Series Report Card: Disney Animated Features (2024)

62. Moana 2

The Disney Corporation's quest for absolute cultural dominance has been on-going for a long time now. When I was a kid, the studio sought to extend the awareness and popularity of their hit films through spin-offs on other platforms. This took the form of mountains of merchandise, direct-to-video sequels of mostly unremarkable quality but also television shows. "The Little Mermaid: The Series," "Aladdin," "Hercules" and a few others are recalled with some degree of fondness. Getting to see the characters you loved in the movies every week on TV is, admittedly, a fun idea. Even if these shows never quite lived up to the source material. That kind of continuation has mostly fallen out of favor lately, as Disney has shifted focus to big-budget, theatrically released sequels and remakes... At least until they launched their own streaming services a few years back, eager to attract subscribers with programs set in their beloved Marvel, "Star Wars," and animated universes. 

That was the form a follow-up to "Moana" was initially planned to take. The original film's storyboard artist, David Derrick Jr., would direct "Moana: The Series" with most of the cast from the movie coming back. Notably absent was songwriter Lin Manual-Miranda, replaced with a duo whose previous successes include an unofficial "Bridgerton" musical, a gag musical for Taco Bell, and popular TikTok videos. Not to devalue the talent of any of the above artisans, nor certainly the animators and designers who would work on the series, but it seemed like the kind of step-down in talent you would expect from a straight-to-streaming spin-off. That "Moana: The Series" managed to secure the involvement of Dwayne Johnson – also starring in the inexplicable live action remake of "Moana," entering development at the exact same time – was honestly surprising and, perhaps, a reflection of his own dwindling box office cred. But if a TV continuation didn't quite live up to the movie it spawned from, that would not be a massive shock, right? Film and TV are different mediums with different expectations. 

Maybe the Disney producers don't realize that though. Back in February, it was announced that the already well underway "Moana: The Series" would instead be coming to theaters as "Moana 2," the streaming series shifting into a movie. CEO Bob Iger explained that this decision was made after execs were supposedly impressed with the footage they had seen for the show. That Disney has had several high-profile flops recently, like "The Marvels" and "Wish," surely had nothing to do with this seemingly last minute decision to rush a sequel to a previous success into theaters. Jason Hand and Dana Ledoux Miller would join the directing team, presumably to further along this change in direction. Only ten months after the announcement of its existence, "Moana 2" is in theaters and viewers everywhere can judge whether it measures up to the original or if its origins as a TV show are all-too-evident. 

A few years after leaving her island home Motunui, meeting the demi-god Maui, and restoring balance to the ocean, young adventurer Moana has turned her attention towards another goal: Exploring near-by island systems in hopes of discovering other cultures and communities, out of a fear that her village is too isolated. When she finds a relic on such an island, it's proof to her that such a quest isn't fruitless. This is when Moana receives a vision from an ancestor. Centuries ago, storm god Nalo separated the different cultures by sinking the island Motufetu to the bottom of the sea. Moana assembles a team – mechanic Loto, artist Moni, and farmer Keke – as she sets out on this perilous new journey to Motufetu and raise it back to the surface, opening the cultures back up to each other. Along the way, she will encounter Maui again plus new faces that seek to help and hinder her.

Many of the Disney Animated Features have become generational classics because they tell fundamentally simple stories. This is why the company has so often returned to fairy tales, mythology, and classic literature for source material. The ideas communicated in these tales are universal and will resonate with anyone, despite contexts as far flung as medieval China or African pridelands. Simplicity, however, does not always lend itself to the kind of long-form storytelling and world-building that entertainment conglomerates like Disney are now obsessed with. The sequels that Disney is increasingly focused on these days – as well as films like "Wish," which attempt to establish some sort of shared universe between the classic films – have all suffered from the same problem: This feeling of desperation to build an expansive lore, not dissimilar to what "Star Wars" or Marvel already has, around characters meant to carry much more universal themes. Thus, Wreck-It Ralph is now connected to the entire internet, Elsa is now part of an elemental quartet of magical deities, and the wishing star from "Pinocchio" is at the center of a tapestry of connected back stories.

Being set in the world of Polynesian and Māori mythology, “Moana 2” ostensibly has a rich source of characters and stories to pull from. Which it sort of does. A period of time in Polynesian history known as the Long Pause, wherein no seafaring discoveries took place for two centuries, inspired the premise. The antagonistic storm god Nalo and his sidekick, flying fox goddess Matangi, are loosely inspired by figures from actual myths. However, the other concepts in the sequel appear to be the invention of Disney writers. And they are underwhelming. Far too much of “Moana 2's” plot hinges on magical visions with the spirits of ancestors, glowing vortexes that take our heroes to other dimensions, and magical plot devices with loosely defined rules. Coming shortly after “Wish's” plot full of similarly fantasy novel nonsense like this, it's hard to avoid the suspicion that Disney is using A.I. writing programs. Your story being a mishmash of plagiarized bullshit randomly spit out by a robot is not a feeling you want your big budget sequel to have. 

“Moana 2's” underwhelming story may be a result of it being originally intended as a streaming series. There are other signs that a story meant to be much longer was cut down to 100 minutes. Namely, the primary villain of Nola never actually appears on-screen throughout the film proper, existing only as an angry face within a giant storm. This leaves the sequel entirely without a proper antagonist, making the plot feel increasingly shapeless as it goes on. Other elements of the god's scheme, such as the reason he resents humanity so much, are never elaborated on. The climax depends on a sloppy deus ex machina, with many story elements being explained through bloated expositionary dialogue. A Marvel-style, mid-credit teaser – something else we'd expect to see leading into a second season – does more to expand on the villains than anything in the actual movie. It feels like connecting scenes and episodes, that would've filled out a streaming season, got left on the cutting room floor.

