The “Moana 2” (2024) release seems to have snuck up on Disney fans, but the film came out with a bang. With its colorful animation and Samoan cultural references, the film is sure to continue bringing in audiences.
“Moana 2” is a follow-up to “Moana” (2016) and follows Moana (Auli'i Cravalho) as she travels to find other people who live on the ocean. The movie focuses on reconnecting the channels at the island Montufetū and reuniting the people.
Moana assembles a crew to help her on her journey, including Loto (Rose Matafeo), Kele (David Fane), Moni (Hualālai Chung) and eventually Maui (Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson). Heihei and Pua, Moana’s beloved animal friends, also come along on the journey.
In its opening weekend, the film made a whopping $389 million, making “Moana 2” the highest-grossing opening weekend of any animated movie. Needless to say, the film was very well-received by audiences around the world.
Throughout the movie, there is a significant amount of references to Samoan culture. One of these references comes in the beginning scenes of the movie, as Moana climbs to the top of a mountain to blow into a conch shell like it were a trumpet, which is called a pū. Often, the action symbolizes the arrival of canoes or communication across the water.
The film also shows a traditional Samoan ceremony called an Ava Ceremony. The ceremony is significant in many Pacific Islander cultures, and the ceremony itself represents a “symbol of community, unity, and spiritual connection.”
Another important part of traditional Samoan culture seen in the movie is the fabric Moni paints on throughout the film. In Samoan culture, the fabric is called siapo and is considered a treasure. It is seen throughout the movie as Moni depicts images of him and Maui and describes them as “fanfics.”
The cultural references intentionally placed throughout the movie made for an educational and interesting watch. Audiences are able to learn something new while also enjoying a great movie.
Cravalho’s performance as Moana is powerful, and she portrays Moana as a strong leader and wayfinder within her community. It is important for young children to have a role model such as an empowering female lead in Moana.
The relationship between Moana and her little sister, Simea (Khaleesi Lambert-Tsuda), is one sure to pull at the audience’s heartstrings. The addition of Simea adds an added layer of urgency and danger to Moana’s journey. Moana worries about the upcoming adventure because she knows she has a little sister at home waiting for her.
Johnson once again shows up as Maui. One could say there is no one better to play the energetic and sarcastic demigod. However, Maui’s lead song “Can I Get a Chee Hoo?” dims in comparison to his song from the first movie, “You’re Welcome.”
The lackluster songs are a common theme throughout the film. Two new songwriters, Abigail Barlow and Emily Bear, were brought to the “Moana 2” team. Both are famous for writing a Grammy-winning concept album “The Unofficial Bridgerton Musical,” which received a lot of backlash for not getting the proper permissions to create the album.
The “Moana 2” soundtrack does not compare to the first movie. At times, it feels Barlow and Bear attempted to replicate Lin Manuel-Miranda’s writing from the first movie, with hip-hop-style bridges and rhyming lyrics. However, the soundtrack does not create the same whimsy as that of the first movie.
“Beyond,” Moana’s “I Want” song in the second film, is a catchy hit and sure to get young children asking for replays of the song until parents grow tired of it. The song sounds almost too similar in theme to “How Far I’ll Go” from the first film. Both songs discuss wanting to discover more, and it makes one wonder, “Could they have thought of another theme?”
Overall, the film team created an engaging storyline, and the film is sure to captivate audiences. “Moana 2” leaves audiences with some unanswered questions regarding Nalo and Matangi, two gods discussed in the film. The unanswered questions set up the franchise for a possible third movie or spin-off.
Rating: 3.5/5
