‘Moana 2’ REVIEW: How Far Can A Sequel Exactly Go?
‘Moana 2’ REVIEW: How Far Can A Sequel Exactly Go?
Moana (Auli’i Cravalho) shown at the opening scene for ‘Moana 2’ | Taken from the Walt Disney Animation Studios
This review contains spoilers.
The second film installment of Moana’s journey continues her new-found role from the first film, this time, as a Wayfinder, to find the rest of her people. Actors Auli’i Cravalho and Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson reprise their roles as Moana and Maui, respectively. David G. Derrick Jr. takes the lead as the director for Moana’s new adventure, while directors of the previous film, John Musker and Ron Clements, are noticeably absent from the crew.
If you have watched this movie's first installment, Moana has always had an affinity and eagerness to go past the reef despite being prohibited by her father, the island chief. After reaching the right time, she learns that she was chosen by ‘The Ocean’ to save her island after Maui steals the heart of Te’Fiti, bringing forth drought and destruction to all islands in the ocean. To do so, she needed to learn about their past and rediscover her people's long-lost culture — that they were voyagers.
Moana (Auli’i Cravalho) holding a broken clay pot, which is evidence of people from other islands | Taken from the Walt Disney Animation Studios
After succeeding with her goal in the previous film, Moana sets sail on a new adventure. Now known as the ‘Greatest Wayfinder’ of her time, she seeks out her people from other islands that they lost in touch with due to discontinued voyaging ventures, aiming to reconnect them across the ocean. Her ancestor, Tautai Vasa (Gerald Ramsey), had the same goal. Her father, Chief Tui (Temuera Morrison), knows Moana’s capability and believes the time is right, and appoints Moana as her people's new Tautai (known as the Navigator).
As part of the first act, we get to see the first performance number called “We’re Back” by the people of Motunui, signifying that the island's people are back to being voyagers and slowly reconnecting with their long-lost traditions and practices. It is an excellent call back to the previous film’s first performance, “Where You Are,” which is about staying on the island with no vision of going past the reef in mind and trying to plan your future around the idea of staying in one place.
From my perspective, and as someone who truly enjoyed the first film, this provides a sense of continuity. Sadly, though, this is probably the only time I will feel this way as the film goes on (more of this later). The sequel also reveals that Moana has a little sister named Sina (Nicole Scherzinger). Moana and Sina seem incredibly close as the pair would typically run towards each other after Moana’s ocean expeditions.
Maui (Dwayne Johnson) making a grand entrance and venturing on his own | Taken from the Walt Disney Animation Studios
The narrative takes a temporary turn to show what Moana’s demi-god pal is up to. Maui, who is venturing on his own — doing his usual ‘demi-god’ stuff, encounters a mysterious shadowy figure, a familiar bat-like someone whose name is Matangi (Awhimai Fraiser), is set up as one of the bad guys in this new adventure. She got Maui into a trap while laying out the grand scheme of her ‘boss’s’ plan — stopping Moana from reconnecting with the people of the ocean. Matangi mentioning a particular boss figure gives off an idea that she’s not the head honcho going up against our female lead, and there is more to her than meets the eye.
The story turns back to Moana’s ceremony for officially conferring her a new title. Everyone celebrates as Moana formalizes her status as a Tautai through a celebration and a traditional ceremony. As she was about to take a ceremonial drink handed to her, lightning struck out of nowhere, and as it was about to hit, time ran slowly. Moana began to see her ancestors in some vision in her head — including her Grandmother and Tautai Vasa.
The ancestor explains to Moana what needs to be done to reconnect the islands and the people in it and the challenges she will face trying to attain her goal, including a particular god. The scene reminded me of what happened in the first film, where Moana gets a vision after finding a bunch of boats hidden somewhere on the island shown to her by her grandmother and for her to see ‘who they truly are.’ Both scenes are Moana’s first interaction with Tautai Vasa, although he was not explicitly named in the first film. You may have noticed a trend by now in how several scenes parallel or match the first film.
Moana (Auli’i Cravalho) staring at the ‘ball of fire,’ a sign shown to her by her ancestors to find Motufetu | Taken from the Walt Disney Animation Studios
Circling back to Moana’s conversation with her ancestors in her vision — It is then revealed that the lead antagonist is an envious, power-hungry god who despises humans — his name is Nalo. This god, wanting to be the most powerful individual in the ocean, decides he shall end the island-settling people’s connections by taking over Motufetu — the main island connecting all people of the sea.
