I was wrong about Moana 2 – the Disney sequel 8 years in the making

Maui, voiced by Dwayne Johnson, left, and Moana, voiced by Auli'i Cravalho, standing together in front of his boat on the shore in Moana 2 — Moana 2 arrives in theaters eight years after the first film (Photo: Disney)

Disney is about to release its highly anticipated sequel, Moana 2and I have to admit that I was wrong.

In today’s film landscape, the studio has been busy with what often seems like an all-encompassing schedule of live-action remakes and sequels – Inside Out 2, The Little Mermaid, Disenchanted, Hocus Pocus 2 and Pinocchio in the last two years alone. .

There was a major box office successthe others debuting to mixed and then not-so-positive reviews and audience reactions.

With that in mind, I wasn’t very excited about Moana 2, even though knowing how dear he is to Disney fans – second only to Frozen, and it’s a very tight project – I was hoping it would live up to their expectations.

It had also taken a slightly confusing detour during its development period, where it was initially planned as a Disney Plus streaming series. There’s also the rather confusing question of a live-action remake of the first Moana film currently filming and aiming for a 2026 release.

However, my doubts were silenced.

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This image released by Disney shows the characters Moana, voiced by Auli'i Cravalho, holding Simea, voiced by Khaleesi Lambert-Tsuda, in a scene from "Moana 2." (Disney via AP) — This time, Moana is now a big sister – and a “living legend” within her community (Photo: Disney)

Continuing the journey of Moana (Auli’I Cravalho) eight years after the first film, the heroine is now a big sister and continues her journey as a traveler – this time, her ancestors entrust her with the task of breaking the curse of the god Nalo on the hidden island of Motufetu.

And of course, she teams up again with Maui, everyone’s favorite demigod (Dwayne Johnson).

It may sound quite similar to the quest from the first film – which involved another island and another goddess – but original screenwriter Jard Bush teamed up well with co-director Dana Ledoux Miller to deliver a story that brings back everything you want to see return, but without it lazily relying on these tropes.

That means more beautifully animated ocean, more sassy tattoos of Maui trying to guide him to do the right thing (and relegating himself to his armpit for the trouble), plus a – frankly – delightfully extended return for the dreaded coconut. -like the Kakamora pirates.

Undated Moana 2 movie. Pictured: Heihei the Rooster (voiced by Alan Tudyk), Maui (Dwayne Johnson), and Pua the Pig. See SHOWBIZ movie reviews of the PA feature film. DISCLAIMER: This image should only be used to accompany PA Feature SHOWBIZ movie reviews. Photo PA. Photo credit should read: Disney. All rights reserved. NOTE TO EDITORS: This image should only be used to accompany PA Feature SHOWBIZ movie reviews. — Dwayne Johnson is of course back in the role of Maui (as are the Moana sidekicks) (Photo: Disney)

Undated Moana 2 movie. Pictured: Moana (voiced by Auli?i Cravalho). See SHOWBIZ movie reviews of the PA feature film. DISCLAIMER: This image should only be used to accompany PA Feature SHOWBIZ movie reviews. Photo PA. Photo credit should read: Disney. All rights reserved. NOTE TO EDITORS: This image should only be used to accompany PA Feature SHOWBIZ movie reviews. — The film breaks new ground while still recalling the elements that made Moana so beloved in the first place (Photo: Disney)

The fact that Miller is a first-time feature director alongside David Derrick Jr and Jason Hand makes Moana 2’s deft touch even more impressive.

First of all, Moana 2 is an absolutely visually stunning film. It’s beautiful and ultra realistic in the way it animates everything from the strands of hair to the water. He also has a lot of fun getting creative with his range of often slimy and imaginative sea creatures, as well as the blobfish enjoying its moment in the sun.

The new songs – written once again by Mark Mancina and Opetaia Foa’i, but with British musical duo Abigial Barlow and Emily Bear replacing Lin-Manuel Miranda – have plenty to live up to, given the band’s prowess original from Moana. While they may not be destined to become the Disney standards of You’re Welcome and How Far I’ll Go, the record was followed through to the end. Beyond will definitely be the smash hit.

Undated Moana 2 movie. Pictured: Kele (voiced by David Fane), Moni (Hualalai Chung), Heihei the Rooster (Alan Tudyk), Pua the Pig, Loto (Rose Matafeo), Maui (Dwayne Johnson), Moana (Auli ?i Cravalho) and grandmother Tala as a manta ray (Rachel House). See SHOWBIZ movie reviews of the PA feature film. DISCLAIMER: This image should only be used to accompany PA Feature SHOWBIZ movie reviews. Photo PA. Photo credit should read: Disney. All rights reserved. NOTE TO EDITORS: This image should only be used to accompany PA Feature SHOWBIZ movie reviews. — Moana 2 is absolutely visually stunning, with Disney outdoing itself in terms of animation (Photo: Disney)

Moana 2 handles humor very well, allowing for plenty of zingers to Maui, the easy and windy town of Johnsonincluding a knowing exchange where he tells his young friend to “go get them, princess” – when she corrects him by saying she’s not one, his response to Disney princess fans in the audience is, “Well, a lot of people think you are. »

There’s also a team of good supporting characters assembled for Moana’s new quest, from a wise inventor with a good dose of realism (“failure, learning then death”), voiced by Rose Matafeo, as well as Kele the grumpy farmer and Moni. , an enthusiastic young man whose hero worships Maui.

This image released by Disney shows the character Moana, voiced by Auli'i Cravalho, center, in a scene from "Moana 2." (Disney via AP) — Fans are introduced to a fun new group of supporting characters who can cope (Photo: Disney)

While at first it may seem like all these new characters are going to overwhelm us, the film’s narrative sets up well to support them.

The film also features a mysterious, morally gray villain in the form of Matangi (Awhimai Fraser), who is gifted with a good villain song but left me wanting more. This also seems to be the suggestion of the film’s finale – be sure to stick around until the end credits for some surprises – and I’m not opposed to that.

Moana 2 hits theaters on Friday, November 29.

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