The return of Moana to the big screen in Moana 2 turns out to be a pretty flat party. Here’s our review of the film.
Some backstory. Back when Pixar was embarking on its third film, Toy Story 2, the plan at that stage was to release it as a straight to video movie. However, it became clear during the making of the movie that it was a little bit special, and deserved an upgrade. For my money, the best of the series.
In the case of Moana, the 2016 film was arguably – and I’ll hear pushback from Encanto fans, even if I don’t agree – the last flat-out great movie from Walt Disney Animation Studios. There’s been good stuff since, but nothing on that level.
A year ago though, to us on the outside, as far as we knew Disney was working on a Moana streaming TV series. By the start of this year? It’d turned into Moana 2, a feature film that a more cynical mind might suggest was retooled to plug a gap in Disney’s release schedule after a pair of underperforming Walt Disney Animation Studios features at the box office. For Disney’s part, those working on the show were arguing that the story deserved a massive screen. The project pivoted.
But with a heavy heart, those more cynical minds might have a point. Tracking well ahead of release to bring in a lorryload of money, Moana 2 might be destined to be a bigger financial success than a storytelling one. Not down to the visual look of it, which gleams as always (not least a blitz of visuals towards the end). But underneath, something so special has become something so, well, ordinary. I never really saw that coming.
It starts promisingly. Set three years after the original, we re-meet Moana (Auli’i Cravalho again on strong voicing duties), are swiftly re-entertained by pet rooster Heihei, get a sort-of ‘previously on Moana’ recap song, and enjoy some familiar chuckles before the plot kicks in.
And boy does the plot kick in. Moana 2 is juggling the need for connection, a curse on a distant island, the search for other people, a new villain, a reconnection with Dwayne Johnson’s Maui and what feels like a constant procession of stuff. It goes a bit Waterworld meets Muppet Treasure Island at one point (two films I like), and space is made for new and returning faces as well.
But the story never sparks for, and there’s a lot of it to wade through. There’s a moment around half way through the film where Moana explains a lot of plot stuff to a pig, and the pig just looks back at her. Regrettably, I was that pig.
An important note: I fully accept that I’m not the core target demographic for Moana 2, as a middle-aged boring man. But I’m a middle-aged boring man who’s adored Disney animation all my life, and Moana is an extremely high bar for the studio. I hate to be one of those reviewers who quotes the film’s dialogue back at the film, but still: when one character says “it’s not like last time”, I felt them.
There’s been a significant change of personnel behind the scenes. Dana Ledoux Miller, David Derrick Jr and Jason Hand step up to direct, with Miller and established hand Jared Bush penning the script. Those taking on the particularly poisoned chalice through are Mark Mancina, Opetaia Foa’i, Emily Bear and Abigail Barlow on song and music duties. They’re following Lin-Manuel Miranda’s knockout soundtrack to Moana and, well, they’re on a hiding to nothing.
The best song in Moana 2 – and one or two really aren’t bad – doesn’t come close to the worst number in Moana. Even when we get Moana and Maui joining together, something’s just not clicking. I’m deliberately going spoiler-light, and there’s a real drive to give them both character challenges to resolve. But still: it ends up adding to the pile of things to get through.
Inevitably, part of the response to Moana 2 is determined by it being measured against its forerunner. Furthermore, a young audience that’s not sat through so many films beforehand is going to get stuff that the seen-this-before crowd won’t. I hope they love it. It’s not as if it’s a washout: the addition of Simea, Moana’s sister, adds some nice weight. Hei-Hei is terrific. Maui and Moana share a moment or too. Every now and then, it threatens to become more than it is, and shows promise.
But still, it’s a bit deflating. Things exist here, but there’s little that sparkles. As much as seeing Moana on the big screen again is welcome, she’s found herself in something that feels more akin to some of the better straight to video Disney sequels of the 1990s (some of which, remember, were happily enjoyable) rather than a film from one of the premier animation companies in the world.
It’s gutting to write, not least given the brilliant people involved, but Moana 2 never – for me anyway – finds its groove.
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