Movie Review: ‘Moana 2’

Directed by Jason Hand, Dana Ledeoux Miller, and David Derrick Jr., the follow-up to 2016’s ‘Moana’ is ready to sail into theaters on November 27, 2024. Auli’i Cravahol and Dwayne Johnson return to voice Moana and Maui once again as they dive into a brand new adventure.

Also returning for ‘Moana 2’ are Temuera Morrison as Chief Tui, Nichole Scherzinger as Sina, Rachel House as Grandmother Tala, and Alan Tudyk as Heihei. New cast members include Hualālai Chung as Moni, David Fane as Kele, and Rose Matafeo as Loto. Awhimai Fraser joins the cast as the mysterious Matangi. Kaleesi Lambert-Tsuda rounds out the cast as Moana’s little sister, Simea.

Initial Thoughts

Maui (voice of Dwayne Johnson) in 'Moana 2'. © 2024 Disney Enterprises, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

‘Moana 2’ takes the audience on a brand new adventure as Moana and her crew venture into uncharted waters. While the new characters bring some excitement to the sequel, the movie truly shines when Moana and Maui are on screen together, which doesn’t come until later on in the film. The friendship and chemistry between the tattooed demi-god and Wayfinder is truly the glue and heartbeat of the film.

The animation is gorgeous and seems to be even more colorful than the first. It should also mentioned that the representation of the Pacific Islanders is even more so highlighted in this. ‘Moana 2’ starts strong but loses its pacing in the second act. However, the third act brings the excitement right back, with quite a few heartfelt and emotional moments.

Story and Direction

(Left) ‘Moana 2’ co-director David Derrick Jr. Photo by Mat Fretschel/Disney. ©2024 Disney. All Rights Reserved. (Center) ‘Moana 2’ co-director Dana Ledoux Miller. Photo by Evan Mulling. (Right) ‘Moana 2’ co-director Jason Hand. Photo by Alex Kang/Disney. ©2024 Disney. All Rights Reserved.

The movie opens with Moana exploring an unknown island, searching for any traces of life, past or present. With her trusty, but not exactly helpful, animal sidekicks Pua and Heihei by her side, Moana stumbles upon a partially broken pottery with a motif depicting people next to a mountain – eluding that there are other inhabited islands out there.

As Moana sails home with her new discovery, she’s welcomed back by her village with open arms. This is where the film introduces Moana’s little sister Simea. Though there is a pretty large age gap between Moana and Simea, the two have an extremely close-knit relationship.

That evening, Moana is to receive her title as Chief, but the ceremony is interrupted by a powerful lightning that nearly strikes Moana, sending her a vision from her ancestor, Matai Vasa. She sees her ancestors looking for Motufetu – the island that was depicted on the pottery she found. The vision also shows Moana what will happen if she fails to find Motufetu, her own island will meet its demise.

Auli‘i Cravalho as Moana in 'Moana 2'. © 2024 Disney Enterprises, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

The vision also tells Moana that Motufetu once had channels that connected people across the ocean, but the Storm God Nalo wanted more power and put a curse upon the island, therefore separating the people of the ocean. To break the curse, Moana must travel beyond the waters that she knows and find Motufetu.

In the meantime, Maui is seen standing in front of a purple portal, as he mentions that the powerful Storm God Nalo has started something sinister. Maui is interrupted by Matangi – a mysterious figure who is shrouded in shadow and bats. Turns out that Matangi works for Storm God Nola and will do anything to prevent Maui or anyone else from reaching Motufetu to break Nalo’s curse.

From there, the adventure kicks off as Moana and her crew – Kele, Moni, and Loto, sail across the ocean in search of Motufetu. On the way, they encounter several ferocious sea monsters and the fearsome Kakamora. The stakes feel even higher for Moana this time around as the film explores the close relationship between Moana and Simea. The little sister has a hard time seeing Moana leave, not knowing when she’ll return. Moana shows Simea that they are always connected by the ocean, no matter how far apart they may be.

