Moana 2 needed better songs (which may be good news for parents)

Disney sequel may have conquered the box office, but it still feels like a cut-together version of the TV series it was intended to be

Moana 2 would have made for a very nice television series – as it was originally meant to be. But as a reskinned theatrical sequel to one of Disney Animation’s biggest hits, it’s a little harder to justify. Certainly it looks good, shaded like a pearlescent shell, all shimmering hues of pink, blue, orange, and purple. It’s bright enough to draw in, like a moth to a candle, anyone who’s been craving some release from the mottled grey landscape of contemporary Hollywood.

Moana herself, Auliʻi Cravalho, has a voice that’s only grown stronger and more melodious in the eight years that have passed since the original’s release. She’s exactly the heroine you want every kid to look up to: self-empowered but tender-hearted, adventurous and righteous. And, here, having spent the previous film discovering her capability to lead, she’s allowed to follow through with the job. She inhabits a world of Polynesian myth that feels rich and deep-rooted, not a culture merely slapped on as costume, and benefiting from Polynesian talent across its voice cast and behind the scenes (Samoan-born composer Opetaia Foaʻi returns to collaborate with Mark Mancina on the film’s score).

Now a “wayfinder”, having embraced her people’s buried tradition of ocean exploration, Moana seeks to unite the scattered islands. With her demigod companion Maui (Dwayne Johnson) currently MIA, she seeks out a new crew: Maui fanboy Moni (Huālalai Chung), handywoman Loto (Rose Matafeo), and aquaphobic farmer Kele (David Fane).

But when her journey involves yet another magical, dangerous island under the will of a tempestuous god (this time, Tofiga Fepulea’i’s Nalo), there’s not much its writers Jared Bush, Dana Ledoux Miller and Bek Smith can do to spruce up the narrative. And while a television series can let you settle into the familiar like a well-worn spot on the couch – how else have sitcoms been able to thrive? – there’s little here to push Moana, as her big song promises, “Beyond” what we’ve seen before.

On that note, composers Abigail Barlow and Emily Bear, fresh from TikTok and their viral, unsanctioned Bridgerton musical, have a real knack for impassioned, musical outbursts. But their contributions here lack the necessary hook of a Disney hit like the first film’s “You’re Welcome”, composed by Hamilton’s Lin-Manuel Miranda. It’ll be bad news for kids, and good news for parents, that there’s not much here to sing endlessly on repeat. Maybe they would have benefited from the breathing room that only episodic television could provide. Likewise Awhimai Fraser’s intriguing, sexy bat goddess Matangi, who we say goodbye to almost immediately after we’ve bid hello.

Lost at sea: Auliʻi Cravalho voices the titular seafarer in ‘Moana 2’ (Disney)

Similarly, the return of the sentient coconut warriors the Kakamora, and Johnson’s peppy, vain-as-ever Maui, could have worked as welcome callbacks if they weren’t all crowded together so closely. Moana 2 may have enjoyed a record-breaking start in cinemas (it’s the biggest-ever opening for a Disney animated film), but what happens when those families return from their cinema trips only to realise that, well, Moana already exists at home and did the same job already?

Dir: David Derrick Jr, Jason Hand, Dana Ledoux Miller. Starring: Auliʻi Cravalho, Dwayne Johnson, Hualālai Chung, Rose Matafeo, David Fane, Awhimai Fraser. Cert PG, 100 mins.

‘Moana 2’ is in cinemas