KSL Movie Show review: Moana 2 maintains the charm of the original

Editor’s note: This is an editorial piece. An editorial, like a news article, is based on fact but also shares opinions. The opinions expressed here are solely those of the author and are not associated with our newsroom.

SALT LAKE CITY — Perhaps it’s the likelihood that massive amounts of snow are soon coming our way (at least here in Utah), that a side jaunt to a sunny, luscious Pacific island may be just what the witch doctor ordered. 

So for that reason, I was immediately drawn back into the story of Moana (voiced again by Auli’i Cravalho) now three years later, displaying a swagger and confidence of a young woman coming into her own. 

She is so revered and beloved by the people of Motunui that her chieftain father Tui (Temuera Morrison) bestows the title of “Tautai” on her as the most accomplished navigator and potential leader of her island nation, an honor that hasn’t been given out in a thousand years.  

Related: ‘Wicked’ is an epic adventure

In the process of the anointing ceremony, Moana envisions a future world where her people have all but disappeared due to a lack of connecting with other islanders in far-off lands.  She learns of a mysterious place called Motufetu, which was once the center hub of all the ocean civilizations, but has since sunken into the depths of the sea by a curse from a vengeful god Nalo. 

The great distance to Motufetu will require a bigger boat and a real crew that will include her worrisome pig Pua, the cockeyed chicken HeiHei and some newbies – including a problem-solving engineer Loto (Rose Matafeo), a cranky old farmer Kele (David Fane) and a Maui fanboy Moni (Hualālai Chung). 

And of course you’ll be asking where in the heck is Maui in all this? – (again voiced by Dwayne Johnson).  Well, he’s a bit tied up at the moment, dealing with Nalo’s henchwoman Matangi (Awhimai Fraser) and her assorted bat buddies and creepy fish friends.

Not to be left out are the feisty little coconut warriors, the Kakamora, who are also searching for their homeland and may see a benefit in working with Moana this time, rather than treating her and her crew like an all-you-can-eat smorgasbord.   

More from the KSL Movie Show: ‘Gladiator II’ is a massive spectacle

That’s the setup, which frankly doesn’t sound a whole lot different from the 2016 original, but there are a few notable exceptions.

Acclaimed songwriter Lin-Manuel Miranda is out.  The Grammy-winning creators of “The Unofficial Bridgerton Musical” – Abigail Barlow and Emily Bear are in.  And not to say the new songs aren’t good, they just don’t have the same flair as Miranda’s.  

The animation certainly feels like it has a more adventurous energy to it, but the bad guy Nalo is pretty much a no-show, until a mid-credits scene where he chides underling Matangi for mishandling events, much like Thanos chewing Ronan a new one at the end of Guardians of the Galaxy.  

So “Moana 2” does show some growth, but never ventures to far away from its source material, yet that will probably be enough to draw in sizable crowds fresh from the recent joys of “Wicked” and “Gladiator II.” 

MOANA 2 (B+) Rated PG for action/peril. Featuring the voices of Auli’i Cravalho, Dwayne Johnson, Temuera Morrison, Rose Matafeo and Awhimai Fraser. Directed by David G. Derrick Jr., Jason Hand and Dana Ledoux Miller in their feature film debut. Filmed at Walt Disney Animation Studios, Vancouver BC. Running time: 100 minutes. 

The KSL Movie Show with Andy Farnsworth and Steve Salles airs Fridays on KSL NewsRadio from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Follow the show on Facebook, and join The KSL Movie Show Club for exclusive perks by texting MOVIE to 57500. Message and data rates may apply. Text STOP to cancel. Message frequency varies.