'Moana 2' - the princess 'riding the wind and breaking the waves'

The animation "Moana 2" tells the story of the female lead and her friends breaking the curse of the evil god Nalo to find the peoples across the ocean.

The film is set three years after the 2016 film, when Princess Moana (voiced by Auli"i Cravalho) returns her heart to the goddess Te Fiti, who is honored by the people of Motunui Island. During a ceremony marking Moana becoming a "Pathfinder" to explore new lands, she hears the call of her ancestors, setting out to find the submerged island of Motufetu in Oceania. Accompanying the main character are three islanders, along with the demigod Maui (Dwayne Johnson voiced by Heihei the rooster and Pua the pig, who appeared in the first film.

The film focuses on the process of Moana's group "riding the wind and breaking the waves" to conquer the sea. At the beginning of the film, Moana returns to Motunui, bringing with her an artifact that proves the existence of other inhabited islands in the area. After that, the crew introduces new characters including the young man Moni (Hualalai Chung), the shipwright Loto (Rose Matafeo), the old farmer Kele (David Fane) and Moana's younger sister, Simea (Khaleesi Lambert-Tsuda). Under the leadership of the female lead, each person gradually realizes their responsibilities, promoting their strengths to help Moana.

From a young girl with many dreams, Moana becomes a hero for everyone, trying to protect the tribes. The character faces many challenges, from which she realizes the value of tolerance and understanding. When encountering the Kakamora coconut tribe, Moana sympathizes when she learns that they are creatures trying to fight off enemies to find a safe way home.

The main character in "Moana 2". Photo: Walt Disney Studios

The appearance of the bat witch Matangi (Awhimai Fraser) helps Moana understand that there are many ways to achieve what she wants, just trust in her own choices. When the evil god Nalo prevents her from finding the island of Motufetu, Moana makes a new plan to help the peoples know about each other's existence. Through this, the filmmaker shows the female lead maturing, thinking about the good of the community.

The film has a bright color tone and images, depicting a variety of marine ecosystems. Eight years after the first part, the quality of the cinematic effects has developed, describing in detail the movement of the waves, the whale and the giant strange island inspired by the octopus and the clam. The spirit of Polynesian culture is depicted through the setting, the way the characters are built and the traditional costumes, notably the siapo patterns, tatau (tattoo), and tapa cloth.

The majority of audiences loved the way the main character was built, giving it an A- on the site. Cinema Score . Above Google Reviews , audience member Noah Pichler said the scene where Moana sacrifices herself and then becomes a goddess was impressive. "This moment helps to increase the emotion of the story, while also sending a message about family affection and determination to overcome difficulties," this person commented.

"Moana 2" scores with its vivid cinematic effects. Photo: Walt Disney Studios

However, the second season failed to meet critics' expectations, with a "fresh" score of 62% on Rotten Tomatoes . Many people think that the project has a superficial script, not as impressive as the first part.

According to Guardian , despite its many great adventure scenes, the plot Moana 2 quite thin, only focusing on introducing new villains. The work carries a message about feminism, teenage desire but only through small details, not enough weight for the entire film. Page Subculture Entertainment wrote: "The movie is only entertaining enough for children. Cramming in too many details makes the project spread out and lacks highlights."

Magazine Variety commented that the filmmaker conveyed the lively atmosphere through the music like Beyond , There's Another Way , Get Lost , What Could Be Better Than This? , but the rhythm of the songs did not really impress the audience. Same opinion, page IGN The minus point of the work is the bland music. Although it was made by the team that created the immortal melodies in the 2016 film, the songs in Moana 2 can not cause fever like How Far I'll Go good You're Welcome .