This was a surprise big screen feature film from Disney Animation. Usually, their sequels are straight to Disney+ and other home streaming platforms, but here they decided to release it in the cinemas. Originally, Moana 2 was supposed to be released on Disney+ as a series, showing everyone how Moana grows and meets new friends along the way; ultimately, the higher-ups decided that it deserved to be a shown on the big screen. Many people were excited and strategy-wise, it made sense as people are starting to go back to watching in theaters as the protocol regarding Covid-19 slowly loosens up.

It has been 8 years since “Moana (2016)” came out, and that was an awesome film in my opinion. But the same couldn’t be said for its sequel.

Obvious absence of Lin Manuel

One of the major letdowns here was the absence of Lin Manuel. Upon hearing the songs, it was very obvious that he wasn’t in the mix of things. Most of the songs didn’t have any oomph, and felt like filler songs. For me, music moves the audience. It forces people to go on an emotional rollercoaster even if they weren’t prepared for it. That was only present when they played a small part of “An Innocent Warrior” during one scene. It actually felt more like a musical show than a classic Disney film.

The additional characters were good. But Loto, voiced by Rose Matafeo, she had an English accent, and I can’t squeeze her sound into the culture; it felt off and really takes away the authenticity of it. Kele, the master farmer, was an unnecessary addition to the group.

Underwhelming antagonists

• First, we have the supposed main villain, Nalo, the god of storms. He was almost absent for the entirety of the film, they just have to deal with his storms, and he’s done. He revealed himself at the end though, to give the audience a “sneak preview” of what’s to come, but what it did was make the people think “why didn’t you come out?”.
• Second, we have the evil goddess, Matangi. She was a useless villain and guardian. She did nothing to impede Moana’s progress, even worse, she helped her realize some things that ultimately lead to the revival of Motufetu. Almost as if she was just there to help Moana and give her solo “Get Lost”, voice was great, song itself was trash, which in my opinion was second to the worst song in the film, “Can I Get A Chee-Hoo?” Being the first.

In Moana 2, the supposed final encounter was very underwhelming. Nalo showed his face once or twice, then he never showed up again, didn’t even really tried to stop Moana, then he’ll complain during the end credits scene. It’s like an animated version of the film “The Perfect Storm”, just them and the weather.

The story overall was great, it was just ruined by unnecessary solo performances and inclusivity of Loto and her English accent. Which I found very weird and annoying. Story could’ve been better though if they had better antagonists or a better representation of them. Matangi seemed like they were trying to do a female crappy version of Dr. Facilier A.K.A. The Shadow Man from The Princess and the Frog. There were no edge-of-my-seat nail-biting moments, and it made the whole experience bland.

Straight to Disney+

This wasn’t safe for the curse of mediocre Disney sequels. Honestly, this should have been direct to home streaming or instead even the planned Disney+ series. Moana 2 was a stepping stone for an even bigger threat when they face Nalo in the future. I guess it would’ve been better if they showed this on direct to Disney+, and then release the showdown with the god of storms, Nalo, on the big screen. The current low reviews will hurt the next installment for Moana.

Conclusion

Regardless of everything, it was a fun watch with the family, specially if you have kids with you. Not something I’d tell grown-ups to watch, but I’d definitely tell kids to.