MOANA 2 Movie Review | Auli'i Cravalho | Dwayne Johnson | Disney Animation

Moana 2, which they just should have called Mo-Ana. Was that not a missed opportunity? Mo-Ana? I think so. Oh, yeah, but I think everybody would have thought Mo-Problems, you know. Moana Mo-Problems. She has Mo-Problems. They are bigger problems in Moana 2. So, this is a big sequel to the big, splashy, no pun intended, Disney animation extravaganza. A huge hit when it came out, gosh, 8 years ago. 2016, yeah. Yeah, we reviewed it on What The Flick 8 years ago. So, here we are with a sequel. Thanks for being here, and we'd love if you subscribe if you have not, because although we really love the, like, heavy-duty arthouse movies and awards contenders that come out this time of year, we'll always do a big animated film like this for you as well. We always want to hear your thoughts too, so come hang out with us. Alonzo, what happens in Moana 2? This is bigger than the ancestors. Bigger than us. The entire ocean is counting on us. So, the film opens with Moana exploring nearby islands, trying to find other people out there beyond just her own village of Motunoi. And, you know, it opens with a big song about how everything is great and everything is as it should be. And when that's your opening number, you know trouble is ahead. And indeed it is. It turns out that the reason that she can't find other people is because there was an island that was kind of the meeting point for all of the different communities that live by the ocean. And a vengeful god made it go away to keep people from connecting with each other and being powerful in that way. The ancestors tried to find it, but now the ancestors have said that Moana has got to be the one to go do it. So, off she goes again on another journey, this time beyond just the rooster and the pig. She brings with her some other members of the community, including a storyteller, a farmer who's along very begrudgingly, and a boat builder. And, of course, they cross paths with Maui, the demigod, voiced by Dwayne Johnson. Ali'i Cravaio returns as Moana. And it's kind of the same movie again. You know, in the first movie she had to go to a place and find a thing. And here she goes to a place and finds a thing. It's a bigger thing. A bigger thing. And the difference is that in the first movie it was sort of a journey of self-discovery, and she was learning to believe in herself and understand her abilities. And this time she is a fully actualized young woman going to a place and finding a thing. We also don't have Lin-Manuel Miranda back, and so the songs are kind of, eh? And I loved looking at this movie. It's gorgeous. The way they animate water, the colorful nature of the fabrics and everything, you know, in that whole sort of Pacific Islander milieu where the film is set is really gorgeous. A lot of great API actors are being hired to voice these roles. It's always nice when Disney can do a non-Eurocentric animated film, which we've been seeing more and more from them lately. But as sequels go, this kind of reminded me of, like, back in the early 90s when they would do, like, The Lion King 2 and release it on VHS, you know? This feels like that kind of sequel. No. This is better than that. Well, I mean, yeah. Qualitatively, sure. But in terms of, are we really expanding the world? Are we deepening this character? Not really. Like, Moana's great. Moana knows what she wants and is never selfish or cowardly or anything. Like, she's great. She's got it. She's got it. She's gonna do it. She's on it. And that doesn't give you a lot of dramatic room to play with as a leading character, you know? And so, yeah. This just all kind of felt sort of familiar by the numbers and beautiful, but familiar. Yeah, I enjoyed it a lot more than you did. I know a lot of people who are much younger than we are have very deep emotional ties to the first Moana. It's transformative. It's definitive of their youth. I don't have that. I remember liking, we liked the first Moana quite a bit. And I think this is almost as good except for the music. And the music is such a crucial element of what made that first one great. There is no single song here that matches, like, how profound or catchy or clever, you know, you're welcome or shiny or how far I'll go is the name of the song. I couldn't remember last night in our little reaction video. That's her big declarative song, which gets so stuck in your head. And it was nominated for an Academy Award. Nothing of the songwriting skill exists here. There's a song called Get Lost that a character sings to her that kind of changes the way she approaches this mission that she's on. This woman who is, like, also underwater. I don't want to describe it. Before we started recording today, we were like, who was she and why is she? Like, it's never really explained. But you do need to stick around for Shwarma. This movie does throw you a thing in the middle of the credits to let you know that there could well be a Moana 3. Not that that's a shocker to anyone, but they're setting up some more stuff. But in that song, though, I think is what makes Moana different this time. I know you're saying, like, she's great, but she's the same kind of great. That song called Get Lost forces her to reevaluate how she goes about this assignment. She has to sort of change her thinking. And there's a message in there that is really useful, I think, to kids and parents alike. Because it's about maybe not having the answers and maybe not taking, like, the linear, safe approach to things. And maybe you make mistakes and maybe you take a leap. And I think in a world where we as parents tend to, like, lawnmow for our kids to smooth it all out and prevent the problem solving that they're going to need for the rest of their