Another sign that “Moana 2” hastily cut together a set of scripts intended for serialized television into a feature film is the lack of development for tis new characters. Moana gets a whole host of sidekicks for this journey. She has a little sister, which stays back on the island. Moni is an enthusiastic Maui fanboy – leading to the first utterance of the word “fanfic” in a Disney cartoon – that mostly exists to provide comic relief. This is the same purpose Keke, the grumpy old farmer, brings. These are characters defined by single gimmicks and lacking actual personalities. Loto, the tomboy engineer that builds the raft, has more potential but there simply aren't enough scenes to truly expand on her. When the film already has enough characters, it introduces a speedy coconut friend. Matangi is introduced with a big musical number that contributes very little to the story, also not given any definition beyond her affinity for bats. A series would have provided a lot more screen time to develop this raft full of new characters, which a movie simply lacks.

That “Moana 2” loads its story down with so many new companions for its heroine is frustrating, as the first movie had entirely too many of those already. Any fans of Pua the pig or Heihei the chicken or little tattoo Maui or the anthromorphized ocean itself will be disappointed. All of them are reduced to a handful of scenes. Maui himself, despite the Rock's prominent placement in all the advertising, is only in about half the film. Part of what made the first movie work was watching the young heroine bounce off all these other characters. The chemistry between her and Maui, the vainglorious hero who learned a valuable lesson from his time with the girl, especially drove the first film. Maui is here to provide the muscle during the climatic action scenes, which inexplicably involve cutting lightning bolts in half. Having difficult finding anything else for him to do, the film throws in a pep talk between the demigod and the adventurer, a sweaty attempt to justify why this guy is in the story at all. When paired with repeating center jokes from the first movie and call-backs to previous events – such as those cocoanut guys showing up again - “Moana 2” increasingly feels like a sequel designed mostly to remind the viewer of what they liked about the first one.

Where does that leave Moana herself? Disney Princesses and pseudo-princesses like Moana – which is joked about here – are defined by a simple to understand purpose, usually laid out in their “I Want” Song. Moana got what she want in the first film, exploring past the reef and defining herself. In the sequel, she's given the goal of wanting to reach out to other cultures, while also juggling the responsibility of having far more to lose this time. That is the intended purpose of the little sister. (Aside from a new little girl Disney can sell baby dolls of, of course.) This weight of responsibility is never truly felt. With so many new characters to introduce and old elements to revisit, Moana's arc feels rushed through and half-finished. She is pushed around by the plot, not a protagonist that directs it.

While I've heard many reports that the animation in the sequel is a visible stepdown from the original, another consequence of being a Disney+ upgrade, I don't think “Moana 2” looks all that bad. The film does presents some decently engineered action sequences. A confrontation set inside an enormous clam, something that actually does have a basis in Oceania folklore, is one of sequel's highlights. While the finale is far too heavy on twirling storms and flashing lights, a chase involving the raft and a sail is well done. While “Moana 2” does a decent job on the spectacle side of things, it's seriously lacking in the chuckles. The sequel has a disappointing reliance on gross-out gags, attempting to draw laughs from characters being covered in slime, sneezed on, or even a fart joke. Such desperate comedy stylings does little to dissuade the notion that “Moana 2” exists more as an extensions of Disney's brand name than as a story that actually needs to be told.

You could have criticized the first “Moana” for being overly reliant on the Disney fairy tale formula. However, at least those songs were incredibly catchy and memorable. I have my own problems with Lin-Manuel Miranda's Broadway stylings, not yet having discovered what so many other people see in “Hamilton.” However, Miranda knows how to write an unforgettable hook and remembers that songs in a musical most always flesh out the characters or move the story forward. The new team of Abigail Barlow and Emily Bear do not give me the same impression. “Beyond” is the new ballad for Moana and it's okay. “Can I Get a Chee Hoo?” is Maui's new number, a clear attempt to repeat the success of “You're Welcome,” that never captures the same energy or catchy rhythm. “What Could be Better Than This?,” which helps establish Moana's new friends, has a similar stop-and-start fashion to it that keeps a clear melody from forming. “Get Lost,” Matangi's introductory song, is trying hard to be a break-out pop hit but is similarly forgettable. The sequel simply can't form many emotional melodies or a memorable lyrics, the songs mostly falling flat.

This is the sad case with much of “Moana 2.” The circumstances of its production, being a rush job conversion of a straight-to-streaming mini-series to a full-blown movie, are difficult to overlook. It lacks the songs, the jokes, and the memorable characters that made the first one good. While there's some decently executed animation or one or two clever idea, the sequel simply never comes to life in its own right. The unfortunate feeling, that Disney's animated features exist more to raise stock numbers and sell toys and theme park memberships, is getting increasingly difficult to dismiss. “Moana 2” has cleaned up at the box office, meaning Disney shareholders and executives got exactly what they wanted. I imagine that superfluous live action remake, which has even less of a reason to exist than this sequel, will pull in the dollars too. Will anyone remember them in a decade? Will their songs become standards sung by kids across the generations? It's hard to say but, in the case of “Moana 2,” I seriously doubt it. [Grade: C]