(L to R) Moana (voice of Auli‘i Cravalho), Kele (voice of David Fane), Moni (voice of Hualālai Chung) and Loto (voice of Rose Matafeo) in ‘Moana 2’. © 2024 Disney Enterprises, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

As for Moana and her crew, while they prove to be helpful in the journey to Motufetu, there is little emotional attachment to these characters. Moni seems to be the most highlighted out of the group as he is a self-proclaimed Maui superfan, which became a hilarious running gag throughout the movie. Kele has a bit of a character arc as he sheds a little of his initial grumpy persona towards the end. Loto, as brilliant of an engineer as she was, was not given more to do other than making improvements on their boat.

The same can be said about the villain, who has incredible character design and animation (and a really awesome song) but falls flat. Matangi is initially presented as a dangerous and powerful adversary to Maui and Moana but is barely used to her full potential.

The film was at its strongest when Moana and Maui shared the screen during an action-filled third act. Despite showing the close connection between Moana and Simea earlier, it is really the friendship between Moana and Maui that’ll give you a lump in your throat.

‘Moana 2’ is a fun sequel and has gorgeous animation. It clearly shows Moana’s growth since the last movie. She is comfortable in her skin and is on her way to becoming a capable leader to her people. This new adventure puts difficult challenges before her that’ll make her question her abilities but will also see her find her footing in unfamiliar situations. The movie has a strong first and third act but loses steam in the second act due to little character development between Moana and her crew, and it felt like there were pieces of story or scenes missing.

How Do the Songs of ‘Moana 2’ Compare To the First?

(L to R) Emily Bear and Abigail Barlow. Photo: Walt Disney Animation.

Songwriters Abigail Barlow and Emily Bear are tapped to pen new songs for ‘Moana 2’, with composers Opetaia Foa‘i and Mark Mancina also returning. Songs like ‘Beyond’ and “Get Lost” were the two most memorable, with “Can I Get A Chee Hoo” and “We’re Back” being a close second. As much as the new songs have the flavor from the first film, it doesn’t quite capture the magic that was created by Lin Manuel-Miranda.

Final Thoughts

A fun sequel to the 2016 film. It’s great to see Moana’s story continue and to see the representation of the Pacific Islanders’ culture on screen. The film starts off strong by building up the anticipation for the journey to Motufetu. However, it loses its footing in the second act, and aside from the excitement of seeing the army of Kakamora and the sea monsters, it felt much to be desired. Moni, Kele, and Loto’s characters could have been fleshed out a bit more, and at times, it felt like too much was cut out of a scene to meet the 1 hour and 40 minutes run time.

The movie does regain momentum in the final act, where Moana and Maui share the most screen time. The friendship and chemistry between the two is unmatched. This movie is a great way to continue Moana’s journey. It shows there are more stories to be told and places to explore. With that said, make sure you stay all the way through the credits for an extra surprise.

‘Moana 2’ receives 7 out of 10 stars.

“The ocean is calling them back.”

PG1 hr 40 minNov 27th, 2024

Showtimes & Tickets

After receiving an unexpected call from her wayfinding ancestors, Moana journeys alongside Maui and a new crew to the far seas of Oceania and into dangerous, long-lost… Read the Plot

What’s the story of ‘Moana 2’?

Following the 2016 movie, ‘Moana 2’ will reunite audiences worldwide with Moana (Auli’i Cravalho) as she embarks on an all-new adventure with a new crew of seafarers. After Moana receives an unexpected call from her ancestors, she sets out on an expansive journey to the far seas of Oceania – exploring dangerous and uncharted waters..

Who is in the voice cast of ‘Moana 2’?

Auli’i Cravalho as Moana

Dwayne Johnson as Maui

Temuera Morrison as Chief Tui

Nicole Scherzinger as Sina

Khaleesi Lambert-Tsuda as Simea

Rose Matafeo as Loto

David Fane as Kele

Hualālai Chung as Moni

Rachel House as Grandma Tala

Awhimai Fraser as Matangi

Alan Tudyk as Heihei

Heihei the rooster (voiced by Alan Tudyk) and Pua the pig in ‘Moana 2’. © 2024 Disney Enterprises, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Other Animated Disney Movies:

Buy Disney’s ‘Moana’ on Amazon