Moana 2 Review: A good-enough Disney sequel

Arriving an astounding eight years after the original, I was rather excited to go see the sequel to Disney's smash-hit Moana. And, of course, its sequel was yet another smash hit. However, it was a decent bit more critically panned than the original... so how does it hold up to the original? While I was extremely positive on it right out of the theater, having had some time to marinate in its existence, I've got more than just generic "I enjoyed it!" mingling in my head. So, in this review, I, Brighton Nelson of The Reel Ranker, will be delving into Moana 2 in this review.

This film follows Moana as she ventures to the mysterious island of Montufetu in an attempt to reconnect the separated island communities affected by the god Nalo. While the premise was ambitious, the execution leaves a lot to be desired, as the story is very fragmented and lacks a tight focus. I believe this is to be attributed to the fact that this film was originally planned to be a Disney+ series, not at a theatrical release. One thing I love about the original Moana is it is able to take a simple premise and elevate it to whole new heights due to its execution. Here, we have a simple premise, but the plot's convolution makes it a lot more disappointing than exciting.

However, one thing that the sequel really excels in is expanding its character roster. While I love the journey we get with just Moana and Maui in the first film and how their close connection plays out, Moana 2 was able to expand this roster in a meaningful way. Moana's younger sister, Simea, creates an emotional anchor for Moana throughout the story. Her admiration for her older sister adds a great layer of vulnerability to Moana's character, showing her in a new light. Characters like Moni and Kele join the crew as well, and while they don't get a lot of development, their humorous commentary makes for a more well-rounded roster. This element is the main element I slightly prefer about Moana 2, the other being I found the score to be a little better as well (not the songs, but the film score itself). I specifically love the song that plays as they approach the storm later in the film; that's a great piece.

While Moana 2 has a weak plot and a practically non-existant villain, it still delivers Moana fun, with great music and fun scenes that eclipse many of mainline Disney's recent offerings.

The emotional elements here, while more messy, are decently comparable to the original, and the animation is just as great as it was before. The attention to detail in the water animations in this film continue to impress, and every shot in this film still looks great as always. Similar to the the story's downfalls and unlike the attention to detail to the animation, Moana 2 sadly struggles to do anything with its villain. While the first film's villain wasn't much, it was still better than this. I mean, this villain doesn't appear until the mid-credits scene. So ridiculous.

In terms of the non-score music in the film, Moana 2 is a decent step-down from the original, unfortunately. While Beyond and Get Lost are good compositions, they aren't all that memorable. However, I will say, "Can I Get A Chee-Hoo?" has since become one of my favorite Disney songs ever released, so there's still major highlights in this soundtrack. Composers Abigail Barlow and Emily Bear did a great job. After all, it's hard to fill the shoes of Lin Manuel Miranda. A step down from peak Disney songs doesn't equal bad music. In fact, it equals great music... I feel people over-exaggerated their disdain for this music just because they love the music in the original so much.

The Reel Ranker Verdict

Reel or Unreel? - Reel
The Reel Ranker Score: 64%
Letter Score: B
Star Ranking: 3 out of 5

While Moana 2 has a weak plot and a practically non-existant villain, it still delivers Moana fun, with great music and fun scenes that eclipse many of mainline Disney's recent offerings. The film reinforces why Moana is such a great film and builds upon that in an exciting way that proves that there's still enough fuel in the tank for many more Moana sequels to come.

Check out my other Disney & Pixar reviews below! I will continue to update this as I post more reviews or more films come out!

Inside Out Review: An emotionally resonant masterpiece

Inside Out is one of Pixar’s most popular and influential films, making waves due to its emotionally resonant storyline! In this review, I, Brighton Nelson of The Reel Ranker, present my take on this iconic film. Although I have a plethora of hot takes under my belt, I absolutely love

The Reel RankerBrighton Nelson

Inside Out 2 Review: A relatable rollercoaster of emotions

Following in the footsteps of its predecessor, we yet again follow Riley, but she’s more present in her story this time around, with her now being a teenager who is trying to fit in with the cool high school kids as a middle schooler. As she goes off to hockey

The Reel RankerBrighton Nelson

Zootopia 2 Review: A sizeable step-up

Warning: spoilers for Zootopia 2 ahead. Dang man, what the heck, as Kevin’s parents would say in Home Alone: “we did it again!” This movie wasn’t a complete mess, and was an actually worthy sequel! Anyway, Zootopia 2 arrived to bring us back into the world of Zootopia. I went

The Reel RankerBrighton Nelson

Or check out one of my Moana articles I did when I worked at Screen Rant!

Is Moana 2 Better Than Moana?

Does Moana 2 outshine the beloved original?

Screen RantBrighton Nelson

Enjoy this review? Stay tuned for more articles from The Reel Ranker! Enjoy video games? Check out our sister site, RPG Ranked!