“Moana 2,” directed by Jason Hand, Dana Ledoux Miller and David Derrick Jr., is a must watch. Moana, played by Auliʻi Cravalho, faces numerous challenges, meets new people and changes her perspective of the world. As a continuation of the first film, Moana now has a younger sister, Simea, played by Khaleesi Lambert-Tsuda. Simea influences Moana’s decision to bravely explore and discover remote tribes. Moana uses an array of blue shooting stars that cross the sky as a map guide. She travels along the water on her newly built boat with new members on her crew from her island. All the while, she says goodbye to her safe space: home. Other members who tag along the adventure with Moana include Maui voiced by Dwayne Johnson, Loto voiced by Rose Matafeo, Kele voiced by David Fane and finally Moni voiced by Hualālai Chung. A call from Moana’s ancestors inspired them to set sail. The ancestors stated that Moana had to seek out unfamiliar land since she was the “Wayfinder,” but little did Moana know she would have bumps along the way.
Moana is a unique princess who has lived on her island, Motunui, for her whole life. She and her people provided for themselves for generations after generations. The workload doesn’t end. People grow crops, collect food, take care of each other and are known to not cross anywhere but their claimed land. Moana stands out and happens to be curious, ready to sail out to sea and explore the majestic turquoise waters. “Moana 2” happens to have a similar concept as “Moana.”
The same protagonist, Moana, is unable to break her urge to search the Earth and truly find what else is out there. But what really is out there? Malicious monsters? Unidentified species with abnormal body parts? Painted talking coconuts? Overwhelming colored storms? Doesn’t matter, because, again, Moana confidently braves it all in order to save her people from an uncertain future. She needs to find more clues as the seas are unparted due to the god of storms.
In this new film, the songs have been highly contested. Unlike in “Moana,” Lin Manuel Miranda did not write the music for the sequel. Instead, Mark Mancina and Emily Bear wrote the score for this movie. Several people thought that the quality of Moana went down because of the music. A Form III student named Nikki Levine, states, “Moana 2” was good, but not as exciting as the first movie. I didn’t love the music as much, besides one or two songs, but I did enjoy the fun new characters. There also wasn’t a continuous main idea or much of a strict plot, but overall, it was a fun watch.”
The beauty of animation is brought to life in this film. Specifically, the pallet’s range of shades for the character’s features. No matter the species! The creative thresholds and mountains ask the watcher to think what each character’s purpose and part really means throughout the film. In order to figure out the answers to these wonders, I guess you’ll have to wait and watch for yourself. Grab your snacks and a comfortable blanket, and enjoy “Moana 2!”
As Moana sails into the horizon, and risks her island’s future, Moana feels certain knowing that she has a sea-sational sense of direction!
