Comfortable in her role as a wayfinder, Moana has taken it upon herself to explore the seas that connect us to see if there is anyone out there to connect with. She knows there is, not because of an encounter but because of a vision.

It wasn’t until 10 minutes into Moana 2—out now in theaters—that I realized how depopulated Moana is. There’s Moana, the villagers of her home island, Motunui, the demigod Maui, and a shiny seven-legged crab, Tamatoa. There’s another god-like figure, Ta Fiti, and the sea itself, which is sometimes sentient and helps Moana on her voyage. There’s also a band of sea pirates, the Kakamora, but more on them in a minute. That’s it: One gigantic ocean with only a handful of people to call it home.

The reason for that is the engine behind Moana 2. Upon returning to Motunui with little more than an artifact, Moana (Auliʻi Cravalho) is convinced she must go farther than anyone from her island has ever gone if she is to discover another civilization. Long before her, another tried but never returned, so the village is a little skittish about letting her go. But then a vision shows Moana that a vengeful weather god, Nalo, drove the people of the sea apart through fear, cursed the island of Motufetu, and sent it to the bottom of the sea. To break the curse and reunite the ocean, a human must touch the sunken island, which Nalo watches like a hawk.

But has wrathful power well beyond the comprehension of an islander stopped Moana before? Hell no. But this time, she’s gonna need a bigger boat, a crew, both Hei Hei and Pua, and help from her old pal Maui (Dwayne Johnson).

Moana 2 is fun. The story here is better than most sequels—it almost starts to rehash the plot of the first movie before finding new zigs to zag—and the overall structure of the journey feels more akin to mythology than rote adventure. Not only must Moana touch Motfetu to break the curse but Maoi must pull it from the sea to set things right. And to even get there, they must outwit then rescue the Kakamora, escape from a massive island-sized clam, and encounter a mysterious creature, Matangi (Awhimai Fraser), who plays both sides with no real explanation as to why.

And that’s where things fall short. Moana 2 moves speedily enough that it isn’t until the third act that it becomes clear that Moana and Maui are racing to do battle with a faceless cloud with scant motivation, while the most interesting character, Matangi, is still stuck back in that clam. There’s also that resourceful Kakamora soldier hitching a ride whose narrative is far from resolved. This isn’t Moana 2; it’s Moana Part 2. A mid-credit scene with Matangi, Nalo, and a singing coconut crab point to a possible resolution in Part 3, but if that does good business, then I’m sure Parts 4 and 5 won’t be far behind.

But I wonder how much longer these characters can sustain a narrative that complex. It’s fun to watch Moana develop into a true wayfinder, but the crew she takes with her is forgettable and annoying. Maui has his charms but lacks complexity and depth. Composers Mark Mancina and Opetaia Foa’I return for the music, but Abigail Barlow and Emily Bear replace Lin-Manuel Miranda as songwriters and hand over what feels like the discarded first drafts of Miranda’s songs from Moana Part I.

And yet, it’s still fun. The computer-generated animation of the background and set pieces are so beautiful they verge on the photorealistic. Oddly, that works against some of the characters. Moana, in particular, looks a little bit like a self-aware plastic doll. Her eyes feel soulful in a way I can’t remember seeing in another CGI animated movie, yet her skin looks more like squishy rubber than flesh and bone. I still have a soft spot for her—and a personal identification I can’t quite place—and am still interested in seeing how far she’ll go.

Moana 2 (2024)
Directed by David G. Derrick Jr., Jason Hand, Dana Ledoux Miller
Screenplay by Jared Bush, Dana Ledoux Miller
Story by Jared Bush, Dana Ledoux Miller, Bek Smith
Produced by Christina Chen, Yvett Merino
Voices by Auliʻi Cravalho, Dwayne Johnson, Hualalai Chung, Rose Matafeo, David Fane, Awhimai Fraser, Alan Tudyk
Walt Disney Pictures, Rated PG, Running time 100 minutes, Opens Nov. 27, 2024

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