After Moana came out on November 13, 2016, fans have been on the edge of their seats to see a sequel with their favorite characters, including the adorable rooster Heihei. Thankfully, the wait is now over, as Moana 2 was officially released in theaters on November 27, 2024.
Both fans and critics expected the movie to be a huge success, especially after the first one gathered a huge number of children and adults in theaters and approximately $687 million at the box office. However, Moana 2 has scored a lower rating than its predecessor. Let's take a look!
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Moana 2 Plot & Cast
In Moana 2, the protagonist embarks on a new adventure along with Maui, Tui, Loto, Moni, Kele, Sina, and of course, Heihei. According to the official synopsis of the movie, Vaiana and Maui meet again three years after the events in the first film to embark on a journey with a crew of wacky seafarers.
The unexpected call of her pathfinder ancestors sends Vaiana to the distant seas of Oceania in dangerous and long-forgotten waters on an incredible and never-before-seen adventure to break the god Nalo's curse. Perhaps the best news is that Auli'i Cravalho and Dwayne Johnson will be returning for their roles of Moana and Maui. The Rock also expressed his admiration for the role in a recent interview:
Playing this character has been one of the most life-changing experiences for me. For those of you who may not know, it goes deeper than a character. It’s my culture.
Dwayne Johnson
The rest of the cast includes Nicole Scherzinger, Rose Matafeo, David Fan, Hualalai Chung, and Temuera Morrison, who will step into the shoes of the supporting characters in Moana 2. The movie was directed by David Derrick Jr., Dana Ledoux Miller, and Jason Hand, and it's 100 minutes long.
Moana 2 Viewer Reviews
As with every other movie, Moana 2 started receiving viewer reviews on multiple platforms just a few hours after the official release. Although many fans of the first movie were happy to return for the sequel, a large portion of the audience seemed dissatisfied with the plot. According to the majority of the comments, the story didn't feel like a continuation of the first movie but more like a separate story with the same objective as the last one. Here's what one Reddit user had to say:
Aside from the obvious criticisms (unmemorable music, messy plot, bad fake-out death), I was honestly hoping this movie would be an extension of the last film's ending. Instead, it just felt like an adventure with a similar kind of goal as the first film but done much more poorly.
whatzgood, Reddit user
On the other hand, there are plenty of people who don't share the same opinion, and they didn't miss the chance to remind the critics that this is a children's movie after all, and the important thing is that every child in the movie theater was laughing uncontrollably. Moreover, they stated that there's nothing wrong with a separate adventure and not everything has to be connected.
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Moana 2 Rating
Yes, Moana 2 has already broken all box-office records, and it quickly became one of the biggest holiday openings out there. Additionally, the movie gathered $175 million in the span of a week. It even beat Frozen and Frozen II, whose earnings for the same amount of time reached only $94 million. Generally, compared to other live-action flicks, Moana 2 is doing pretty amazing.
Although the cast has done an excellent job at portraying the characters and our favorite Disney princess has attracted huge crowds, critics are not that impressed. According to Rotten Tomatoes, Moana has a 95% critics score, while the sequel reached only 66%.
Have fun and stay tuned; the best is yet to come! For more information about the latest entertainment news, you can check out the following articles:
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