Ship dismantling involves dismantling a decommissioned ship so that its components can be put to another use or even reused. It’s a nasty business, but recycling is definitely better than sinking something into the ground. Moana (Auliʻi Cravalho) was originally not supposed to set sail again on the big screen. Their further adventures should fill the Disney+ streaming series as a series. But the powers that are decided (possibly because the Frozen Consequence grossed $1.5 billion) that the show was supposed to be reconfigured into a filmand still the intrepid daughter of her island’s chieftain technically not a princess – repositioned as a driving force. The resulting feature debut from directing team David Derrick Jr., Jason Hand and Dana Ledoux Miller is a ramshackle Frankish ship that’s still seaworthy enough to survive its theatrical release, but it has more in common with direct-to-video sequels than the clever ones Original.

Three years have passed and Moana no longer has to figure out who she is. She knows she can be the future leader of her people And an adventurer, and so is her community. Her island is now populated exclusively by Moana fans who adore her and the demigod Maui (Dwayne Johnson), with whom she wrote her way into legend. This is usually where Disney heroes pull up their feet and start happily ever after, but Moana is once again inelegantly called away from home.

After the clarity of one of Disney’s best “I Want” songs, the task Moana sets out on feels forced and false: after discovering a shard of pottery that reveals the location of a mysterious island, Moana sees herself confronted with evidence that this is not the case with their people only People. This and her new designation as a wayfinder means that she is asked to find the island of Motufetu – which the god Nalo has for some reason cursed to no longer serve as a waypoint for different islanders – and reunite all the people separated by the waves connect .

Moana 2 attempts to split the difference between a few different motivations for doing so, hinting at both Moana’s general curiosity about the larger world and an uncertain misfortune that will befall her (lush, thriving) island if she remains isolated. These are half-hearted ideas embedded in the unforgettable songs of Abigail Barlow and Emily Bear, which range from truly horrific shipwrecks to embarrassing Lin-Manuel Miranda tribute band tracks. The loss of Miranda is a major blow to the film, although his presence still haunts the dialogue. Every other line is about knowing the path, telling our stories and how far we will go. It’s like celebrities tend to repeat the same brand-appropriate phrases after being taught humanity. It reinforces the feeling that the sequel isn’t confident enough to go off on its own.

This also applies to all the new supporting characters, whom the film introduces but largely ignores. There’s Moana’s new, too-cute little sister (Khaleesi Lambert-Tsuda) and the motley crew that accompanies Moana on her journey: Loto (Rose Matafeo), the manic builder, Kele (David Fane), the cranky old farmer, and Moni (Hualālai Chung) the beefy Maui maniac. Eventually one of the Kakamora joins them Crazy Max Coconut gremlins with more personality than most people. As the credits roll, everyone feels like they’ve just been introduced – just ready for the next episode where they’ll finally learn to work together as a team.

Even their main obstacles suffer from a script that feels torn to pieces. Nalo, for example, is a lightning god… but we don’t meet him or understand him. Why did he even curse this island? Where the volcanic island of the first film was a wounded and captivating force, Nalo remains inscrutable: He manifests only as lightning, tornadoes, lightning tornadoes, and monstrous electric eels. The secondary antagonist, but not Matangi (Awhimai Fraser), similarly suffers from the script’s obvious cutting – her haphazard actions feel like they’re missing a scene or two of intermittent connection.

All that remains is the disguise around the plot to save things, and Moana 2 glides smoothly through some of the most vibrant, animated waters ever filmed. The film benefits greatly from the ocean’s constant visual propulsion; Everything – the boats, the people on them, the rigging and oars, the giant monster clam in the distance – always feels like it’s moving. Add in some wonderfully varied and tactile textures, ranging from splintering wooden masts to sticky blobfish snot, and the film has a lot of pleasant atmosphere, whether you’re facing a colorful ship crewed by strange little nut pirates or the stormy waves of stormy climax. It makes sense to want to see this on the big screen.

It makes less sense that this story, so random and lost, follows one of Disney’s better films of the last 20 years. It’s almost a poignant message that teamwork on a small scale leads to greater togetherness on a large scale. There’s almost a charming reversal of the maturing relationship between Maui and Moana. There are recycled versions of the first film’s slapstick and songs. Everything threatens to fall into place unless an invisible and all-powerful deity thwarts these plans for reasons incomprehensible to us mere mortals. Unfortunately it is lost at sea.

Director: David Derrick Jr., Jason Hand, Dana Ledoux Miller
Writer: Jared Bush, Dana Ledoux Miller
With: Auliʻi Cravalho, Dwayne Johnson, Temuera Morrison, Nicole Scherzinger, Rachel House, Alan Tudyk, Khaleesi Lambert-Tsuda, Rose Matafeo, David Fane, Hualālai Chung, Awhimai Fraser, Gerald Ramsey
Release date: November 27, 2024