Moana 2 was much anticipated for anyone between the ages of five and ten in 2016. Its predecessor was hugely successful, nominated for Best Animated Feature and Best Music Written for a Motion Picture at the Academy Awards. Disney had a bad track record with its representation of native cultures, (cough cough Pocahontas) so seeing a movie that took so much care with the representation of Polynesian culture was hugely significant. Unlike past projects, Moana had many Polynesian consultants making changes to ensure authenticity.
I saw Moana 2 the second day it was out. I have a long history with the first one, making me excited and nervous to see the sequel. To this day I can still sing the entire soundtrack, front to back. With Lin Manuel Miranda writing most of them, it’s no surprise that they were permanently ingrained in every kid’s and parents’ brains. They are, as some would say, hood classics.
When I found out that he wasn’t involved in the new project I instantly knew the songs wouldn’t be as catchy or frankly, as good. I was right. Coming out of the theatre I couldn’t remember a single lyric or melody.
Aside from the forgettable music, it was just a movie. Imagine the original, now take away the awesome songs, add in some characters that don’t do anything, and make the villain less complex and that’s pretty much the sequel. It had some interesting visuals, but nothing outstanding. However, I do have to mention that this installment had an odd amount of squirt. It felt like every 5 seconds some creature was oozing goo or squirting some sort of slime…very Nickelodeon, which is strange coming from Disney. Sure it was a Moana movie, but it lacked all the elements that made the original so great. It was missing the guiding light of her Gramma Tala, someone whose death was a huge push for Moana’s character development.
Metacritic, a rating-average blog, shows us that Moana 2 has not been well received…gaining only a 58 out of 100. Telling us that nobody really loved it. However, I would recommend this movie to anyone who is still below the age of 10 or if you want to see a worse version of the first movie. That’s all, eff Moana 2.
