Moana 2 disappoints critics after rave reviews for first film

On By Littum

Moana 2, the long-awaited sequel to Disney’s hit 2016 animated adventure, has been met with lukewarm reviews from critics.

Set in ancient Polynesia, the original film introduced audiences to Moana, the strong-willed daughter of a local chieftain, and Maui, a shape-shifting demigod. It also featured songs by Hamilton author Lin-Manuel Miranda. It is currently being remade as a live action film.

In the new animated sequel, which picks up the story three years later, Auli’i Cravalho reprises his voice role as the title character with Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson returning as Maui. The songs are off Unofficial Bridgerton Musical creators Abigail Barlow and Emily Bear.

The film started life as a spin-off television series, and several critics have criticized it for maintaining a lackluster episodic structure and failing to convince as a stand-alone film.

“It is more accurate to describe Moana 2 as an episode of a mediocre Moana TV series (which is what the sequel was originally intended to be) where the characters remain relatively static and merely react to whatever crisis pops up each week,” William Bibbiani wrote of The packaging.

“There is nothing particularly terrible about it Moana 2,” Bibbiani continued. “But the fact that it is necessary to write ‘there is nothing particularly terrible about it Moana 2‘ means something still went wrong.”

Maui (voiced by Dwanye Johnson) and Moana (Auli'i Cravalho) in 'Moana 2'
Maui (voiced by Dwanye Johnson) and Moana (Auli’i Cravalho) in ‘Moana 2’ (Disney)

Kevin Maher from The Times also discovered unwelcome traces of the remade TV series. “The narrative stumbles along in episodic fits and starts through self-contained story bites that have little bearing on the wider, unfortunately flabby, arc,” writes Maher in his two-star review. “An Adventure with Matangi plays like a filler episode that would have been scrapped long before any series came to stream.”

He concludes: “It’s just a shame that (…) the film, in contrast to Moananever really finds its way.”

India Block of Evening Standard was more positive, handing out a five-star review and praising the new songwriters. “Abigail Barlow and Emily Bear prove to be skilled and emotional songwriters who can channel Lin-Manuel Miranda’s (who did not return as lyricist for the sequel) style to maintain continuity without devolving into pastiche,” writes Block.

She also highlighted the film’s look, saying, “The animation is even more beautiful, so you can see every grain of sand and drop of sea spray. With artistry this good, it begs the question why a live-action remake is even needed (billed for a 2026- publication).

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Rolling Stone Critic David Fear, meanwhile, claimed that the film is better than the “straight-to-video sequels Disney used to give their most popular titles back then.”

But he suggested audiences may still want to lower their expectations. “The overall sentiment seems to be something along the lines of Sequel 101: You loved the first movie, so here’s another movie that’s a lot like the first movie,” writes Fear. “This is the good news if that’s what you’re looking for. If not, well: It’s an hour and 40 minutes.”