Like many, I was raised by iconic Disney animations. As a little girl, I especially loved princess movies. How could I not? They showed me how powerful women are in  a variety of ways. As a film enthusiast, I have also enjoyed watching the adventures that these princesses partake in. Almost all Disney princesses go on a journey and no other movie embraced this trope more wholeheartedly than Disney’s “Moana”. 

I was nine years old when I first saw “Moana” in 2016, and  from the plot, to the music, to the characters, I was completely hooked! Moana will forever be one of my favorite Disney movies. I cannot say the same about “Moana 2”. When I heard that a sequel was going to be released, I must admit that I was not excited. I have been let down by Disney sequels and remakes before– “Frozen II”, the live action remakes of “The Lion King” and both the sequel and the remake “The Little Mermaid” to name a few. However, I am not one to judge a movie before I watch it, so I headed to the theater and I’m sad to say that it met my expectations.

Because I believe in backing up my opinions, here is a list of reasons why I think “Moana 2” was not a good movie and why it should be the last sequel Disney makes.

1. The music was not up to par

And as a musical theater enthusiast, I was drawn to “Moana” because of Lin-Manuel Miranda’s unbelievable talent to make showtunes. While watching “Moana 2,” I was confused as to why the music was so bland until I discovered that Miranda had not come back to write music for the sequel. The movie’s composers and songwriters Mark Mancino, Emily Bear and Opetaia Foa’i are not untalented individuals, but Miranda added something special to the “Moana” soundtrack that made the sequel hard to compete with. “Moana 2” tried to replicate the original movie’s best songs, “You’re Welcome” by Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson with “Can I Get a Chee Hoo?”.When I heard it, I realized it was a sad attempt at making another one of Maui’s unbeatable bars. It’s hard to make a successful sequel soundtrack when the original songs blew audiences away, so instead of trying to recreate that unique score, Disney should focus on making new movies with new music.

2. The plot was weak

In the original “Moana,” there was a great exposition where we learned who Moana was and how much she loved the ocean. There was conflict with her parents’ opposition to her leaving the island. There was rising action throughout her journey to Te Fiti, the climax at the epic battle between Maui,Moana and the lava monster Te Ka and falling action when they lost. The resolution gave us a major plot twist when Moana found out that Te Ka was really Te Fiti, and she saved the ocean by restoring the heart. The structure of the first movie was classic and worked with audiences. “Moana 2” had a lazy climax when Moana touched Motufetū, the island that connects all the islands in the ocean. Yep, that was it. She touched the island and we were supposed to be amazed. The change from restoring the heart of a beautiful island and having to fight a lava monster was degraded to lifting a dull island out of the sea and being inconvenienced by a bad storm. No thank you, Disney, audiences need more.

3. There was not enough effort put into the characters

I will not be overly critical about “Moana 2”; I did not fall asleep in the theatre and that is a good sign! I did laugh at some of the jokes and I really loved the Kakamora’s personality; his oddly cute presence added a light and comedic aura to the film. And, as a returning character, Pua the piglet was still utterly adorable! However, the three new characters Moana chose to make up her wayfaring crew, Loto, Moni, and Kele, didn’t do much to drive the story in my opinion. It doesn’t make sense that Moana would choose such an inexperienced crew since the original movie ended with the establishment of the people of Motunui being wayfarers and traveling to other islands. The supposed villain of the movie, Matangi, was also lazily written. The writers made the audience anticipate more action from her, but she disappears after her musical number and reappears again in the epilogue. The creators could have put a lot more work into writing these characters and their arcs. This seems to be a recurrence with Disney making new characters for sequels but failing to give them the same depth as original characters, so I think they should aim their focus on creating new movies with fresh and compelling characters.

4. Moana’s sister is irrelevant to the story

Sure, Moana’s little sister, Simea, is insanely adorable. No one can deny that. However, she didn’t serve the plot of the movie besides being a lazy excuse for Moana to not want to leave Motunui. The original movie established Moana as an adventurous young woman who wants to help her people despite her fears, so I was confused when suddenly she was hesitant to go on another journey to save the ocean. Simea was one-dimensional; only written for Moana to have a reason to stay behind. It is understandable why Moana would not want to be away from her family, especially the little sister that idolizes her, but without building a relationship between Simea and the audience, we do not have empathy for Moana’s feelings. Simea only appears in the beginning of the movie, then for a short while in the middle, and again only briefly at the end. We do not get to know her, all we experience is another one of Disney’s underdeveloped and irrelevant characters.

Disney movies do something indescribable to audiences. They awaken the inner child in us and allow us to leave our chaotic and difficult lives for ninety minutes. These movies are able to do this because of their creativity, emotionality and authenticity. When sequels to these movies are released, we expect the same feelings evoked by the original films and instead, we receive a platter of idleness and fraudulence. “Moana” was an animation that is out of this world, with amazing showtunes and stomach stiffening comedy. “Moana 2” was not that, to put it simply. There was so much potential to continue the story begun by the original film, and, personally, I believe it failed at that. Nonetheless, movies were made to be watched, so go to your local theater and make your own decision!

Just some advice, if you have a phobia of bats like I do, I would sit this one out…