lives. Like, Moana is taught you've got to solve this problem and maybe in inventive ways. So for that alone, this is valuable in a way that is different. It's the thing outside the box number. Yeah, no, totally. But I mean, I think it's so easy when you are, like, she's a total overachiever, right? She's always done things the right way and always pleased her parents and her village. And now she allows herself to, like, maybe get a little messy and maybe fail. And that's interesting. And that's an evolution of the character, I think. Aliyah Cravalho, as you said, is amazing. She brings such a groundedness and a relatability to a character who's supposed to be larger than life, who's supposed to be heroic and aspirational and all that. She's not waiting for anyone to come and save her. Not even Maui, you know? She's doing this and then Maui shows up eventually because, of course, he has to because he's Dwayne Johnson. She's not looking for a man to rescue her. She's not looking for a magic spell to change things. She's very self-reliant. I've always loved the fact that she's in a position of power and neither movie ever for a second is like, but you're a girl, you know? Like, it's just taken for granted that, no, you're the next chief and you are the wayfinder or the wayfinder, whatever. Like, she has these skills and abilities and her gender never plays into it. She's just real good at it and, you know, capable and smart and, you know, and so, yeah, that also is refreshing in the Disney world. But again, that was all in the first movie. Yep. It's just more so. She's a little bit older now. Yeah, exactly. So, you know, she's a great older sister now. You know, she has a kid sister now. I would have liked a little more, not necessarily world-building, but just sort of like take this character out a little further. Like, yes, we get to meet more people within her community that go with her on the journey and stuff, but, yeah, I don't know. I just, I think, like, Inside Out 2, for me, is, like, if Disney's going to be in the sequel business, which it looks like they are. We've got Zootopia 2 coming and I don't know what else. Like, they're really afraid of gambling on something like Luca or Turning Red, unfortunately. Then they need to maybe, like, figure out how those sequels are going to take us past what we've already seen and what we already know. And I thought that with Inside Out 2, they very organically, like, okay, this character's older. What else is she dealing with? What are these new feelings that are going to come in? And I don't think they quite cross that threshold with Moana 2, which is disappointing because I didn't love the first Moana, but I think I'll give Disney the benefit of the doubt of, like, because they are making a musical set in a part of the globe that they normally haven't, that they wanted everything else to be very sort of recognizable and safe and approachable for audiences, and that's fine. But to do it twice sort of feels like, well, lean in more to something else, you know? I think they do, though. You say, like, the world-building is not there, you say, but I think, like, in terms of her expanding how far she goes, how far she'll go, the creatures are weirder. Like, there's a weird vibe that happens about, like, two-thirds of the way through that is almost, like, spiritual, metaphysical in a way that is exciting and strange. And I think some of the creatures that she comes across are beautiful and bizarre. And, yes, we get more of the coconuts, the Mad Max coconuts, but, like, even they feel like there's a little bit more depth to them. The pig and the chicken are the pig and the chicken, and they're just there for comic relief, and they're reliable, they're always cute. But the look of it is wondrous. And, like, the skies, as you mentioned, the skies, the seas, the creatures, the giant clam, whatever happens inside the giant clam. It is a bivalve that becomes a part of the... Here's what I was thinking about, and I don't want to get into spoiler territory, such as it is, but I'll just say this. The quest itself is treated with much more... The film is much more interested in that than in the results of that quest, or the yield of that quest. Like, once she's done all the heavy lifting, that's then supposed to take us to this other thing, and then the movie's over. Like, they don't even touch on that at all. And maybe they're saving it all for three, I don't know. Maybe it's Moana three. But it feels like that could have been a way that they could have, you know, built onto this sort of established firmament that they already had going. Well, we'll find out when there is even Moana. And Dwayne Johnson's here, too, and he's doing the same shit. Right, yeah, for sure. And, like, the thing with the tattoo is always cute and reliable for comedy. Like, he's fine. He's doing, like, you know, he's fine. He's good at this. They have nice chemistry. And I liked... You know, the new characters did make me laugh. I liked the, like, super excited boat builder lady, and I liked the historian who turns out to be, like, a gushing Maui fanboy. Like, you know, they find some fun stuff with that. I'll give them that. And Ali'i's always awesome. I enjoy her. She gets to sing these songs, although they're not that great. She's great at them. Yes. What is your number on Moana 2? I'm giving it a six. Like, you know, I gave it a fresh tomato, but, like, the least fresh tomato I could. Because, you know, again, I did love looking at it, and I like this world. I just want to see more of it and see them do more with these characters. Yeah, I would say, like, a 7.4. If you're looking for a movie to go see with your family over the holiday, it is lively, it is beautiful, it's super enjoyable. You will have a good time.