Disney’s Moana was the surprise hit that no one saw coming. A delightful and impressive tale set in ancient Polynesia with a strong female lead who wasn’t a princess, taking on an incredible journey with a demi-god. While the film was an enormous cinema success, it found its audience on the streaming service Disney+. We now get the sequel, originally planned as a series of the TV service, and there are moments when you can see the quality has dropped. It still manages to impress, but not as much this time.

Moana is now a wayfinder, travelling the oceans to find other civilizations until she gets the calling of a lost island that has been sunk by a god and, if discovered, will bring life back to a now dark and stormy part of the sea. With a new canoe and crew, she heads off to find the one person who can help her: Maui, the shapeshifting demi-god who helped her in her last mission.

As with most animated sequels, the idea is to give more than just provide the same. The original worked so well because of the relationship between Moana and Maui, as the film was predominantly a two-hander. With most of the original creative cast gone, the new group to put the sequel together have decided that Moana 2 needs more than two characters, so they have introduced Moni, a strong young man who loves painting stories and has a hero crush on Maui; Loto, a woman handy with a tool and the ability to build things, and Kele, a grumpy old man who loves gardening but hates the sea.

Having these new characters on board does upset the balance of the film. They seem almost unnecessary, as the story is nearly identical to the original: Moana searches for an island with Maui. Simple as that. Having three new characters on board a slightly larger boat doesn’t add anything to the plot or to the tension of the piece, and in fact, it seems to get in the way of the one thing that worked so well last time: Moana and Maui. The chicken is back, but that isn’t enough, so the cute baby pig is on board, too. It reminds me of Ice Age. The first film worked because of the three characters on this incredible journey. By Ice Age 5, there were so many characters you couldn’t care less about any of them, and you have lost that one element that worked in the first place.

Where it also fails to shine is the songs. The first film had the talents of Lin Manuel Miranda. As he has jumped ship to work on Mufasa: The Lion King, we are left without the instant earworms you got from the first film. How Far I’ll Go and You’re Welcome have become as famous as the classic Disney songs from past movies. This time, however, they lack the punch and hummability and are instantly forgotten.

These things don’t make the film a total disaster. The relationship between Moana and Maui is still there, and their shared scenes are among the best. There are moments of tension when they reach their destination and face the god, and the return of the pirate coconuts injects a needed level of humour. Let’s not forget the bug-eyed chicken, still falling over and has learned to swallow whole shells. The animation is still of good quality, and it has plenty for the younger audiences to enjoy, even if the story isn’t as neat as before.

Aulii Cravalho returns as the voice of Moana, and she delivers the same level of bite and honesty to the role as previously. Dwayne Johnson, as Maui, seems to be having the time of his life returning to an old friend. He’ll be returning to him again with the live-action version of Moana shortly. The other voices are fine, including comedian Rose Matafeo, former Pussycat Doll, and now West End and Broadway darling Nicole Scherzinger.

Moana 2 is not the most outstanding Disney animation, but it is a step up from their last film, Wish. It has enough to keep the younger fans of the original happy, but if you are looking for another masterpiece like that first film, it’s not here. It’s entertaining enough, but it just lacks the polish that you come to expect from a Disney movie.

3 out of 5

Directors: David G. Derrick Jr, Jason Hand and Dana Ledoux Miller

Starring: Aulii Cravalho, Dwayne Johnson, Hualalai Chung, Rose Matafeo, David Fane, Awhimai Fraser, Khaleesi Lambert-Tsuda, Temuera Morrison, Nicole Scherzinger

Written by: (also story) Jared Bush, Dana Ledoux Miller, (story) Bek Smith and (additional screenplay material) Bryson Chun

Running Time: 100 mins

Cert: PG

Release date: 29th November 2024