Friday, 28 March 2025

VOD: Moana 2 (dirs: Jason Hand, Dana Ledoux Miller and David G. Derrick Jr., 2024)

"I don't do singalongs."
"We'll see about that!"

Moana 2 belongs to the 'bigger, busier, noisier' school of sequel-making, and whilst it offers little development from the first film, it still retains the colourful vibrancy and easy-going energy and charm of the original to a large extent.  Still grounded in the islanders' mythology, Moana (engagingly voiced by Auli'i Cravalho) and her motley crew go on a sea-faring quest to find other people beyond her home. with annoying comedy relief Maui the demi-god (Dwayne Johnson) pitted against evil god Nalo, who previously cursed their island destination.  The voice cast is strong throughout, the songs are relatively brief and effectively feel-good, the set pieces are lively and quite inventive - the coconut 'pirates' are fun - and the film trips along in a gently amusing manner.  Not so much constructed in acts but in episodes, this sequel offers little more than the original film, but as a 'further adventures of' episode, Moana 2 delivers pleasingly and effectively, with an ending that paves the way for the next chapter.
 

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