Disney looks to be staging a take-over at the Christmas box office. After the critical and box office disappointment that was last year’s Wish – remember it? — it's putting some real weight behind two family movies for the holiday season. Given the current climate, it's no surprise that one is a sequel and the other a prequel, but their names alone could be more than enough to put bums on seats over the next couple of months. We have to wait a little longer for Mufasa: The Lion King, Barry Jenkins' live-action re-working of the studio's much-loved classic, but first comes Moana 2, taking us back to the Polynesian sunshine just as the winter sets in.
The original Moana from 2016 doesn't quite make it into the higher echelons of Disney animations but, with a global box office of $687 million, it ranks ahead of perennial favorites like Wall-E, Ratatouille and The Incredibles. Set in Oceania, a group of Polynesian islands, the first film featured the princess of the title setting out to save her home from destruction. Now she's back, once again voiced by Auli'I Cravalho, answering the call of her ancestors to reunite the other islands in her father's kingdom. It means calling on her right-hand man/demi-god from her first adventure, Maui (the voice of Dwayne Johnson), and setting sail into uncharted waters in search of the secret that will bring them all together.
It's eight years since Moana's first outing and this follow-up has been four years in the making. For many, this undeniably crowd-pleasing piece of entertainment will be welcomed with open arms, with its role-model princess, animated spectacle and warm humor. Scratch that gloss, however, and you’ll find a film that isn't so much of a follow-up as an attempt at a carbon copy. With many characters returning, a storyline that essentially mimics the first and little in the way of true invention, its familiarity is a mix of the comforting and faintly disappointing. That doesn't make it a bad film per se, but it raises some questions — perhaps the biggest of which surrounds the need for the live-action version of the story, currently scheduled for 2026.
The echoes of the first film ring loud and clear, particularly in the first half hour where “How Far I'll Go” and variations on that phrase are repeated like a mantra. But, while it fades away, it's replaced by a sequel chant with repeated references to "going beyond", reflecting the movie's aspiration to equal the previous one but its inability to develop on it. And while demi-god Maui was previously the bringer of mischief and cheeky tattoos, this time he’s a toned-down version of himself, only coming into his own in the final half hour. At one point, Moana asks him “Why are you here?” and the audience will be wondering the same. Up until then, it’s been very much her story and her courage and resilience have carried it along: the reason Maui is there is to pick up the action when it starts to flag and drive it along to the conclusion. He's not quite the demi-god he used to be.
It points to a general problem with the storyline as a whole. The basic idea stands up on its own, but developed into a more detailed plot, it gets waterlogged. We know where it's heading, but it loses its way getting there, even though the set pieces are eye-catching and full of action. So it falls to a combination of familiar Disney tropes and one sparkling new idea to help Moana and her crew stay on course. She is, of course, still followed around by the mandatory Disney pet. You know the one, it's either cute and funny or downright irritating and, in this case, it’s the bug-eyed hen Hei-Hei, who has even less to do than in the previous film. Pua the pig returns as well but, yet again, the unfortunate porker has to play second fiddle to the hen. On the plus side, they’re on the receiving end of perhaps the best gag in the film –courtesy of Maui, of course.
The new idea, however, is a banger. The Kakamora provide some great laugh-out-loud moments to the extent that it feels like the hoards of little coconut-masked creatures have stolen Maui’s naughtiness. They’re classic Disney, but they’re also the funniest and most inspired things in the entire film.
Yes, for all its cosy familiarity and shaky plot, Moana 2 is still a crowd-pleaser that will keep the entire family entertained for an hour and 40 minutes. There's action, humour and colour, all served with a generous helping of Polynesian culture. Despite its efforts, it doesn’t live up to the original, even though there are times when it comes close. As a whole, it's an entertaining echo.
Moana 2 is released in US cinemas on 27 November and in the UK on 29 November.
