Moana 2 was released by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures on Nov. 27, 2024.
Overall, we enjoyed the movie and thought it was entertaining, but there were certain aspects that were noticeably different from the first movie.
While Moana’s music was composed by Lin Manuel Miranda, Moana 2’s soundtrack was not, which is likely because he was creating Mufasa: The Lion King. Instead, Abigail Barlow and Emily Bear (who go by Barlow & Bear) created the new music for the film.
Known for their album The Unofficial Bridgerton Musical (which caused controversy when Netflix threatened a copyright lawsuit for using its series Bridgerton without permission), Barlow & Bear made the first all-female writing team to compose all of the songs for an animated Disney feature film. Furthermore, they were the youngest to do so.
However, whether using Barlow & Bear for the film was a good idea is up for debate.
We noticed that the music composed by Barlow & Bear in Moana 2 had a more “feminine” feel, which would make sense because of the all-female writing team. Lin Manuel Miranda’s composing style was clearly very different from how Barlow & Bear decided to write it.
The new music in this movie was entertaining: we found it light but predictable and traditional for a Disney film. In the first film, Miranda’s recognizable and well-known writing style created unpredictability for what rhythm would come next. Additionally, we feel that Miranda’s music is much more memorable. However, this is likely because he has much more experience composing music for movies and musicals.
The most memorable song in Moana 2 was “Beyond.” The song felt like a traditional Disney song but felt more similar to Frozen 2, rather than to Moana. Almost identical to the song “Into the Unknown,” “Beyond” doesn’t feel unique at all.
However, Moana 2 did have aspects that we found unique. For example, the writers and animators allowed Moana to age. In most Disney animated movies, the main characters never age or mature; instead, they remain their youthful selves. However, Moana ages from 16 to 19 years old from the first to second film, and we could tell she has matured.
Along with her new mindset that came with her maturity, Moana’s hair and clothes change with her. Her hair is switched to a side part, and her clothes have darker reds than before. Dark colors and a side part may not seem like a big change, but it felt obvious and interesting when watching the film. It added an originality that past Disney characters haven’t had.
Additionally, the second film’s vibrant colors brought the movie to life. The coloring of movies is often overlooked, but the colors in Moana 2 evoke many emotions in its viewers. When the colors shift from bright and sparkling to dark and ominous, the viewers feel fear and curiosity for what’s to come. The animators did an excellent job utilizing the change in colors to add depth to the scenes and allow the viewers to experience the movie from a new perspective.
The second movie introduces new characters like Simea, Moana’s little sister. The writers’ opinions differed here:
Maizie
There was no need for Simea because her character added an unexpected element to the plot that the first film didn’t utilize. I thought that the first movie was already a success without the younger sister, and she doesn’t add anything new to Moana 2. As an older sibling myself, the addition of a little sister did not engage me further, as the writers might have intended.
Lia
Simea was a nice addition to show how Moana has aged and changed. Instead of being the young and naive chief’s daughter, she is now a role model and older sister. Without Simea, Moana wouldn’t have matured as much, and she wouldn’t have realized that she had a lot to lose.
These opinions could also have to do with the fact that Maizie is an older sister in real life and Lia is a younger sister.
Overall, Moana 2 was an enjoyable film with underwhelming but catchy music. The new aspects and colors really brought the film together. As of Dec. 17, 2024, IMDb rated the movie a 7 out of 10, Rotten Tomatoes rated it a 61% on the Tomatometer, and 86% on the Popcornmeter. We rate it an 8 out of 10. This likely isn’t the last we’ve seen of Moana—as she said to Simea, “I’ll be back. I promise.”
