Films for Breakfast

I’m hardly ever shocked by streaming numbers and stats, as they are usually nothingburgers – but one of the most shocking statistics I saw in the last few years were that of the original Moana on Disney+. Per Bloomberg, Moana has been one of the four most-watched films on the platform since it debuted in 2019 – 80 billion minutes have been streamed, and for perspective, Bloomberg equates that to “the equivalent of seeing the film 748 million times” – that is hilariously more than a lot of their large Star Wars or Marvel titles. So, it should come as no shock that after one of the most disastrous financial years in Disney history back in 2023, 2024 was met with the surprise announcement of Moana 2 being released this Thanksgiving.

I won’t harp on this for too long in my review as I want to simply judge the final product, but a fascinating anecdote (and possibly a worrying one upon the film’s announcement) was that Moana 2 was originally envisioned as a Disney+ limited series. With Bob Iger back in the CEO chair, it makes all the sense in the world why a film as popular as Moana would pivot back to the big screen – as Iger wisely understands how insanely more profitable a theatrical window is than dumping something on streaming. From a financial perspective, this is brilliant – but going into Moana 2 I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t apprehensive to how the quality of what was once envisioned as a Disney+ original series would translate in an IMAX theater.

For starters, I wish I could say that I can’t see any of the Disney+/limited series format in this film and it simply feels like it was always intended on being a film. As the plot of the film kicks into high gear, you can simply see how each plot point could be served a singular episode yet are now spliced together to create one giant picture. That being said, it’s not as messy as it sounds! Does Moana 2 ever quite reach the heights of the original film? For my money, absolutely not. But in the same breath, I think the first Moana is the best film Disney Animation has produced since The Lion King back in 1994. Moana had a brilliant blend of a captivating and personal story, gorgeous visuals, and top-notch music from Lin-Manuel Miranda.

There are two or three songs from Moana 2 that I could see making any sort of lasting impression. And even then, those two or three songs aren’t as good as even the worst song in the original Moana (*cough* Shiny *cough*) – which I find to be a huge flaw within the film. The music of the original Moana was not only pivotal to the films popularity and longevity in the cultural zeitgeist due to the lyricism of Lin-Manuel Miranda, but it most importantly conveyed the emotion and themes in a deeply resonant way; How Far I’ll Go is one of the most staggeringly beautiful songs under the Disney banner. Not only do the songs of Moana 2 not match the catchiness of the original, but they also simply do not do a good job at conveying the story and emotions in a way that will captivate audiences in a deep way. The lyricism just feels like a massive step-down this time around.

The story picks up shortly after the events of the first film, with Moana (Auli’i Cravalho) settling nicely into her role at home. She has since welcomed a little sister named Simea to her family, and has been hard at work to ensure the village remains strong for Simea’s future. But after receiving an unexpected call from her wayfinding ancetors, Moana must journey to the far seas and dangerous waters of Oceania to break the curse on the island of Montufetu. This journey brings along her sidekicks Heihei and Pua, an eccentric cast from her island, and of course – Maui, once again voiced by Dwayne Johnson.

Moana 2 feels a bit like an anomaly, because I do believe everything I critiqued about the music feels pretty damning to the film as a whole. However, I found the characters and story to be fairly compelling. I stand by my assessment that I can see how each of the set pieces here probably served as singular episodes and that took me out of the film each time I noticed it, but to be fair, I don’t think the general moviegoer will have that level of being terminally online. And for what they are, the set pieces in this film are quite fun. Namely, a sequence involving the return of the Kakamora from the first film. This provides some of the films biggest laughs and one of their most inventive visual moments.

I also quite enjoyed the cast of characters this time around, as Moana bringing along members of her village serves both as an amusing change of pace for her as a character – turning from someone who had to find Maui in the original film and get him to he help her, to someone who now has to take charge and lead way to a better tomorrow for her people. Loto (Rose Matafeo), Kele (David Fane), and Moni (Hualālai Chung) are all fun new characters, and what I appreciated about this cast is that they all delivered something unique to the story. Loto feels like a fan favorite character as she’s both hilarious and highly equipped in sailing/building, Kele has some of the film’s biggest laughs as a grumpy farmer who is reluctantly aboard the ship, and Moni gets a lot of laughs/memorable moments as the resident Maui fanboy. Maui himself feels a bit tacked onto the story, but the moments that he’s on-screen are plenty fun and Johnson does a great job at voicing the character once again.

Moana’s character arc here is also pretty satisfactory, as it naturally progresses her story and grows her up even more in a way where she is forced to take on more of a leadership role. While it doesn’t quite match the dramatic depth of the original film, I did find the broad strokes of her arc here to be largely compelling. There’s a pretty fun musical number between her and Maui that epitomizes Moana’s growth in a fun way that I can see making the rounds on Spotify in the coming weeks. I also found the larger lore of Moana’s culture and the war among the gods to be fairly compelling this time around, as it leans even further into the mystical and action-heavy elements of the world.

Moana 2 really doesn’t quite match the heights of the first film in my eyes, and you can put that blame on either the music not hitting quite as hard or even a more scattershot (albeit fun) plot this time around. However, for what it is, Moana 2 is a fairly entertaining film that I think will satisfy the younger fans who have grown up with the original film and serve as a solid launching point for inevitable future installments. I am not immune to a good time!

3.5/5