Moana 2 review: this delightful sequel makes a real splash

Has it truly been 8 years since Moana sailed onto our screens and into our hearts? Well present the hotly anticipated/inevitable animated sequel from Disney hoves into view... and fortunately it makes a existent splash.

Set 3 years connected from the original, Moana (reprised by Auliʻi Cravalho) is retired fulfilling her wayfinder destiny – i.e. being large astatine water navigation – searching for different inhabited islands. But erstwhile her ancestors travel with a caller telephone to destiny – the perilous task of uncovering the lost/cursed land of Motufetu – she is beset by aforesaid doubt. While her parents are supportive of the seaward ngo this time, the summation of her adorable babe sister Simea (Khaleesi Lambert-Tsuda) makes leaving location a overmuch harder prospect.

Gathering a motley unit of drama foils, Moana sets retired to larn wholesome lessons astir teamwork and lateral thinking. Along the mode they rescue Maui (reprised by Dwayne Johnson), the wise-cracking shape-shifting demigod, who is having immoderate doubts of his own. A batch of the affectional heft and callback jokes relies connected the assemblage being acquainted with the archetypal material, but Disney knows what its assemblage wants and delivers successful spades.

Those hoping for a truly juicy villain opus successful the expansive Disney contented whitethorn beryllium momentarily disappointed, however. As with the archetypal Moana, the large baddie is much of a unit of quality than an all-singing, all-dancing nemesis. There is simply a superb antagonist, however, successful the signifier of Mantagi (Awhimai Fraser), a morally grey underworld goddess who gets perchance the champion opus successful the full movie with Get Lost – and immoderate adorable bat sidekicks.

The crippled whips on astatine a complaint of knots, packing successful enactment sequences and heart-soaring songs. Moana 2 was reportedly primitively planned arsenic an animated bid for Disney+, and portion the communicative is somewhat episodic successful quality it inactive hangs unneurotic arsenic a azygous epic odyssey. The humour is pitched perfectly for its all-ages audience, with plentifulness of fart jokes interspersed with anachronistic quips astir butt dials.

There are knowing winks to the Disney playbook – peculiarly Moana getting a caller outfit and accessories. Parents, update your Christmas acquisition lists accordingly. The lone somewhat bum enactment is simply a recurring gag astir the goofiness of fans. Moana has a gaggle of young girls – dubbed the Mowannabes by Maui – who idolise her done cosplay and pig adoption, portion crewmember Moni’s (Hualālai Chung) presumption arsenic the tribe’s historiographer is played for laughs astir self-insert Maui fanfic and fanart. Given however overmuch of Disney’s taste dominance is propped up by devoted fans, this breaking of the 4th partition feels a small similar biting the manus that feeds you.

Still, portion Disney is prepared to hazard being cheeky to fans, its wholly respectful to centering and honouring Pacific Islander past and culture. Director Dana Ledoux Miller is Samoan, and experts from the Oceanic Cultural Trust consulted connected everything from choreography to linguistics, deep-sea navigatotion to content systems.

Are the songs arsenic bully arsenic the original? I would accidental yes, with the caveat that it’s hard for Beyond and Can I Get A Chee Hoo? to instantly over-write How Far I’ll Go and You’re Welcome erstwhile you’ve had astir a decennary of re-listens. Abigail Barlow and Emily Bear beryllium adept and affectional songwriters that tin transmission Lin-Manuel Miranda’s (who did not instrumentality arsenic a lyricist for the sequel) benignant to support continuity without veering into pastiche.

The animation is adjacent much beautiful, allowing you to spot each atom of soil and driblet of water spray. With artistry this good, it begs the question for wherefore a live-action remake (billed for a 2026 release) is needed astatine all.

Ultimately, Moana 2 passes the astir important tests with flying colours. Firstly, the absorption of the enthralled small girls successful the screening I attended, who were near gasping with joyousness astatine a 3rd enactment uncover I shall not spoil here. Secondly, that astatine a 1 hr 40 infinitesimal runtime it’s the cleanable magnitude for a film. And finally, I would person happily sat backmost down and watched the full movie again. Which, if you person immoderate children successful your life, is precisely however your adjacent fewer years of experiencing Moana 2 is going to go.

In cinemas from Friday 29