When a studio such as Disney puts the time and effort into making an animated movie, it has to fail pretty spectacularly for there not to be a sequel. That is just simple economies of scale. In 2016, Moana was a huge success, artistically and financially, so they are probably frantically storyboarding Moana 4 at this moment, but it is Moana 2 that we have in front of us.
This has had lacklustre reviews but the question is not "is it as good as the first one?". Let’s face it, apart from Alien 2 have you ever seen a sequel as good as the original? Instead, what we want to know is, is it entertaining and will the kids enjoy it? Moana (Auli’i Cravalho) is still an engaging character and Maui (Dwayne Johnson) is still cheeky fun. The songs are nowhere near as catchy, which might be good news for those of us prone to ear worms, and the story is more of the same. But if you loved Moana, you will be basically happy.
Although this is packaged as a film, it actually started life as a television show for Disney Plus, which explains why the flow in the storytelling is a bit off. We have a heap of new characters, as Moana needs a crew, but they get introduced in a rushed way and add little to the story. Anyway, there is plenty of plot left from the discarded television series for Moana 3 and apparently they are working on a live action version, so strap in for lots more Moana.
Movie review by Christine Powley
