The temptation is great, as great for audiences as it is for the filmmakers. Moana (2016) was such a brilliant film, featuring a strong, heroic girl, a rich aesthetic and cultural setting, and the musical talents of Lin Manuel Miranda. Who wouldn’t want more Moana? Ever hopeful and optimistic, despite a lifetime of disappointing sequels, I couldn’t resist seeing Moana 2, and I expect that is true for many people who will be rushing to the cinema this weekend. Will they be disappointed? Yes, and no. Moana 2 is a visually appealing, entertaining, adventure, yet never goes beyond.
Moana (2016) was exciting because Moana was a fascinating character within an intriguing cultural predicament. Called by her love of the ocean, growing up in an island community that never sailed beyond the reef, she found the courage to explore and by venturing out, helped her people. Moana stood out as a strong, female character in the kind of heroic, adventurous, narrative that typically features male protagonists. In contrast, Moana 2 is more of an action movie than a character-driven narrative, yet doesn’t rise to the level of suspenseful, spectacular action.
Moana 2 opens on a promising note, in a scene that demonstrates Moana’s speed and strength as she explores an island in her search for other ocean-dwelling people. It’s a crucial quest that continues the premise of the previous film. Yet when she returns to the island, Moana is lauded and revered by her community – and the celebration is fun, with a lively dance scene – which makes sense, given that she rescued them and showed them a new way of life, one that connects to their ancestral heritage. But in terms of narrative there’s a problem with beginning at such a high point for the protagonist, unless of course one intends to then let her have new experiences that challenge her and reveal more of her character, let her grow as a person, and discover new aspects of herself, weaknesses as well as strengths. In other words – give the audience some suspense. Please. To be fair, there is some suspense towards the end of the film, but everything leading up to those final moments feels too easy.
There is an underlying message in the film, a beautiful one about the importance of people connecting, yet it is not really developed, but rather treated more like a task in a video game to be achieved. Called by her ancestor in a vision, Moana sets out to find the lost island of Motufetu, which had once connected the different communities of people. Yes, that’s hazy too. How did the island connect people? Was it a meeting place? A touch of context and back story would have enriched the narrative. For this journey, which will take Moana farther than she has been before and will be more dangerous, she assembles a crew, and new characters are introduced, yet they are not developed. Each character seems to have a single-sentence logline, that defines their presence in every scene. I felt that Loto (Rose Matafeo), especially, was a missed opportunity. An innovator and boat builder she is written as merely wacky and inept (until that crucial scene), becoming, at best, a weak joke, rather than a potentially interesting new character. Matangi (Awhimai Fraser) is an alluring character, and if this series continues, may contribute more.
In general, I felt that there was too much action that didn’t really connect to character or narrative, too much slime, too much neon glow (the scene depicted above, with the whale is magical, but the glow was overdone in several other scenes), and not enough character development. But that’s me. Some people really like slime. The absence of Lin Manuel Miranda was almost physically painful for me when listening to the songs, except for those songs that reflect Polynesian culture, such as Finding the Way by Olivia Foa’i.
Yet although Moana 2 is nowhere near the epic proportions of Moana, I would still warmly recommend it as an entertaining action film for children, because of its strong female protagonist, and its message that emphasis the importance of connection to others – family, friends, crew members, and those friends we have yet to meet.
Moana 2
Directors: David G. Derrick Jr., Jason Hand, Dana Ledoux Miller; Screenplay: Jared Bush, Dana Ledoux Miller; Music: Abigail Barlow, Emily Bear, Mark Mancina, Opetaia Foa’I; Cast: (voice) Auli’l Cravalho, Dwayne Johnson, Temuera Morrison, Nicole Scherzinger, Rose Matafeo, Hualālai Chung, David Fane, Rachel House, Alan Tudyk, Khaleesi Lambert-Tsuda
