While the character of Moana might be a standout in the Disney ‘Princess’ Universe, the template that the film Moana 2 follows isn’t a novel one. For instance, the core trigger of Moana wanting to ascend into the sea to bring a whole new community on a lost island together feels rather unconvincing given that it just has a song montage to followup on. Even the characters that Moana is associated with early on in the film, do not have enough screen-time to fully invest in the emotions that they present with Moana. In other words, the film does suffer from a world-building problem while quickly wishing to invest in an issue that is largely non-existential, although I did connect to an extent with the idea of inclusivity. But to fully tap into this zone, Moana needed a stronger trigger, mostly related to her own trait or a personal stake which would have completed the circle of the conflict. But as it turned out, this remained least of the problems in Moana 2.

The idea of getting a bunch of misfits together while demanding that they work together from a writing standpoint, can be an interesting sub-plot in itself. We did see the chaotic fun coupled with some heartfelt moments that the characters (or should I say ’emotions’) contributed to in Disney’s Inside Out. However, there is no such luck here in Moana 2 because the characters and their traits aren’t well established either. To give you a perspective – the misfits include a knife-flashing ship building Loto, a farmer Kele and a folklorist Moni, each of whom are given one action each in a scene to contribute to the goofiness of the drama, which they manage to do so rather unsuccessfully. This, even as Maui, one of the highlights from Moana’s previous adventure is stuck in solitude while having to tackle the unseen antagonist of the film Nalo.

Another huge drawback here is that there is no real antagonist in the drama (well, there is…but mostly hidden until the mid-credits scene) whereas the idea of an opposition comes in the form of Moana fighting a system – like a giant clam with multiple eyeballs even as a few other characters come for a song and leave, while having no further role to play in the film. This is true in its chaotic second act that could have elevated the drama to a different level but it kind of digs its own grave with writing that is plain atrocious and needless in the context of the drama. Terms like ‘The Portal Of God’ are loosely flung towards the viewers while never really fleshing out the traits or the virtues of the objects in allowing Moana to ultimately reach her destination.

The final act is as half-baked as ever given that the group reach their destination almost unharmed, considering that no one before them has reached this far. In a way, the writing contradicts its own set of values that is setup where the idea of ‘there is always another way’ is repeated so many times. It just felt manipulative and convenient before unleashing a streak of mediocrity of Moana and her group having to fight the weather to finally end a supposed ‘curse’, even while the antagonist continued to play the disappearing act. Yes, weird! I could sense that there are a bunch of emotions that are indeed palpable like a beautiful scene involving Moana’s grandmother now dead, who would always motivate her from the astral, or Moana’s equation with her younger sister that exuded of warmth, but these equations needed a better setup as opposed to randomly integrating them at certain instances in the screenplay. Because there was no buildup and characterization, the same didn’t exactly have a huge payoff at the end either. In other words, that ‘high’ of achievement was missing, just like its manipulative screenplay that was more of a slog packed as a cash-grab drama of sorts.