Moana 2
IMDb Rating
85K+
IMDb Votes
63%
Rotten Tomatoes
$1.06B
Box Office
Synopsis & Review
Three years after returning the heart of Te Fiti, Moana receives an unexpected call from her wayfinding ancestors and sets sail with a brand-new crew — Maui, the chatty historian Moni, the deadpan ship engineer Loto, and the plant-savvy farmer Kele — across the dangerous, unexplored Ocean. Their mission: find a long-lost island and break an ancient curse that has cut her people off from the rest of Oceania for generations. The film began life as a planned Disney+ series exploring the wider world established by the original Moana, before Disney's leadership decided the story warranted a full theatrical release and restructured it into a feature with a comparatively short additional production window.
Disney's decision to pull Moana 2 out of its planned streaming format and into theaters is visible in places — the plot moves briskly, almost too briskly, through what feels like compressed serialized story beats, and the film lacks some of the singular directorial vision that made the original Moana feel so cohesive. What it doesn't lack is craft: the new ensemble of supporting characters injects welcome comic texture, and Dwayne Johnson's Maui remains as purely enjoyable a Disney sidekick as the studio has produced this decade. Songwriters Abigail Barlow and Emily Bear, working alongside returning composer Mark Mancina, deliver a soundtrack that wisely doesn't try to replicate Lin-Manuel Miranda's work from the first film, even if no single song reaches the heights of "How Far I'll Go." Visually, the storm and underwater sequences push Disney's animation technology further than ever, and the emotional throughline about reconnecting isolated communities lands with real warmth, even when the connective plot tissue feels thin. It is a worthy, if less essential, continuation of Moana's voyage — one that became a billion-dollar hit almost entirely on the strength of audience goodwill toward its predecessor.
Why Watch This Movie?
A Billion-Dollar Sequel Built on Pure Audience Trust
Moana 2 crossed a billion dollars worldwide largely on the strength of how beloved the original film remained eight years after release — proof that Disney's mid-2010s animated catalog still commands enormous family loyalty.
A Stacked, Scene-Stealing New Crew
Moni the overeager historian, deadpan ship engineer Loto, and elderly farmer Kele give Moana's voyage a true ensemble energy that the more solitary original film never attempted.
Dwayne Johnson's Maui Is as Magnetic as Ever
Whatever the film's structural compromises, Johnson's chemistry with Auli'i Cravalho and his comic timing as the demigod Maui remain a consistent highlight across both films.
Spectacular New Oceanic Set Pieces
The film's storm-tossed sailing sequences and a tense passage through a cursed, fog-shrouded archipelago represent some of Walt Disney Animation Studios' most technically ambitious water animation to date.
Cast & Crew
Director
David G. Derrick Jr.
Co-Directors
Jason Hand & Dana Ledoux Miller
Studio
Walt Disney Animation Studios
Moana
Auli'i Cravalho
Maui
Dwayne Johnson
Loto
Rose Matafeo
Moni
Hualālai Chung
Songs
Abigail Barlow & Emily Bear
Official Trailer
© Walt Disney Animation Studios. Trailer embedded via YouTube.
Frequently Asked Questions
Was Moana 2 originally going to be a TV series?
Yes. The project began development as a Disney+ series exploring further stories from the world of Moana. Partway through production, Disney's leadership decided the story warranted a full theatrical release instead, and the series was restructured into a feature film with a comparatively short additional production window.
Do I need to watch the first Moana before this one?
It helps but isn't essential. Moana 2 briefly recaps the original film's key events — the restoration of Te Fiti and Moana becoming a master wayfinder — early on, though the emotional weight of the central relationship between Moana and Maui lands more fully if you've seen the 2016 original.
Is Lin-Manuel Miranda involved in Moana 2's music?
No. Miranda did not return to write songs for the sequel. The new soundtrack was composed by Abigail Barlow and Emily Bear, working alongside Mark Mancina, who returned from the original film to compose the score.
Is there a live-action Moana planned separately from Moana 2?
Yes, but it is a separate project. Disney is developing a live-action remake of the original Moana starring Dwayne Johnson and Auli'i Cravalho, distinct from this animated sequel, with its own separate release timeline.
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