Moana was a monster hit for Disney and to be honest I am shocked that a sequel took this long to happen! The funny thing is, this was not supposed to be a movie, the follow-up to Moana was going to be a Disney Plus series, but Disney changed their mind and decided they needed that big theatrical money. Hey, I get that, Disney Plus is not making them the money that they thought it would. We have the writer from the original, but there is a new director leading the charge here.
How to Download Moana 2
Moana 2 was released on November 27, 2024. You can expect to be able to download or stream the film from Disney+ in about two months from this date. You can also stream it. Click on the Download button at the end of this review and make your choice.
The Movie Review
Let me start with the positives. Moana 2 looks amazing, the water is some of the most realistic and amazing looking water I have ever seen in an animated movie. When a movie is set on the water as much as this is, the water better look good and it certainly does. The vibrant colors really do pop and while it was great seeing it on the big screen, I bet this is going to look amazing on 4K at home.
The Return of Beloved Characters
It is awesome that they got The Rock and Auliʻi Cravalho back as Maui and Moana. When these two are together, it is fun, I also loved the stuff with Pua and Heihei, even though you do see most of that in the trailer. The thing with Moana 2 is that it feels like a sequel that was made purely to make money. Hey, at the end of the day, that is the goal of most movies, but that first Moana had a soul, it had a spirit and it was fun from start to end.
Storyline: A Hit or Miss?
Moana 2 on the other hand is kind of boring for like ¾ of the movie. Moana has a new crew that joins her on her quest to lift a curse so that she can reunite her people with the ancestors who left the island. If the curse is lifted, all of the people on the islands will be able to meet each other. They try to have some of the hits from the first movie like the Kakamora who I love and even Matangi, but it just feels like a rehash.
Issues with New Characters
Also, the new crew that go with Moana…. I hated this crew. They are so dumb and not even dumb for a kid’s movie to get some laughs, they are just dumb. I did not warm up to any of these characters at all and then it is like all of a sudden, “Now I can do this thing that will save the day” and that is that. It was like they just wanted to introduce some new characters so that they could make more merch.
A Step Back in Music
Even the music is not as good as it was in the first movie. I would not say that the music is bad and there was even one song that I really did enjoy. However, it never reached the heights that the first movie did. Although, I will say that the voice acting is great and The Rock as Maui has to be some of the best casting that Disney has done in the last ten years.
Final Thoughts on Moana 2
This whole movie just feels smaller than the original and when you consider that it started life out as a TV show, that does kind of make sense. I am sure kids will love it, but I cannot see the parents who loved the original Moana liking this anywhere near as much. I hope that the live action version of Moana is better than this! Although, Moana 2 has absolutely killed at the box office, breaking all kinds of records so really, what the heck do I know!
