As families head out to sea with Moana, Maui, and their new and returning crew members, let’s take a look at what critics are saying about the Disney Animation sequel. While you are at it, check out Alex Reif’s review of Moana 2 here.
Moana 2 has officially hit theaters today. Three years after the events of the 2016 original, Moana is now a master wayfinder and has been given the title of master navigator by her dad Chief Tui. While visiting her home island of Motunui, the princess receives a vision from her ancestors that inspires her to rally up a new crew of friends to break the curse of the storm god Nalo and find the sunken island of Motufetu.
Giving the film 3 out of 4 stars, USA Today highlights that, while Moana 2 isn’t groundbreaking, that Auli’i Cravalho and Dwayne Johnson bring new life to Moana and Maui. With Auli’i specifically, USA Today applauds her ability to bring new depth and emotion to the wayfinder, describing Moana as “an expressive personality who can totally out-sail your favorite Disney princess.” The newsource also describes the adventures as familiar, while being grateful for the new characters as well as the increased Pacific Island influences.
People Magazine also expressed content for the animated sequel. While the newsource didn’t rave about Moana 2, they applaud the film's sense of adventure and world building as Moana sets out on another journey through the seas. Johnson’s humor was also pointed out as one of the film’s strong points. People felt Moana 2’s main flaw was within the music. Composed by Grammy winners Abigail Barlow and Emily Bear, People shared the film “misses the musical direction and lyricism [Lin-Manuel] Miranda developed for the 2016 original installment.” However, they continue saying that the film is “just as worthy for families as the first film.”
Describing the film as “parallel” to the original Moana, The New York Times questions why Moana 2 needed to exist. The newsource does describe Moana as a “worthy Disney heroine,” but also criticizes Disney for not creating a compelling enough story to justify expanding Moana’s adventures. Additionally, they describe the new musical numbers as “competently written and arranged (save for one painful rap sequence).”
Over at the Hollywood Reporter, they highlight the film's gorgeous animation and compelling performances by Cravalho and Johnson. However, they continue wishing that the animated feature would have remained a Disney+ series as originally intended stating Moana 2 “lacks the cohesive narrative and emotional intimacy that made its predecessor special.” They continued describing the story as “scattered and shallow” compared to the 2016 original film. In their final thoughts, the Hollywood Reporter shares “even when Moana 2 falters, [Moana and her crew’s] courage remains a steady source of inspiration.”
Variety shared a similar sentiment for Moana 2. While they praised Auli’i Cravalho’s voice work, they were disappointed in the film’s resurrection of story beats that feel all too familiar to Moana. They reminisce about Moana’s internal journey from the first film, which they felt helped really bring the adventure story to life. Now that Moana has found confidence in herself and become a self-assured wayfinder, they feel the sequel lacks that inner struggle, describing the film as a “non-interior animated action fairy tale.” They also felt the film’s music was “perky and appealing,” yet lacks identity when compared to Lin-Manuel Miranda’s infectious tracks from Moana. In all, Variety paints Moana 2 as “an okay movie” and “an above-average kiddie roller-coaster.”
Over at Rotten Tomatoes, the animated sequel is sitting at a 67% Fresh score from critics. While not a bad score, it falls disappointingly short of the 95% Fresh rating 2016’s Moana received. However, critics aren’t necessarily the end all be all to an enjoyable movie. Moana 2 has an 88% on the Popcornmeter, which consists of over 500 audience reviews. Moana’s score is at 89%, a mere 1% above the sequel. I think it's fair to say that Moana was a tough act to follow, but that doesn’t mean that Moana 2 won’t be just as enjoyable of an adventure for families this holiday season.
Read More Moana 2: