“Moana 2” can’t recapture the magic of the original

It has been an excellent year for Disney sequels. "Inside Out 2" made over $1.6 billion and is currently the most successful animated movie ever. "Moana 2" had the most successful Thanksgiving release ever. 2024 has been a good year for the House of Mouse.

In "Moana 2," our titular hero (voiced by Auliʻi Cravalho) explores nearby islands in search of other people. One day, she gets a vision of a way to reconnect the ocean's people.

I am going to cut to the chase. I enjoyed this, but it is not even in the same league as the original. The story was not as interesting, and the songs were not as good. Lin Manuel Maranda did not write the music for this one, and while I enjoyed them, they did not leave an impression. I am still singing "You're Welcome," but I doubt that any of the songs from "Moana 2" will be hits years later.

Less than a year ago, "Moana 2" was not going to be a movie. It was going to be a Disney+ show. You read that right, A SHOW. This was a planned series based on the successful 2016 movie. There are times when you can feel that. Early on, I thought, "ok, so this is where an episode of the show would end." I am happy that this became a movie, but if this was meant to be a show, it needed more time to cook to make it a movie.

I feel like I have been harsh on "Moana 2." It is not a bad movie, and I enjoyed much of it. If you have kids, they will enjoy this one, and you might too. I would, and probably will, watch it again. I wouldn't put it on a list of my favorite Disney movies.

6/10

Rated PG for action/peril

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