Executive producer Jennifer Lee revealed in an interview with ComicBook that “Nalo realizes that there’s nothing more dangerous than the power of humans. When they’re together, they can do anything. The world becomes theirs.” Moreover, the ancestors warn Moana about the danger she will face and the high probability that she could end up with a similar fate to Tautai Vasa.
To find Motufetu, the ancestors told Moana to follow the flying ball of fire (a comet), which mirrors an element of the predecessor film where Moana follows the Hook constellation to reach Maui’s location. This scene was then followed by a song called “Beyond,” with a similar narrative as its counterpart from the first film, “How Far I’ll Go.”
Despite having lyrics explicitly saying “...this is bigger than before”, nothing felt grander with the challenge Moana’s about to face in comparison to her previous adventure, in my personal opinion. Also, don’t get me wrong, but I love the song and see it as part of my playlist. If we are picking it apart, the main difference this time is something — or someone, instead, is holding her back and her willingness to venture out into the big ocean again — her little sister.
Moana (Auli’i Cravalho) introducing her little sister, Sina (Nicole Scherzinger), to her friend — The Ocean | Taken from the Walt Disney Animation Studios
Moana’s mother convinced her to form a crew on her second rodeo. I was immensely hopeful regarding this particular part since having a different set of characters accompanying our female lead might create a different dynamic and a refreshing atmosphere because the first film revolved only around Moana and Maui’s relationship development and bond, with Heihei the Chicken’s occasional comedic relief moments.
The crew comprises four new characters — excluding Moana, Maui, and the two animal sidekicks: Pua the Pig and Heihei the Chicken (Alan Tudyk). The first one is the brainy and quirky Loto (Rose Matafeo), who was recruited as the expert builder tasked to maintain the ship. The second is Kele (David Fane), the prude and grumpy old farmer specializing in crops and food. Third is Moni (Hualalai Chung), the storyteller whose expertise is in culture and arts and who is trying to maintain the practices of their people.
He’s also primarily relied on for figuring out ancient texts, observed practices, and any facet of the ocean people’s culture that would help with their mission. He is also known as an avid fanboy of Maui, which will be mainly part of his moments onscreen. Lastly, an unnamed Kakamora tribe member joined as Moana and her crew reencountered the Kakamora tribe; this time, they ran into the same problem with a giant shellfish monster, forcing them to share the goal of taking care of it. The coconut creature is mainly relied on as a warrior of the crew.
Moana (Auli’i Cravalho) with her crew (in order, from the left): Kele (David Fane), Moni (Hualalai Chung), and Loto (Rose Matafeo) | Taken from the Walt Disney Animation Studios
Without a doubt, I love the idea for the crew. The crew concept might be a new direction for the film compared to the previous one; nevertheless, the side-characters flat. Each one of the crew has some mini-arc that the film attempts to build up, but the results feel rushed as the crew members eventually gets to fulfill some of their goals or overcame a challenge in a non-gratifying way. There is little dynamic between them, and I’ve tried my utmost effort to get invested in their characters, but sadly, I could not. There is probably a need to give them a backstory or an excellent motivation for why they decided to go with Moana in the first place. There is no sense of accomplishment, and it feels like they are just there for the ride.
Reaching Motufetu is anticlimactic, at best. It is done through a shortcut provided by Matangi, which feels like a cop-out since Moana is always about adventure and resolving problems with no one spoon-feeding the way out of the situation. I would assume that they are trying to have a unique approach, creative decision-wise — however, it might have deviated too much from what Moana was all about. This could be a hot take, but I don’t think just because Moana’s core is all about ‘finding a way’ when faced with a barrier along her path does not equate to being open to taking an easy way out.
Confrontation of Moana (Auli’i Cravalho) and Matangi (Awhimai Fraiser) | Taken from the Walt Disney Animation Studios
I am well aware we should not assume how characters decide when faced with adversities, but this just contributes to the film's already rushed and atrocious pacing. They even associate the momentous decision of taking Matangi’s offer with a song called “Get Lost,” which shows Moana letting go, taking whatever she was handed, and giving into the fall. I’ll credit the song for showing Matangi as a villain who’s more to what she seems — as mentioned earlier a few moments back — and because I honestly enjoyed it.
Matangi is an antihero rather than a villain, who piques my interest, at least from my point of view. Sadly, the film was not able to do her much justice. Her existence in the movie could have been more elaborate, but her parts mostly served to lead up to a possible third installment, which we will mention again later.
