Moana 2 (2024): Wet Sequel Energy
Look, Disney sequels are usually where beloved characters go to die slow, profitable deaths. But here you are, wondering if the ocean called again or if it just went straight to voicemail. The answer surprised me, and not in the way you're expecting. Because what happens in the second act changes everything.
The setup is familiar enough to feel safe. Moana hears a mysterious call, gathers a quirky new crew, and sets sail toward danger. You settle in, thinking you know exactly where this is going. But here is the thing. The film keeps zigging when you expect it to zag, almost like it read every criticism of Disney's paint by numbers approach and took notes. Almost. The songs land with surprising emotional weight. The animation is genuinely stunning in ways that feel earned rather than flex heavy. Yet something keeps nagging at you, a persistent feeling that the whole enterprise is running on borrowed magic. The original earned its tears. This one is still working on credit.
What Is It About
The premise sells you adventure. Moana must find a lost island to save her people, simple enough. She recruits a ragtag crew of misfits because apparently Maui was busy washing his hair. Then the complication arrives, and suddenly this isn't just a voyage story anymore. There's something darker lurking beneath the surface, something the trailers conveniently forgot to mention. The film asks a question about legacy and sacrifice that it seems genuinely afraid to answer. Whether it chickens out is another matter entirely.
Plot Holes and Things That Make No Sense
Okay so explain to me how Moana's brand new crew knows exactly where to find a mythical island that nobody has seen in a thousand years based on like three stars and vibes. The storm barrier around Motufetu is supposedly impenetrable but they just kind of sail through it because the plot needs them to. And Maui shows up at the exact right moment despite having zero way of knowing where they were or that they needed help. Also the whole "curse spreading across the ocean" thing gets solved remarkably fast for something that took generations to become a problem. The pacing in the final act feels like someone realized they only had twenty minutes left and panicked. Your phone would have died before these people logically reached that island.
The Good, The Bad, The Honest
The ocean animation is breathtaking in ways the original never attempted. Watch how light fractures through a wave during the storm sequence and you will forget you are looking at pixels. The coconut pirates return with genuine menace this time, their siege on the canoe genuinely thrilling. However. The new crew members are sketches, not characters. Moni gets maybe four personality traits total. Loto exists purely for comic relief that rarely lands. The film wants you to care about this found family but never earns it. You remember their faces. You forget their names before the credits roll.
Cast and Direction
Auli'i Cravalho still owns this role like she invented it. Her voice work carries emotional scenes the script barely supports. Dwayne Johnson phones it in like a man answering calls during a massage. Director David Derrick Jr. stages action beautifully but lets quieter moments flatline. The pacing screams "we cut thirty minutes and hoped you wouldn't notice."
How It Ends
Moana breaks the curse by reuniting Motufetu with the ocean, literally lifting the island's connection to the sea goddess. Matangi, the storm spirit, turns out to be misunderstood rather than evil because of course she is. Maui sacrifices his hook to help but gets it back almost immediately, undercutting any stakes. The final scene shows Moana sailing home with her new crew, the ocean calm, everybody hugging. The film establishes that breaking this curse requires a "wayfinder's heart" but never defines what that actually means. So when Moana succeeds, it feels arbitrary. She wins because protagonists win. The ending is emotionally competent but dramatically hollow, a participation trophy dressed up as triumph.
The Verdict
The single best thing this film does is make the ocean feel alive, not as a gimmick but as a character with moods and memories. Final verdict: it is a gorgeous, overstuffed postcard from a vacation that ended too soon. Skip it and you miss nothing essential, but you also miss sitting in the dark watching water do things that make your brain whisper "how did they do that." Sometimes that is enough. Sometimes it is not. You will have to decide which person you are.
Is Moana 2 (2024) worth watching?
Yes
Moana 2 (2024) scores 7.6 out of 10 on SpoilSins, and the one-line verdict is "Yes". Above the SpoilSins median of 7.5, and higher than 56% of the 108 films scored here.
7.6/10 the SpoilSins score
- Released
- 2024
- Genre
- Action-Adventure, Animated, Comedy, Family, Fantasy
- Reviewed by
- Broikos Nikos,
- Scale
- Out of 10, and what that means, against every score on SpoilSins
