With a successful franchise in Moana, it makes sense for a sequel to exist. But knowing that this was supposed to be a tv show and then transformed into a film during production was detrimental to the quality of the final product. At 100 minutes with about roughly 90 minutes of story, you can feel certain story and cliff hanging elements happening every 20-30 minutes. For my experience, it affected the pacing. A lot of scenes were rushed, and the new supporting cast was underdeveloped in my opinion. If this movie was a developed as a film from the get-go, then the new character count would have been reduced.
Probably because of Lin-Manuel Mirandas commitment to Mufasa, he couldn’t return for Moana 2, I also doubt they would have wanted him for a streaming show version of this, and the duo of Abigail Barlow & Emily Bear have the tall task of replacing him here. I don’t think the songs are bad by any stretch of the imagination, but not as catchy and nothing that I can see that has the legs of the music before it.
Another thing I noticed is that I think the animation wasn’t as great as the predecessor unfortunately. They spend a lot of time in the ocean (obviously) and the sky, and the colors just don’t pop as much as the last movie, or even when you compare it to other theatrical products Disney has put out recently, I think the sudden pivot in development mid production really hurt Moana 2 as a film. If this concept started ground up as a movie, then we would have gotten something different. I’m not saying that one medium is superior to another but starting as one thing and suddenly changing directive will almost always negatively impact the final product. I think Bob Iger should have just bit the bullet and let them do what they originally intended on what was probably his original orders.
I know I just said a lot of negative things about Moana 2, but at the end of the day I did enjoy the ride. The returning voice cast are still incredible in their roles and a lot of the jokes land. This is a perfect experience for children, and it still does a great job honoring pacific island culture. The themes of ancestry and reconnection are exciting and inspiring, and there’s a lot of meat on the bone for future projects that I am excited for.
Although at times the story is pacing mess, Moana 2 still has enough to be enjoyed with the family.
🌟🌟🌟 1/2
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