Everyone loves the Disney movie, Moana, where the main character, the daughter of a chief of a tribe in the Pacific, goes on a quest to save her home island.

The characters in Moana are hilarious and heartwarming; for example, there was a screaming chicken that kept falling into the ocean. Furthermore, they also cast Moana’s grandma, who appeared every once in a while to give Moana good advice. During the movie, the characters sing songs like “How far I’ll Go,” which won a Grammy.

Since Moana was so successful, Disney produced Moana 2, released in 2024, but the sequel is much worse than the first.

Plot

In Moana 2, Moana becomes the chief of a Polynesian village. She receives a vision from her ancestor, Matai Vasa, who tells her to find Motu Fetu, an island that used to connect all the tribes from the different islands on the Pacific Ocean. On her quest, however, Moana faces many obstacles that the vengeful storm god, Nalo, created to keep the tribes apart.

The storyline of Moana 2 feels fragmented. The transitions between scenes are rough. The transitions are cliche, relying on tropes like characters falling into a hole or stepping through a portal to move to the next scene.

Moreover, the goal of reaching Motu Fetu isn’t reinforced strongly enough throughout the film, which makes it seem like the characters are constantly sidetracked. For example, the characters seem to start a new adventure after they fall into a clam in the middle of the movie, which makes it feel like they’re straying from their original goal to reach Motu Fetu.

Furthermore, the story suffers from inconsistent pacing. The movie starts out slow, with the characters merely floating and singing for the first half. After passing through a portal into another realm, they stop at a barren island and spend much of their time talking about their feelings. Then, the movie ends abruptly. Moana and her friends simply charge into a storm, and Moana somehow breaks Nalos’ hold over the tribes.

Music

The music in Moana 2 isn’t fantastic. The songs aren’t as catchy as those of the first movie and I couldn’t remember a single song after the movie ended. The songs in Moana, like “How Far I’ll Go” or “You’re Welcome”, are upbeat and more rhythmic. While the songs in Moana 2 don’t sound bad when you listen to them during the movie, they feel generic. The characters are trying to progress the narrative through the lyrics, which makes the songs less memorable.

The main reason the music in Moana 2 is so much worse than the music in Moana is because they didn’t have the same songwriter, Lin-Manuel Miranda. Lin-Manuel Miranda is the creator of the famous broadway musical Hamilton. Moana has one of the best soundtracks of all animated movies in Disney history. The soundtrack in the sequel simply fails to live up to the first.

Characters

Aside from the two relief characters, Hei-Hei and Pua, from Moana, Moana has three new companions: Loto, an engineer; Moni, who knows the legends well; and Keke, a farmer who can grow vegetables on the boat.

However, the movie fails to develop these characters’ personalities and individual stories. Keke, for example, is never shown doing anything related to farming. These flat characters exist solely to aid Moana, lacking depth and purpose, as if Disney included them just to reiterate the importance of teamwork once again.

Despite the lack of development for the side characters, Moana has matured significantly since the first film. In the first movie, Moana is headstrong and impulsive, but in the sequel, she becomes more prudent and thoughtful. For example, Moana hesitates to set off on her journey because she is concerned about how miserable her family would be if she never came back. The film highlights how people mature as they grow up, showing Moana’s transition from a rebellious teenager to a responsible chief.

Visuals

Moana 2 has awesome animation, even better than the first movie. Instead of making a computer animated movie, the producers used both computer generated animation and hand-drawn art in the sequel. The sea in Moana 2 looks much more realistic than the light blue jello of the first movie. Moreover, the artists paid close attention to the characters’ movements, like drawing every ripple of their muscles and the movement of their hair.

While many scenes prioritize showing off animation technology over advancing the plot, the stunning visuals still enhance the audience’s overall experience. For example, the monster storm at the end of the movie showed every tendril of mist flowing in the air and the lightning bolts moving through the clouds.

Overall

Moana 2 isn’t good. I rate it a two out of five. The songs aren’t catchy, the plot is difficult to follow, and the supporting characters add little. However, the movie did have a few redeeming qualities, like how they matured Moana’s personality and appearance to show character development, and how the animations were visually appealing. I wouldn’t recommend this movie to a film buff. However, if you really liked the first movie, I think you should consider watching the movie to see what happens after Moana.