The highly anticipated Disney movie sequel, Moana 2, was released in theaters on November 27th. The movie has accumulated over 600 million dollars globally. The film set a box office record for sales of a movie released during the week of Thanksgiving.
In the film, Moana, played by Auliʻi Cravalho, is searching for more people on other lands when she is called by her wayfinding ancestors to break the curse of Nalo, which isolated many islands of people. Moana sets off with her crew, with the help of Maui, played by Dwayne Johnson, to find the island that will reconnect the different cultures and people. It’s emphasized throughout the movie that this journey is nothing like Moana’s last one. Moana and her crew go through many obstacles, making it more and more difficult to reach their destination. At the same time, Moana’s primary conflict is whether she will make it home to her island and her family.
I found the soundtrack catchy and fun and thought it subtly matched the songs of the first Moana. Some viewers disagreed and thought it was out of place and not similar enough to the original Moana. Critics said they felt the sound track was rushed and sloppy, but I fully disagree. Lin-Manuel Miranda, who composed many of the songs in Moana, was not involved in this movie. Although the first movie had more memorable melodies, Moana 2 still had a great soundtrack.
I was extremely impressed with the visuals and the vibrant animations throughout the movie. Even though some of the visuals were a little terrifying, they were exceptionally detailed and bright, which contributed to the whole experience of the film. This movie felt refreshing and tapped into a childlike sense of wonder.
