The plot: Moana journeys to the far seas of Oceania after receiving an unexpected call from her wayfinding ancestors.
I was looking forward to this sequel.
Moana 2 felt fine.
Pros: The animation is absolutely gorgeous and lovely like the first. Auli’i Cravalho and Dwayne Johnson are still good as the main leads. Two of the new side characters Moni and Loto were funny and entertaining. I like the humour a lot and it better not having no expectation for this sequel before seeing this one.
Cons: A other side characters didn’t land with me. They do Rushed a lot of plotlines. The main villain was underused. At times the plot points look like something out of a TV Show more than a movie and not as good as the first but way better than Joker 2.
Genre: Kids & Family, Comedy, Adventure, Animation
Directed by David Derrick Jr., Jason Hand, Dana Ledoux Miller
Produced by Christina Chen, Yvett Merino
Screenplay by Jared Bush, Dana Ledoux Miller
Story by Jared Bush, Dana Ledoux Miller, Bek Smith
Starring: Auliʻi Cravalho, Dwayne Johnson, Hualālai Chung, Rose Matafeo, David Fane, Awhimai Fraser, Khaleesi Lambert-Tsuda, Temuera Morrison, Nicole Scherzinger, Rachel House, Gerald Ramsey & Alan Tudyk.
Music by Mark Mancina, Opetaia Foaʻi
Edited by Michael Louis Hill, Jeremy Milton
Production companies: Walt Disney Animation Studios
Distributed by: Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures
The Casts:
- Auliʻi Cravalho as Moana, the curious daughter of village chief Tui and his wife Sina, who is chosen by the ocean to break the curse on the island of Motufetu
- Cravalho reprises her role in the film’s Hawaiian language dubbing.
- Dwayne Johnson as Maui, a strong-willed shapeshifting demigod who accompanies Moana on her journey.
- Hualālai Chung as Moni, a member of Moana’s wayfinding crew and a fan of Maui’s
- Rose Matafeo as Loto, a “brainy but quirky” member of Moana’s wayfinding crew
- David Fane as Kele, a “grumpy farmer” and member of Moana’s wayfinding crew
- Awhimai Fraser as Matangi, a mysterious threat to Moana and Maui.
- Fraser reprises her role in the film’s Māori-language dubbing.
- Khaleesi Lambert-Tsuda as Simea, Moana’s little sister
- Temuera Morrison as Tui, Moana’s father and chief of Motunui Island. Unlike the first film, where his singing voice was done by Christopher Jackson, Morrison does his own singing.
- Morrison reprises his role in the film’s Māori language dubbing.
- Nicole Scherzinger as Sina, Moana’s mother and Chieftess of Motunui
- Rachel House as Tala, Tui’s late mother and Moana’s paternal grandmother, who returns as a manta ray spirit
- House reprises her role in the film’s Māori-language dubbing.
- Gerald Ramsey as Tautai Vasa, Moana’s ancestor
- Alan Tudyk as Heihei, Moana’s pet rooster
Additionally, Johnson’s daughters Jasmine and Tiana provide voices for members of Moana’s fan club “MOANA-BE’s”. Tofiga Fepulea’i voices the god Nalo in the mid-credits scene, which also features the crab Tamatoa from the first film, reprised by Jemaine Clement.
I still recommend watching this sequel in cinemas.
Rating: 2.5 out of 5 Stars
Ryan Balkwill:
Resident film reviewer,
Level Best Art Cafe