Moana 2 is a movie full of culture and vibrant ancestral history. It follows Moana’s adventure of restoring the connection between the other islands and the islanders. The movie differed in the animation style, the music, and showcasing of Pacific islanders’ folklore.
This movie takes place three years after the first Moana, which was originally going to be a TV show. The movie felt incomplete and had a lot of new information that would be better suited for a series adaptation. For example, her new baby sister and her new friends. This movie follows a very similar storyline to the first Moana. She sets out to sea, faces danger, has doubts, gets encouragement from her ancestors, and saves her island and others. We are introduced to three new main characters who help Moana with her journey: Moni, Loto, and Kele, and on their journey, they bring Hei Hei and Pua. They set out to sea to find a God named Nalo, inspired by The Polynesian God of storms and weather, Tawhirimatea. Nalo imprisons a God of the underworld named Matangi, who seems to be a villain when we first meet her, but she ends up helping Moana on her journey and encourages her to stop Nalo.
In my opinion, Moana 2 is such a well-animated movie. The colors are vibrant and lively, and the movie is visually appealing overall. One thing I noticed is that Moana looked slightly different from the first movie. She has aged since and looks more mature. Moana’s hair is darker, fuller, and has a subtle side part.
The music for this movie had a different vibe than the first one. The vibes from the original Moana gave a sentimental feeling rather than the sequel, where the music sounds theater-written. The reason is the different song composers that made the music for Moana 2. Mark Mancina, Opetaia Foa’in, and a prominent composer who writes memorable songs, Lin-Manuel Miranda, previously wrote Moana 1. The new songs were composed without Lin-Manuel Miranda and co-produced with Abigail Barlow and Emily Bear. The songs from the first Moana were very memorable, and you would listen to the type of Disney songs just because you liked them. The Moana 2 songs weren’t bad, but there could have been more. The songs could have had different meanings, but I think they had the same base as the first Moana songs.
Moana 2 was a good movie, but not as good as the first one. Many people have negative critiques about this movie, but let’s not forget the showcased culture and diversity of new islander tribes that you may not have known about, along with beautiful animation.
