‘Moana 2’: Moana and Maui Set Sail on a New Adventure

Moana and Maui are back with an all-new adventure in Disney’s “Moana 2.”  The movie picks up three years after the 2016 original movie.  We see Moana traveling around her island looking for meaning and understanding of her people’s culture. She is called upon called upon by her ancestors to go on an impossible mission to save her people and reconnect the people of the Pacific.

As Moana is heading off on a new adventure, we see her powerful relationship with her 3-year-old little sister, Simea. Simea adds to the emotion of the movie and also the humor and the charm of the movie. Simea initially doesn’t want her sister to go, then she wants to go on the adventure with her until Moana shows her how they will never be far apart because the ocean will always connect them.

Moana sets sail with a new crew on her wayfinding mission that includes the characters Loto (Rose Matafeo), an engineer; Kele (David Fane), a grumpy farmer; and Moni (Hualālai Chung), a historian and storyteller.

Moana and Maui continue to be a powerful duo on screen although they spend a lot of time apart on their own journeys before reuniting to work together.

A new character Matangi (Awhimai Fraser) challenges Maui and Moana as she tries to stop them from reaching the island they need to raise in order to find the lost tribes Moana’s ancestors hopes to gather and create one large village. Matangi first captures Maui and uses bats to challenge Moana with a great song, “Get Lost.”

The movie tracks the spirit of the Polynesian culture. The camera moments show the island in all its splendor and the ocean is a character as well. Johnson’s daughters, Jazzy and Tia, have adorable cameos as admirers of Moana who Maui calls “Moana-bes.”

The movie’s gets an A- for its humor, adventure, the incredible singing voices, and the emotion and will delight movie lovers of all ages.

The songs are not as memorable as “You’re Welcome” or “How Far I Will Go” from the original movie but the voice performances from Cravalho and Fraser are truly worth it a listen.

The movie even sets us up for more. There is a mid-credit scene that implies a sequel so one can hope to see Moana and Maui again.

Starring: Auli’i Cravalho and Dwayne Johnson

Directed By David Derrick Jr., Jason Hand, Dana Ledoux Miller

Produced By Christina Chen, Yvett Merino and Dwayne Johnson

1 Hour 40 Minutes Rated PG

“Moana 2” in theaters on Wednesday, November 27.