Moana, one of the most-streamed films of all time, gets a second act as Walt Disney Animation Studios, once notorious for its refusal to make sequels, doubles down on revisiting established characters and worlds in a sequel-driven upcoming slate. If you were to list the must-haves for a sequel to the 2016 classic, Moana 2 checks off all the boxes. It brings back fan-favorite characters in a musical seafaring adventure, but thankfully, it feels like more than just fan service or a sequel for sequel’s sake.
After three years of searching, Moana (voice of Auli‘i Cravalho) finds proof that there are isolated islands of people waiting to be reconnected. Between an artifact and a premonition, she assembles a crew and sets out on a quest to find the lost island Motufetū, the key to reuniting her 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 him, Moana will need the help of a demigod – the one and only Maui (voice of Dwayne Johnson).
The first Moana ended with the future leader of Motunui setting out with her people to revive the lost art of wayfinding. Moana 2 picks up three years later, with Moana now an expert Wayfinder, capable of sailing off alone with just her animal companions, Heihei (voice of Alan Tudyk) and Pua. But anchoring her heart in Motunui is a new character, her little sister Simea (voice of Khaleesi Lambert-Tsuda), who idolizes her “big sis” more than the Moana wannabes (“Moanabes”). So when the Ocean once again calls Moana to assist, her people may not be in danger like they were in the first film, but she still has something at stake and a deep need to return.
Part of the success of Moana 2 is its pacing, pausing expositional moments in the first act for some fun Maui vignettes as the demigod gets himself into a precarious situation. Once again, Maui delivers some of the film’s funniest lines and moments, capped off by a new song, “Can I Get A Chee Hoo?”, which emulates the energy of “You’re Welcome.” And while Heihei is back purely for comic relief, the Kakamora are given more depth in the sequel, particularly through a character named Kotu, who ends up joining the adventure.
While overall pleasing, Moana 2 shows some signs of being quickly retooled from the scrapped Disney+ series it was born to be. This is most evident through the lack of development for some of the new characters. Moana is given three new human crew members, most of whom get just one simple character trait ala the Seven Dwarfs (one is grumpy, another is wise), but they all feel like they were meant to have more to do if the runtime weren’t condensed to the standard hour-and-a-half for an animated feature. And then there’s Matangi (voiced by Awhimai Fraser), a shape-shifting character shrouded in mystery, none of which is explained in the film. It feels like she was intended to have more backstory, or even a bigger part, one that is teased for a probable Moana 3 in a mid-credit tag. But as she exists in the film, her role feels more akin to Tamatoa, a temporary musical side-quest.
Sequels are rarely as good as their predecessor, and Moana 2 isn’t the rare exception (nor was Frozen 2 or Ralph Breaks the Internet). However, of the sequels in Walt Disney Animation Studios’ current era, it is the strongest among them. It manages to recapture the elements that made the first film one of the most-watched streaming titles, and even though Lin-Manuel Miranda isn’t back, songwriters Abigail Barlow and Emily Bear have delivered catchy songs that fit within the style Miranda established (alongside returning composers Opetaia Foa'i and Mark Mandcina). Fans who have been waiting for a Moana sequel will find that Moana 2 delivers exactly what they wanted. But more than anything, with a live-action remake of the first film in active production, Moana 2 cements this character as a bankable franchise, one that seems intent on following the successful business models of other animation studios that have milked its cash cows dry.
I give Moana 2 4 out of 5 waves (the dance move, not the ebb and flow of water).