Friday, 20 December 2024

Moana 2

Official Australian release date: 28/11/24. Viewed: 20/12/24.
Directors: David Derrick, Jason Hand, Dana Miller
Actors: Auli'i Cravalho, Dwayne Johnson, Temuera Morrison, Hualalai Chung
Genre: Adventure / Comedy
Rating: PG

‘Moana 2’ comes a surprising 8 years after the original film (thought it was much less!) and does a good job to reintroduce the key players – Moana (Cravalho), Maui (Johnson), Moana’s parents Tui (Morrison) & Sina (Scherzinger), the pig & chicken, and friends Moni (Chung), Loto (Matafeo) and Kele (Fane). We also meet cute little sister Simea (Lambert-Tsuda). As the island’s “way-finder”, Moana now seeks other islands to unite the tribes of the Pacific.

Moana sets off to find a mythical island that’s protected by an angry god (i.e. stormy seas), so needs Maui’s help, along with her friends/crew, to vanquish the bad god and bring that island back to the surface. I think that’s about the plot – nothing too special. A few songs, but nothing that really hit home. Moana’s character is still upbeat and a good leader and has a few poignant moments.

It’s a tight 100min, almost (but not quite) too long – my 3-year-old niece made it through! The CGI is still great, there’s plenty of laughs and sight gags, thanks to the mudskippers, coconut-people, blob fish and the chicken. Doesn’t reach the heights of the original, but will still please the kids.

Overall: Solid seafaring adventure

Gav's Rating: 3.5 stars 

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