The long-awaited “Moana 2” released on November 27, 2024. The movie gave viewers another action-packed storyline that provided entertainment for the whole family.
The film wasn’t just a whole new plotline, but it also took elements from the previous movie and continued the story. Audiences got the chance to see Moana continue her journey as a voyager, thrilled by the ocean. But this time she’s not alone.
Moana’s village supports her dreams and accompanies her on her aquatic adventures. Her biggest fan: her sister. Simea, Moana’s newly introduced younger sister, is a feisty little girl that never wants to leave her sister’s side. I was quickly taken by this beautiful sisterly bond.
Speaking of bonds, the old dynamic duo makes a return to take on the evil powers. Maui, “demigod of the wind and seas,” makes a comeback as the people of the island love and worship him.
Unfortunately, something is not pleased with the joy of the people. Some evil has taken root, putting everyone’s life in danger, again. But this time things are far worse, nothing compared to Te-ka, the villain from the first movie. This new villain has threatened Moana’s island and the rest of the world, preventing unity.
The film takes the audience on an epic journey to save the world alongside Moana, Maui and the rest of the crew.
The sequel has all the emotion and action to keep viewers engaged. Critics have been buzzing about this film and reactions are a little mixed.
Many have said that the film had a beautiful storyline, while others say that the plot fell short of the first film. Some have said that the movie was crammed, and the 1:40 runtime was not long enough for the amount of content the film wanted to use.
Critics have also said Disney should’ve gone along with their original plan. Executives originally didn’t want to make a sequel at all, but rather a Moana TV show. This changed later on in production when the show was turned into a film.
Though some critics have said the songs and the visuals of the movie were amazingly done, others said that the film wasn’t magical enough and the musical numbers didn’t leave the same lasting impact as the original.
“Moana” set high expectations, and for a good group of people, “Moana 2” did not reach that standard. Many audiences may have loved the movie on its own, but in comparison with the original, they don’t believe it did the story justice.
Regardless of critique, “Moana 2” still was successful in the box office, where it collected around $445 million in domestic offices and $567 million in international offices. This brought the total to around $1 billion. Theatres everywhere were jam-packed as all audiences wanted to witness the sequel to a cinematic masterpiece.
Though audiences had differing opinions on “Moana 2,” most agreed that it was worth the watch. Whether viewers thought the movie lived up to the reputation of the original film or not, it still carried the importance of the culture of Polynesian people, had the elements for an entertaining movie for all and lived up to the name of Disney productions.