Sometimes in life, you have to get lost to find your way. That is essentially the tag line for the latest entry in Walt Disney Studios’ latest cash grab, Moana 2. Streaming now on Disney+, the 100-minute (1 hour, 40 minutes) movie is slated for home physical release March 18 on DVD< Blu-ray and 4K UHD. The movie, which was originally released in theaters in late 2023, is worth seeing at least once but sadly fails to live up to the legacy of its predecessor. That is proven in large part through its featured story, which will be addressed shortly. The general writing and pacing thereof makes the story bearable. It will be discussed a little later. The bonus content that accompanies the movie in its forthcoming home release rounds out the most important of the movie’s items and will also be discussed later. Each noted item is important in its own way to the whole of the movie. All things considered, they make Moana 2 a presentation that while worth watching at least once, does little to make itself memorable.
Walt Disney Studios’ latest cash grab presentation, Moana 2, is a work that is worth watching at least once but sadly little more than that. That is proven in large part through its story, which finds its titular character and her friend, Maui, once again off on an ocean-spanning adventure to right a wrong from ages ago. In the case of this story, the wrong in question was the sinking of an island centuries ago by an evil god named Nalo as a means to keep the peoples of the Pacific separated. Moana and Maui are joined this time by a misfit crew – Loto, Moni, and Keke – and even one of the dangerous Kakamora named Kotu. One of the movie’s heads tries to explain this expansion away in the bonus content by explaining their inclusion this time is part of the bigger effort to celebrate community instead just the bonds of friendship as was done in the first movie. This attempt falls short of its attempted goal.
Things get even more convoluted from here. Before Maui even joins Moana, he is himself captured by one of Nalo’s minions, another demigod named Matangi. She is holding him “in the belly of” a massive clam. Yes, a clam. Allegedly she is holding Maui for Nalo but the writers never actually try to explain what had gone down ages ago between Maui and Nalo. While a minor element, it certainly would have gone a long way toward explaining that whole situation. Making things even more convoluted is the reality that Matangi is one of Nalo’s minions yet she helps Moana and her friends escape the clam when it captures them, too. Yet what with her song cue and her behavior, audiences are left uncertain as to her true allegiances, especially being that after that one interaction she is completely forgotten by the writers.
Eventually Moana and her ragtag group of friends reach the site of the sunken island and “face off” against Nalo. Though, the faceoff itself is rather anticlimactic as Moana and company have to steer around a bunch of waterspouts that Nalo uses to try and stop her and Maui. There is never really any actual showdown between the two or anything like what Moana deals with in the original movie when she finally meets Tafiti. Obviously, the whole things ends happily, but in all honesty, the whole of the story ends up just feeling so contrived. Yes, there is much Asian Pacific Islander culture tied into the story, as is explained in the bonus content, but in the bigger picture, the whole story and its execution make it feel like it was just tossed together because Moana made so much money. That is nothing new for Walt Disney Studios, either. It is quite the familiar practice for the company.
On another note, throughout the length of the journey there are plenty of song cues but few have the impact of the songs featured in Moana. Yes some are a little catchy but they hardly have the punch of the music from the original movie. Keeping this in mind along with the contrivances of the story overall, the whole of this movie’s story makes it a pale shadow of Moana.
While the story at the center of Moana 2 does little to make the movie memorable, it does have some positives. Those being its general writing and pacing. Thanks to the general writing, it takes little time for things to get going and keep moving. Moana has come back from a voyage asea when she receives a vision (albeit so randomly) from an ancestor instructing her to go on her voyage. This goes back to much of the contrivance of the story. She does not receive the vision during sleep or some other moment, rather it comes during a public ceremony on her island officially naming her a wayfinder. As soon as she receives her vision she starts assembling her crew upon the advice of her mother. We have to be honest here. This clearly was the writers saying that audiences would not buy just having Moana and Maui on another adventure, so they needed to add even more characters. That aside, once the crew is assembled, they and the rest of the islanders get the group’s new boat on the waves and the adventure gets under way. Once underway, it takes little time for the group to encounter different challenges and eventually reach their goal. So to that end, the writing and related pacing ensure viewers’ engagement and entertainment, making for at least one point of positivity in this movie.
Building on that positivity is the bonus content that accompanies the movie in its forthcoming home release. The bonus content in question includes a full sing-along of the movie, standard deleted scenes, and various discussions on modern day wayfinding and the movie’s music. The nearly 20-minute feature focusing on modern day wayfinding is interesting but does not really tie too closely back to the movie. It just shows that there are people who still carry on that ancient practice and in turn creates an appreciation for that reality. The discussion on the music actually adds only a little to the experience. That is because it is largely just a retrospective on how the songs came to life. Speaking of music, the inclusion of a sing-along version of the movie is sure to ensure entertainment and engagement for families with much younger, female children. The deleted scenes are the heart of the bonus content. Coming complete with intros from the movie’s creative heads, it is clear why the scenes in question were cut from the movie. They clearly would have made the movie too long and would have made the story make even less sense. Keeping that in mind, it is actually a positive in its own right. To that end, that and the rest of the movie’s bonus content comes together to make the overall bonus content here its own important aspect of the movie. When the bonus content is considered alongside the story, its writing and pacing, the whole therein makes Moana 2 a presentation that while worth watching at least once, is hardly as memorable as its predecessor and just another clear cash grab for Walt Disney Studios.
Moana 2, the latest animated feature from Walt Disney Studios was hardly the best way for the studio to close out 2024. In its forthcoming home physical release (it is streaming now on Disney+), it is likely to be just as forgettable. That is due in part to its story, which sends Moana and Maui off on another adventure on the high seas. This time the duo is joined by a ragtag crew who add a few laughs to the story but who do little else to enhance the tale. There are also some moments that really needed tying up. This all in mind, the story proves intriguing but also problematic, clearly lacking the heart of the story in Moana. The general writing and related pacing makes up for the story’s issues at least to a point. They ensure that viewers will remain engaged and entertained throughout the 100-minute movie. The bonus content that accompanies the movie in its forthcoming home release rounds out its most important elements. This is especially true of the bonus deleted scenes. Each examined item is key in its own way to the whole of this movie. All things considered they make the whole of Moana 2 a presentation that is worth watching at least once but sadly little more than that.
Moana 2 is streaming now through Disney+. It is scheduled for home physical release March 18. More information on this and other titles from Walt Disney Studios is available at:
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