Moana and Maui are back on the big screen. This time, Moana recruited a group of seafarers to travel beyond the reefs to find the mysterious Motofetu – an island cursed by the Storm God Nalo. Moana must find the island and break the curse in order to reunite the people of the sea.
The movie sees the return of Auli’i Cravahol as Moana and Dwayne Johnson as Demi-God Maui, as well as Temuera Morrison as Chief Tui, Nichole Scherzinger as Sina, Rachel House as Grandma Tula, and Alan Tudyk as Heihei. Joining the cast as Moana’s trusty crew are Hualālai Chung as Moni, David Fane as Kele, and Rose Matafea as Loto. Moana’s adorable little sister is voiced by Khaleesi Lambert-Tsuda. Rounding out the cast is Awhimai Fraser as the mysterious Matangi.
What is Moana 2 about?
Taking place 3 years after the events of the 2016 film, Moana receives an unexpected message from her ancestors. In her vision, she sees what would happen to her home island if she is unable to break Nalo’s curse. Soon after, Moana, along with Moni, Kele, and Loto, set sail to follow the fire in the sky in hopes of finding Motufetu.
Meanwhile, Maui is also looking for ways to break Nalo’s curse. He is captured by the Matangi (who works for Nalo), and learns that if Moana encounters Nalo, she is likely unlikely to survive the encounter. In wanting to keep Moana safe, Maui does not reach out to his Wayfinder friend as he remains bound inside a mysterious cave with his hook just out of reach.
Moana continues her search for Motufetu, and on the way, she’ll encounter the Kakamora and a slew of sea monsters before coming face to face with Storm God Nalo.
How is the music of “Moana 2”?
Composers Mark Mancina and Opetaia Foa’i return to score the film. Songwriting duo Abigail Barlow and Emily Bear will pen brand new songs for “Moana 2”. While the songs are plenty catchy, none were as memorable as songs from the first film. The song styles try to match what Lin-Manuel Miranda created for the 2016 movie, but it doesn’t quite hit the target.
Is “Moana 2” a worthy sequel?
“Moana 2” is plenty of fun and very entertaining. The animation is gorgeous, and it’s nice to see Moana’s story continue. As nice as it is to see her and Maui back together again on the big screen, it felt like there was too much cut out of the story – especially in the second act. The story introduces plenty of new characters like Moni, Kele, and Loto, but it does not let the audience learn more about them other than their respective jobs as Moana’s crew.
The same can be said about the new villain Matangi, whose character design and song are pretty great. Despite how much the film tried to tee her up to be a formidable opponent for Moana and Maui, she had only a small amount of screen time. Yes, there is a mid-credit that teases her return in future Moana films, but it feels like it’s another surface-level villain who did not get the time she deserved.
Overall, “Moana 2” is a great continuation of her story and is perfect for a family outing. It doesn’t quite match up to the original, and the characters would all have been more fleshed out.
Check out our video for our full review of the movie.
