Voices of Auli'i Cravalho, Dwayne Johnson, Hualalai Chung, and Rose Matafeo
Directed by David Derrick Jr, Dana Ledoux Miller, and Jason Hand
Music by Abigail Barlow and Emily Bear
Apparently, this one had a bit of a convoluted trip to the big screen. It began as a limited series for Disney Plus, but Disney was so impressed with the animation, they strung the episodes into a full-length movie in February. It's done wildly well against heavy Thanksgiving competition in theaters, but critics aren't as impressed. How does Moana's second adventure in the South Seas come off? Let's begin, not with Moana, but with demi-god Maui (Johnson) in trouble and find out...
The Story: Moana (Cravalho) returns to her beloved island home and her little sister Simesa (Khaleesi Lambert-Tsuda) who adores her. She's about to receive the title of Wayfinder when there's a massive lighting storm. During the storm, she sees a vision of her ancestor Tataui Vasa (Gerald Ramsay) revealing why she's found no other people traveling the seas. Storm god Nalo (Tofiga Fepulea'i) pulled the island Motufetu that connected all islands into the sea, and the people of her island will go extinct if she can't find it.
Deciding that this adventure is too big for just her, she corrals a crew that includes historian, artist, and Maui fan boy Moni (Chung), craftswoman Loto (Matafeo), and grumpy farmer Kele (David Fane), and sets off across the Pacific to find the island. They're first captured by the coconut pirates from the first film, then by a giant monster clam. They rescue Maui from the clam, and Moana is aided by goddess Matangi (Awhimi Fraser) and encouraged to think outside the box. When Maui insists he can raise the island and Moana should be the first to touch it, she'll need every ounce of intelligence and strength to get to that island...and remember that we're all connected to our past and to other people on their own journeys.
The Animation: This was made for streaming? No wonder Disney wanted to push this on the big screen. It's gorgeous. Every wave glows, every hair and blade of grass looks stunningly real. Everyone moves well, including the gods and other fantasy characters. Maui's famously funny moving tattoo has somewhat less off a role this time, but it's still animated well and has a few good moments.
The Song and Dance: That lovely animation really carries the day here, along with some decent performances and the glimpses of South Seas culture. Cravalho and Johnson have just as much fun this time around. They do especially well in the sequence after they're stranded on the island and Maui finds himself having to cheer up a despairing Moana. Of the newcomers, Matafeo and Fraser come off the best as the quirky boat designer who is constantly trying to take everything apart and the vengeful goddess who is willing to help Moana in order to get out of that clam.
The Numbers: We open with "We're Back" as the villagers await Moana's arrival. Moana describes the world "Beyond" for her little sister before the storm. She insists "What Could Be Better Than This?" to her squabbling crew as they begin their journey. Matangi encourages Moana to "Get Lost" in the center of the clam and not be afraid to make mistakes. "Can I Get a Chee-Hoo?" insists Maui as he attempts to put a smile on Moana's face. "Beyond" is heard again when she finds the island and in the end credits.
What I Don't Like: At times, it's too obvious that this is six episodes of a streaming mini-series strung together. Most of the plot is even more meandering than the first film, and the incidents with the coconut pirates and the clam pop up with no rhyme or reason. Moana's crew doesn't really have all that much to do, either, nor do we get to know them that well.
It feels like a far more advanced version of the "movies" Disney put direct-to-home-media in the 90's and early 2000's that were episodes of canceled series strung together. While I appreciate Disney using their first all-female songwriting team, I'm afraid the songs they came up with are only so-so, and not nearly as memorable as Lin-Manuel Miranda's music for the first film.
The Big Finale: Even with the meandering plot and so-so music, it's still worth seeing on the big screen for the stunning animation and some terrific performances, particularly for fans of the first film or those with young girls who are looking for female-oriented action.
Home Media: No listings for the actual film yet, but the soundtrack will be released on physical media in January.
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