As you go through this review, you may have noticed that I mentioned how certain parts give off a vibe similar to the previous film. In my perspective, the approach of parallels in sequels, like what’s done in this film, is a double-edged sword. It could make the film and provide a sense of gratification if done right, or it could break it by being way too similar to the point of just mirroring what happened previously with a few minor tweaks done. If the latter part were mentioned as the case, it would give a sense that nothing is new.
Maui’s character did not develop much. No new facets of him were presented presented compared to how it was previously, which did not allow me to have many feelings about him or for the audience to pick up from to root for, and his heroic moment felt like a repeat of his past feat. As per Moana, it felt held back, not because of herself but because of how the overall story was presented hastily. It felt like her impact as a protagonist was downgraded somehow.
Moana (Auli’i Cravalho) with Maui (Dwayne Johnson) | Taken from the Walt Disney Animation Studios
Leading up to the main action, where the gang reaches the location of Motufetu, it feels greatly abrupt due to the shortcut moment with Matangi. As they approach Motufetu, recalling Maui’s list of capabilities mentioned in the first film, pulling islands out of the water for humans to occupy the land is one of his specialties. Maui will have to perform the same thing to Motufetu as it is submerged by Nalo to keep it out of reach by humans. A human setting foot on the land will break the curse and allow Motufetu to reconnect all the islands in the ocean.
I genuinely love that part of Moana’s core value about finding a way to reach the goal, and she ends up winning in a way that is least expected yet so apparent once you ponder the idea; the way it is handled this time around, however, feels lazy and half-baked. A testament to this formula is seeking Te Fiti in the first film and realizing she turned into Te Kā after her heart was stolen. This time, Maui is unsuccessful in fishing the island out, pushing Moana to dive down and reach the island alone. I feel that the heart of Moana and how it’s unique compared to other Disney projects was about how it reshapes how you see the entire story once it reaches a conclusion, which can sometimes feel like a punch in the gut, and this film makes me feel neither the same nor any more impactful than the previous installment.
Nonetheless, I have to give props to the visuals of the film. I thought the first Moana was already visually appealing, but I never expected that it hadn’t reached the ceiling point yet until I saw what Moana 2 looked like. ‘Amazing’ is the word I would use to describe the visuals, at best, in the way they translate the view of a sunset or sunrise and how it can reflect on your eyes, how they make the skin look when the scene involves being wet. It was fascinating how the film's visuals and animation engineering evolved.
I remember looking into how they did the innovative processes for the first Moana, Tangled, Frozen 2, and Wreck-it-Ralph. Kudos to the visual artists of Walt Disney Studios who are responsible for these beautifully done and detailed effects. Indeed, a marvelous job. Talking about the music, I felt like Lin-Manuel Miranda’s absence took a toll on how the music felt, which does not mean the new songs are terrible in any way. It still maintained the Moana essence, not just as powerful.
Pua the Pig and Heihei the Chicken (Alan Tudyk) | Taken from the Walt Disney Animation Studios
The way I see it, the film could work as a ‘Moana 1.5’ instead of Moana 2 because of how the story was presented and how it leads up to a major cliffhanger at the post-credits, with a probability of a third installment, undoubtedly. It's a good thing I figured out something would be shown by the end since the film felt unfinished and basically answered the looming question inside my head.
Such questions include “What happened to Matangi?” and “Where was the main villain?” especially since Nalo was not physically seen in action — probably to evoke a sense of omnipresence. We will find that out in the next installment, whenever that might be, or if there will be another one in the first place. Speaking of the possibility of another film, this could have been condensed into an actual short or a straight-to-DVD — well, straight-to-streaming sequel nowadays, I guess.
I was initially hesitant to scrutinize the film for how it came to be, especially as the target audience for this picture was mainly children. Despite my age, I still find a lot of children’s movies fun and well-made, with a lot of substance put into them. My peers and some colleagues would even say providing too much leeway for children's films would devalue the younger audience demographic.
A younger target demographic should not be a pass for making mediocre outputs acceptable. The premise felt shallow, and there was less risk; hence, it was unsatisfying and not as rewarding to witness. A film set up to prepare the audience for another film should still be substantial. That is a wasted opportunity to show children the importance of one’s culture. The stunning effects can likely fascinate the ‘below 13’ demographic, but I’d argue that they deserve better than just a visual spectacle.
‘Moana 2’ is now showing in Philippines Cinemas
