“Moana 2” Joyfully Inspires

Moana 2 (David G. Derrick Jr./Jason Hand/Dana Ledoux Miller, 2024) 4 out of 5 stars

The first Moana came out in 2016, offering a delightful mix of traditional Disney tropes and updated cultural mores. The music wasn’t bad, either. Now comes its sequel, and while the new melodies don’t quite pop in the same way (though the directors repeat the original finale in a nice bit of nostalgia), the overall story is as magical as was its predecessor’s. And equally as beautiful, courtesy of some very impressive animation.

The cast of the original return, foremost among them Auli’i Cravalho in the title role and Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson as the demigod Maui. There are also new additions, including Awhimai Fraser as a new villain (or is she?), the bat goddess Matangi. Everyone’s energy is high, and the positive vibes are infectious.

As you may recall, the last film ended with Moana, daughter of her island’s chief, returning from saving ancient Polynesia and convincing her people to return to the ocean as navigators. Taught by Maui to be a wayfinder, she is now traveling from her home on Motunui to nearby islands in search of other populations to befriend. When we meet her here, in the company of the surprisingly resilient rooster Hei Hei and the adorable pig Pua, she finally discovers a human-made artifact with a drawing that may offer a clue to the whereabouts of her fellow Polynesians.

At the same time, Maui—off on an adventure of his own—runs afoul of Matangi and is taken prisoner, leading to quasi-dangerous, but very comical, shenanigans. While he is laid up, Moana has a vision, courtesy of her ancestors (as she did in the previous movie) and discovers that the god Nalo, who controls the weather, does not want her to travel to the long-lost island of Motufetu (depicted on the artifact she found), as he is made stronger by humanity’s lack of connection. Nevertheless, with the blessing of the ocean and her dead grandmother’s spirit, she decides to set out for Motufetu, anyway.

But not alone this time. Convinced by her parents that she needs assistance, she gathers a crew that includes the aforementioned animals and three others: Loto (Rose Matafeo, Baby Done), an intrepid young inventor of sorts; Moni (Hualalai Chung), an artist who fanboys all over Maui; and Kele (David Fane, Next Goal Wins), a curmudgeonly older farmer to help them with food. One person she doesn’t invite along is her baby sister, Simea (Khaleesi Lambert-Tsuda), who though decidedly cute is better left on Motunui.

Fate will bring this intrepid bunch in contact with Maui, for sure, but not before they have a run-in with everybody’s favorite army of tiny coconut-clad warriors, the Kakamora. There are many other adversaries to face, and considerably more risks. It’s a Disney film, so the outcome is preordained, but there are nevertheless some enjoyable narrative surprises. As did Moana, the second movie offers a powerful young woman in the lead, an important inspiration for these increasingly reactionary and misogynistic times. With enormous reserves of humor and good will, Moana 2 is a wonderful antidote to that which ails us, and a great holiday flick.

Christopher Llewellyn Reed

Christopher Llewellyn Reed is a film critic, filmmaker, and educator, as well as Film Festival Today's Editor. A member of both the Online Film Critics Society (OFCS) and the Washington DC Area Film Critics Association (WAFCA), and a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic, Chris is, in addition, lead film critic at Hammer to Nail and the author of Film Editing: Theory and Practice.