Less than a decade ago, Disney offered us a deep journey into Polynesia with Vaiana: The Legend of the End of the World. Success is not long in coming. The feature film did Disney’s business and earned $600 million at the worldwide box office in 2016. It is therefore not surprising that Disney wants to bring back the much-loved heroine.
So, Moana is far from being unemployed. While Disney is working hard on a live-action film, a sequel to the animated film is released this Wednesday, November 27, 2024. There is reason to be happy to find the Polynesian princess who is far from being cold in the eyes. But this second film arrives like a hair on the ocean. Here’s what we thought of Moana 2.
A scenario that rings hollow
After the events of the first opus, Moana is back, stronger and more determined than ever. While she succeeded in reconciling her people with the ocean and took charge of her village, Motonui Island has never been so prosperous. The young woman does not hesitate to set sail and hopes to find other peoples. But alas… Nothing. Until his ancestors whispered to him of the existence of an island where all maritime routes converged and which connected all peoples. Vaiana thus sets out to find this mysterious island which has now disappeared. To do this, she puts together an odd crew and hopes to be able to count on the help of the demigod Maui. Quite a program!
Unfortunately, Moana 2 suffers from a scenario that rings hollow. Like a bad coconut. If only that were just a question of originality… But the sequel to Vaiana: The Legend of the End of the World undergoes a scenario without any flavor where everything is quite disjointed. For 1h40, the pace is jerky and you almost have the impression of treading water. The emotion of the first disappeared, in favor of jokes and other jokes which made us smile, but no more.
Moana 2 introduces a slew of new characters to accompany the determined heroine. But none of them are really memorable. Not even the antagonists. The big bad of Moana 2 is not impressive at all and is too discreet for the scope of his role. Damage…
Unfortunately for Moana, we feel the change in direction at Disney. Indeed, the heroine’s adventures were to continue in the form of an animated series. But Bob Iger decided otherwise and Disney announced the release of Moana 2 a bit at the last moment. This should have alerted us…
What is most regrettable is that Moana 2 is a nest of good ideas. Like the fact that the teams drew on real Polynesian legends to build the basis of the film’s storyline. But the film does not give itself the means to transcend us, leaving us wanting more.
Far from being up to par
Maybe the problem of Moana 2 lies in the expectations that rest on his shoulders. Indeed, the continuation of the young woman’s adventures has two missions, and not just any missions. First of all, it must live up to the first film. And we can say that the bar is very high. Faced with his predecessor, Moana 2 really looks pale. The characters are relatively unlikable and the storyline lacks originality and an important emotional dimension.
But Moana 2 must also be worthy of being THE Disney Christmas movie. Unfortunately, we feel more like we’re seeing a TV movie (rather nice, certainly) and not the film that ends the year in style at Mickey’s house. This makes the disappointment even greater. Far from seducing us like Encanto in 2021, Moana 2 joined Avalonia, the strange journey And Wish – Asha and the lucky star in the “Could do better” category.
Visually, Disney is mixed
Generally, Disney animated films amaze us. Generally… While Disney animated films tend to slap me in the face, I more or less stayed on dry land with Moana 2. Unfortunately, the feature film sorely lacks soul, both in its writing and visually.
Not everything has to be thrown away, of course. Moana 2 manages, at certain moments, to amaze us and make us want to go on an adventure. But overall, Moana 2 fails to dazzle us. As for the animation, we marvel at its fluidity but, here again, Disney doesn’t get wet. While animation fans can enjoy watching Arcana, Flow: the cat who was no longer afraid of water or even The wild robot, Moana 2 appears very shy.
And the songs in all this?
To make matters worse, we can’t even count on the songs of Moana 2. While the first film is full of excellent music that we take great pleasure in singing at the top of our lungs, this new opus suffers from the absence of Lin-Manuel Miranda. Without this being catastrophic, the songs of Moana 2 are not significant. As I left the dark room, none of them remained lodged in my head.
Verdict: “Could do better” for Moana 2
Moana 2 is not inherently bad. The continuation of the adventures of the Polynesian heroine is far too bland to be a worthy heir to the first opus released in 2016 and established itself as Disney’s Christmas film. Still, Moana 2 remains good entertainment for its core target: children. It is certain that families will appreciate finding the determined Vaiana and will have a relatively pleasant time… Even if this return is not up to par, knowing that the first film was sufficient in itself in our eyes.
