Review: 'Moana 2' barely wayfound box office success

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For being a sequel to one of Disney’s most successful movies, “Moana 2,” known as “Vaiana 2” and “Oceania 2” in some markets outside the U.S., narrowly excels at being an impactful continuation of the original 2016 movie. 

“Moana 2” debuted in U.S. theaters on Nov. 27 and it ceremoniously followed the main character, Moana, and her village, Motunui, three years after “Moana” (2016). In the 2016 movie, Moana, the village chief’s daughter and an aspiring wayfinder, voyaged with her hog Pua, her chicken Heihei and Maui, a comedically mighty demigod, across the treacherous ocean to find and restore Te Fiti, a once-vibrant island that became a calamitous and desolate demon after Maui stole its heart a millennium ago. Together, Moana and Maui underwent massive character development and successfully restored Te Fiti.

“Moana 2” tweaks some of the first movie’s plot, adding noticeably higher stakes. 

This time around, Moana, after receiving a vision from her ancestor Tautai Vasa, must find the island of Motufetu, a revered central hub for all of the islands until Nalo, a human-hating god, cursed it and sank it to the bottom of the ocean to destroy humanity and establish his dominance. If Moana fails to save Motufetu, humanity will fail to reconnect with each other and cease to exist.

Given these stakes, Moana is aided not only by Pua, Heihei and Maui, but by a trio of new characters from her village: Loto, a skilled craftswoman; Moni, a strong farm boy who idolizes Maui and Keke, a grumpy, old man who adept at farming.

This simple and arguably repetitive plot retcons elements of the original movie, such as the Motunui’s reason for being separated from society, but it does expand the scenic world of “Moana” while also setting up electrifying action sequences that cemented Moana’s place as one of Disney’s best princesses.

However, despite its success in the action department, many things leading up to the action are incredibly lackluster. Outside some one-off moments of teamwork, our new heroes failed to be memorable like other helpers in other iconic Disney princess movies, such as Mushu from “Mulan” (1998), Ray from “The Princess and the Frog” (2009), or Flounder and Sebastian from “The Little Mermaid” (1989).

This issue and others, unfortunately, likely stem from executive decisions made within production.

For example, Maui’s pivotal role in helping Moana save Motufetu was delayed for a sizable amount of the movie because he was held captive by Nalo’s female accomplice, Matangi ,until she secretly betrays him and helps our heroes.

This delay would make sense in a TV show format since tension would build over episodes, and apparently, “Moana 2” was initially meant to be just that, a TV show, but since it isn’t Maui’s delay in the 1 hour and 40-minute slot feels untimely and unsatisfying given his character’s charm and importance.

Another issue likely caused by production changes is Nalo’s presence. Despite repeatedly being mentioned as a harrowing evil, Nalo never reveals himself physically. He attacks our heroes with lightning storms and sea monsters, but he remains unseen in physical form until a post-credits cutscene where he forces Matangi to serve him in his revenge after Motufetu is restored by our heroes.

Lastly, the absence of Lin-Manuel Miranda, a heavy contributor to the original movie’s music, was heavily felt. Despite having spirit, great animation and timely placements, “Moana 2’s” songs, produced by new songwriters Abigail Barlow and Emily Bear, lacked catchiness due to clunky lyrics. Neither I nor my “Moana” stan teenage cousin recalled any song lyrics when we left the theater.

Thankfully, despite its pitfalls, “Moana 2” will be remembered for its action and the development of Moana and Maui as both characters literally died and came back to life to save Motufetu.  The post-credit scene with Nalo and Matangi guarantees another continuation of the story.

What Disney must do now between now and then is ensure that “Moana” doesn’t deteriorate into a failed sequel cash grab franchise or endure the same pitfalls in pacing or music.

But for now, given what “Moana 2” has offered, I give it a 7: barely passing. 

I’m cautiously optimistic about what will happen next.