Director: Thomas Kail
Writers: Jared Bush, Dana Ledoux Miller
Cast: Auli’i Cravalho, Dwayne Johnson, Hualālai Chung, Rose Matafeo, David Fane, Awhimai Fraser, Temuera Morrison, Nicole Scherzinger, Khaleesi Lambert-Tsuda, Rachel House, Alan Tudyk

Moana made quite a stir back in 2016. Disney’s first fully Polynesian story led with a strong female character and became a light for diversity in worldwide storytelling (storytelling that wasn’t whitewashed, anyway). Not to mention, the very memorable Lin Manuel-Miranda-penned songs that proved highly popular. There was never a doubt that Moana, along with Maui, would return in some way, and now, eight years later, we finally have a long-awaited sequel. Does Moana’s second outing live up to the legacy left by her first adventure, or is this just another sequel for sequel’s sake?

Three years on from Moana’s (Cravalho) quest to restore the heart of Te Fiti, she is a fully-fledged wayfinder, tasking herself to find other islands and inhabitants away from her home island of Motunui. She soon finds out that a millennia ago, all the islands were connected by one named Motufetu, but it was sunk by a storm god named Nalo (Tofiga Fepulea’i). Moana is now tasked with finding the island, but she can’t do it alone. She takes along Moni (Chung), the island’s storykeeper and a fan of Maui (Johnson), Loto (Matafeo), the builder of Moana’s canoe, and Kele (Fane), a grumpy gardener who will keep them fed on their journey. They must also find Maui to help them raise the island, however, he is having his own issues with Nalo’s lackey, Matangi (Fraser).

The premise of this film is not only a strong one, but leads on naturally from the first film, both of which are unusual for a sequel. Moana’s quest to connect her people with others is, on the surface, very wholesome, but on a deeper level, it says a lot about how different cultures have approached exploration in the past. Without any spoilers, Moana’s need to find others doesn’t come from a place of power or a need to push her own culture on to others, but instead to know that they are not alone in the ocean, and neither are other islanders. She wants to bring people together, and it’s such a beautiful, oft-forgotten thing in a world currently going through a reckoning from the consequences of colonisation. Moana spent the first film restoring her own island, and now she’s doing the same for others. Her selflessness, her commitment and her weaker moments are a testament to the stories of cultures that are often pushed to the bottom of the story barrel, so this film has an incredibly important message at its heart.

The aesthetics of the film are striking, much like the first film, and the use of neon colours at times is sure to be attractive to younger audiences. The songs are decent, and the new characters are fun additions. However, it doesn’t quite measure up to the first film. Manuel-Miranda took a step back in composing the songs, and Abigail Barlow and Emily Bear took over. While having a female duo compose the songs for a female-led film is admirable, the songs don’t have quite the same strong hooks as Manuel-Miranda’s songs. The lyrics are certainly commendable, but while songs like Beyond, a somewhat sister-song to How Far I’ll Go, and Can I Get A Chee Hoo? are fun and uplifting, they’re not as catchy and likely won’t have the same longevity as How Far I’ll Go or You’re Welcome. The story itself, while a powerful one, dips somewhere in the middle as the group find themselves in some danger and are taken away from their mission. It felt a little displaced from the main narrative. Perhaps it has something to do with the fact this film was originally intended to be a TV series and so perhaps wasn’t quite as well-knit as a show may have been.

Cravalho returns as the voice of Moana, and she’s every bit as empowering and as human as her younger Moana was, however there’s a stronger air of confidence about her voice, which certainly reflects the character’s growth. Johnson returns as the arrogant yet lovable Maui, a great support to Moana and, although a strong character in his own right, Johnson never takes the spotlight from Cravalho, keeping Maui as the supportive character he is. Chung, Matafeo and Fane are nice voice additions to round out Moana’s team, so she has less of a lonely journey this time around, and each character has a sturdy voice and personality of their own.

Moana will always be important, not just as a representative of Polynesian and Pacific Islander culture within Disney, but as a reminder that there are so many untold stories from numerous cultures out there, stories that have been suppressed by colonisers and people wanting to erase the history of others. While that might sound a bit deep for what is, essentially, a kids film, it represents so much more than that to all kinds of people of all ages. While Moana 2 may not be as entertaining on the surface as 2016’s Moana, that doesn’t make it any less important, and its own deeper message and themes are what will make it a successful film.