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Walking into the theater to see Moana 2, let’s just say I wasn’t expecting much. I heard about scrapped plans to make it into a TV show, and after watching it, it would’ve been better that way. It had the same vibe as those direct-to-DVD movies some people may remember from the early 2000’s.
The Little I Liked
Let’s start with the one thing I liked about the movie: the animation. Disney, as always, made the most beautifully textured 3D animated movie I’ve seen in a while. When I watched the original film as a child, the beauty of the animation—especially the way the hair and water in the movie look and flow—was part of what drove me to pursue a degree in animation. I looked at that movie and wanted to make something just as beautiful. In the sequel, they ramped up the animation significantly to reflect the innovations that the industry has made since then. Once again, I was captivated by the character design, the overall look of the movie, and the energy and fluidity of both the characters and the environment. The water was the prettiest thing in the movie and I do love the way both movies characterize the ocean.
Soundtrack
The soundtrack was OK compared to the first movie. However, Lin-Manuel Miranda told People Magazine, “There was never an opportunity to be on Moana 2,” and the soundtrack suffered because of this. It felt like the composers were just trying to copy his style, and I didn’t appreciate it. If Disney is going to ditch one of the best composers of this time, they should at least put a new spin on the soundtrack for the film.
Too Many Bad Characters
Matangi (Awhimai Fraser) was probably my favorite new character introduced. Her fluid, yet jumpy movement added to her weird, and fun characterization. The song “Get Lost” was quite catchy and I found myself humming it on the drive home from the theater. However, for the rest of the movie Matangi’s plotline felt just as lost as she wanted Moana (Auli'i Cravalho) to be. I resonated with her verse about being “stuck like static” and having to rely on Moana for help to get out of the giant clam, but she doesn’t make an appearance after this scene.
I think I would’ve liked the characters they introduced a little more, especially Loto (Rose Matafeo) who reminds me a lot of myself if those characters had more time to be fleshed out. Yet another problem with this movie that would’ve been easily solved if the movie was a TV show. I can see the pipeline of finding the group and spending one episode with each character. Their motivations are amazing and an episodic TV show would be a classic way to progress the story while spending enough time with the characters. I would've been more emotionally invested. I needed more depth from the characters they did have, not new characters clearly designed to sell toys. Take Maui (Dwayne Johnson) for example. We could’ve had a whole movie exploring Maui’s backstory, motivations, and depth as a character. Even a similar plot, told from Maui’s perspective would’ve been way more enriching and captivating, which brings me to the writing in the movie.
Rushed Writing and Bad Plot
I have so many problems with the writing of this movie, but overall it felt stale, rushed, and formulaic. If I asked AI to write a sequel, it’d probably write a better one. I was expecting that because it’s just an example of Disney’s writing in general in the last five years. I don’t think I’m alone in saying I’ve felt disappointed in most of the recent Disney releases.
Disney has lost the magic for a lot of people recently, me included. All the live-action remakes and sequels feel like nothing more than a cash grab, and it’s lost the magic that I once found in these movies and shows. Even Wish felt like a formulaic cash grab.
Disney was founded on revolutionizing an industry, taking risks, and creating magic. In contrast, recently they have been settling for cash grab sequels and live-action remakes. It’s disheartening to watch and I hope to see that trend disappear in the coming years, not that I am confident it will.
Sources: IMDb, Variety, Disney, IMDb, People, IMDb, Spotify, IMDb, IMDb, IMDb, IMDb
Photos: Disney, Disney, Disney
Contact Ashton Weir with comments at mooseweir@gmail.com or on Instagram @ash.art_0303
