Moana 2 hits tediously choppy waters mimicking the past

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As a seasoned movie-goer and musical theater enthusiast, I must say that the latest addition to the Moana franchise left me feeling rather underwhelmed. It seemed like the creative team was trying to recreate the magic of the original film without adding anything new or fresh to the mix.

“The guiding principle for Disney’s animated movies after Walt Disney’s death in 1967 was ‘What would Walt do?’ However, this approach led to a creative rut at Disney. After a while, repeating the past becomes uninteresting to everyone. Disney Animation has a history of reinvigorating itself by doing things that were thought impossible, like ‘Beauty and the Beast’ in the 90s and ‘Tangled’ in the 2010s. Yet, Disney still tends to return to familiar, comforting themes.

2023 saw the continuation of the approach embodied in last year’s Walt Disney Animation Studios release, Wish, known as “What would Walt do?” This movie was filled with references to the past but lacked fresh content for viewers. Its final scene was simply the Disney castle logo. Similarly, Moana 2 follows this same approach. In a time post-Spider-Verse, Wild Robot, and Nimona, the bar for feature-length American family animation has been raised. Now, it’s all about detailed backgrounds, unique visuals, and stronger emotional depth. Unsurprisingly, the team at Walt Disney Animation Studios has delivered a rehash of a familiar movie experience.

2016’s film Moana was an epic journey that truly shone due to its mythical elements. Memorable scenes such as Moana (Auliʻi Cravalho) approaching the towering lava monster or the climactic shot of “I Am Moana (Song of the Ancestors)” were breathtakingly grand in their creation. Directors Ron Clements and John Musker, veterans of animated cinema with a penchant for daring design as seen in The Little Mermaid and Treasure Planet, didn’t shy away from delivering the emotional depth and spectacle expected from musicals. However, Moana 2 seems to repeatedly reference its past (“What would Walt/Moana 1 do?”) without delivering the same level of grandeur. It feels like a repetitive sequel frequently watched on Disney+.

A key problem is the deeply unengaging premise directors David Derrick Jr., Jason Hand, Dana Ledoux Miller, and screenwriters Jared Bush and Miller have conjured up. A few years after the first Moana, this legendary Wayfinder has become a celebrity on her island home. A mystical vision reveals that an island, named Motufetu, uniting various communities from around the world does indeed exist. However, it’s been sunk to the bottom of the ocean by the deity Nalo. This being, like so many blockbuster movie villains, exists as an off-screen entity. He will presumably become a big deal in Moana 3 and other features. This storytelling approach always works out well, just ask Justice League or Artemis Fowl.

As a gamer diving into the world of Moana 2, I found myself grappling with a major storyline issue that remained unresolved throughout the movie. The primary conflict revolves around an off-screen deity with powers that were never fully defined or intimidating compared to the tangible antagonists in the first film, such as the giant singing crab or the lava monster.

One issue with this sequel is that the story’s conflicts seem to fizzle out instead of being resolved in an exciting way. Events like the return of the Kakamora tribe or the possible departure of one of Moana’s crew members are handled quickly, lacking any sense of urgency or risk. The script lacks tension and importance, even during significant moments such as Moana’s grandmother Tala’s (Rachel House) return. This should have been a powerful, emotional scene…given that it adds Rachel House to the cast! However, it occurs with minimal drama or impact in the song “Beyond.” Her arrival feels abrupt and uneventful. Let’s give this grandma-granddaughter reunion some time to unfold naturally.

As a music enthusiast, I must express my disappointment with the soundtrack of Moana 2. Abigail Barlow and Emily Bear, I truly appreciate your efforts, but as a fan, I strongly suggest Disney to bring back the seasoned Broadway veterans for their show tunes. Last year’s Wish left us wanting more, and unfortunately, Moana 2’s soundtrack seems to echo that sentiment.

It’s understandable when the Zac Brown Band uses such a powerful lyrical style to express emotional ties amid poverty in “Free.” But it feels odd when characters like Moana and Matangi don’t change their dialogue, even while exploring radiant caves. In contrast, Dwayne Johnson’s subsequent song seems livelier and more visually engaging (it appears on-screen like a carnival shooting game). Unfortunately, it also includes the eye-roll-inducing rhymes of “invested” and “bestie.” These songs reflect the lack of enthusiasm that appears to be missing from Moana 2.

The melodies in this movie seem to lack the spark or individuality. Having Lin-Manuel Miranda, a talented songwriter, on board could have given us a fresh perspective on what kind of songs would fit in a Moana film. Instead, the musical numbers in Moana 2 leave you longing for the tunes like “Shiny” or “How Far I’ll Go.” It appears that the year 2024 cinema opted to produce another musically unimpressive movie after Wicked seemed to bring a positive change.

It appears that the sequel of Moana 2 struggles to generate fresh ideas, resorting to repetitive humor and references to earlier works. For instance, a giant blobfish continually imitates the famous “goat scream” from 2013 children’s animated movies, and there are numerous jokes about Moana hearing significant sounds only for it to turn out that Hei Hei has swallowed a conch shell instead. Many gags rehash humor from the original Moana, but their impact diminishes with each appearance. The animation is polished, yet lacks the originality found in character designs and settings.

The lowest points of Walt Disney Animation Studios have come when this label just imitates what the competition is doing. The Black Cauldron firmly echoed other 80s dark fantasy features. Dinosaur rode the Jurassic Park-inspired dinosaur mania sweeping the nation in the 90s. Chicken Little was Disney’s sad attempt to mimic Shrek. Moana 2 follows in their footsteps with one twist: rather than evoking Illumination or Cartoon Saloon, this is a follow-up frantically trying to make the first Moana happen again. Why else do endless characters repeat variations on the phrase “how far I’ll go” in the first ten minutes? Just rewatch the original excellent Moana, then. “What would Walt do?” was an unwise creative approach in the 70s. “What would Moana 1 do?” isn’t much better.

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2024-12-06 16:15