Moana 2
Rewatching 2016’s “Moana” prior to watching this sequel helped, because I hadn’t seen the film in a while- and I needed a refresher on the world of this narrative- but it only made the follow-up’s issues more apparent. Thankfully, the animation still pops with color, comedy and energy, and the characters are still entertaining, but this very much feels like a sequel where grasping at straws at a new story, and new ideas, took place. I still enjoyed it, but the film didn’t do a great job at mining the depths of Moana’s character the first film did.
One of the appeals of Moana as a character is that she was devoid of many of the “Disney Princess” tropes the studio had leaned on, even in the recent era of “Tangled” and “Frozen.” She was independent, and there was no mention of a possible romantic relationship whatsoever. (There still really isn’t, which is a nice development for this sequel.) The story was about her figuring out her place among her people, and the world in general. That is a strong hook, and to its credit, the sequel follows that same trajectory. While I don’t think it captures the strength of that type of arc as its predecessor does, “Moana 2” does show a story where, even if we think our path is laid out for us, sometimes life has challenges we have to overcome to see it clearly. As Moana goes on a journey to find an ancient island that holds the key to connecting the island nations, she is going to be challenged in ways she hasn’t been before, including having a crew she’s responsible for.
All of the ingredients that I cited that worked in “Moana 2” work because the returning voice cast is the same, and expanded in effective ways (with Nicole Scherzinger as the inventive Sina and David Fane as the grouchy Kele), and co-directors Jason Hand (“Encanto,” “Zootopia”) and Dana Ledoux Miller (making her feature animated debut as a director) have a great eye for visuals, and expanding the world the original created. If the screenplay (by Miller and Jared Bush) feels overly familiar it’s because it feels like a “play the hits” effort that emphasizes comedic relief touches (like Hei Hei the chicken and Dwayne Johnson’s Maui) over growing characters beyond Moana. The biggest part wherein “Moana 2” pales in comparison to its original is the music. Mark Mancina is back to write the score, along with Opetaia Foa’i, but Lin-Manuel Miranda no longer is writing the songs (likely because of his work in the upcoming “Mufasa: The Lion King”), and- as a result- the songs just do not have the same pop as the original film’s did. They aren’t bad; they just are not memorable, save for Maui’s big number this time. The songs were such a strong part of the original film’s pull as it told the story that to not have a comparable songbook (always a hindrance to sequels to musicals), it weighs the film down more than it starting as a series before being transitioned into a feature-length sequel. Sadly, that means that- for all its plusses- the magic that made “Moana” special is lacking in its follow-up. It’s a shame because I really love the bones of this Disney world.
