Awhimai Fraser), a godlike being with mixed motives and a not unexpected hidden agenda. Maui eventually, belatedly joins Moana’s crew, adding just enough bluster, over-confidence, and personality-based friction to remind audiences that Moana functions best when she’s buddied up with an equal of sorts.
Moana 2 ‘s frustrating stop-start, start-stop storytelling repeatedly betrays its origins as a limited, episodic series. Moana 2 rapidly cycles through intros and outros for new and old characters, digressive subplots, and underutilized ideas before awkwardly shifting to the next episodic beat. Only when the title character leaves her island home, family, and friends behind does the film bearing her name properly take off, segueing between one spectacular set piece after another, giving Disney’s animators all the rein — and their employer’s vast resources – to put their visual ideas into stirring, brilliantly executed action.
Where Moana boasted Lin-Manual Miranda (Encanto, Hamilton) contributing hit-making lyrics, specifically “How Far I'll Go,” “Where You Are,” and “You’re Welcome,” the sequel falls short, sometimes badly, in delivering anything close to memorable or even hummable. Written by Abigail Barlow and Emily Bear, Moana 2’s song collections range from the passable, “We’re Back,” Beyond,” and “Get Lost” to the generically forgettable (everything else).
Moana 2 opens today, Wednesday, November 27, only in movie theaters, via Walt Disney Pictures.
