BRADENTON, FL- I unabashedly enjoy the occasional kids’ movie. From Disney to Dreamworks to the occasional third-party movie that is in the five-dollar bin at Walmart, the simple concepts and happy endings are sometimes exactly what the day calls for.

Now Disney is of course the most successful in this specific market. This does not exempt them from the common symptom of having a seemingly never-ending filmography: stale remakes and sequels. Though many of Disney’s sequels have been undoubtedly successful (some even more so than the original), sadly there are a few glaring money grabs, especially in recent years where original concepts are being overlooked in favor of a basic premise with already established characters.

One such example is Moana 2, the relatively short movie with mixed reviews. The original Moana was undoubtedly a hit, from the soundtrack, to the characters, to the plot, adults and children alike ate up the entirety of its one hour and forty-three-minute runtime. This effect sadly was not felt when its sequel, the creatively titled Moana 2, hit theaters. But the most pressing question is why? This has the same characters, the same music and a different interesting plot. Or did it?

The Characters

New characters were introduced, as one would assume from a sequel, but unfortunately the majority of these fresh characters were one dimensional and not explored nearly enough. In addition, some of Moana, the titular character’s, personality feels lost under the guise of maturity, as opposed to further developed as one would hope.

The Music

The music of the first movie was written, in part, by broadway star Lin-Manuel Miranda. He did not participate in the second one and it clearly shows. While the first movie had songs with character, good rhythm and catchy lyrics, the songs of the sequel feel soulless and unoriginal. After the original set the musical bar so high, the relatively subpar performance in the second felt like a dramatic step down.

The Plot

Upon first glance the plot seems like your average Disney sequel, but when actually sitting to watch it, the plain fact of this being a television series jammed into a movie is incredibly obvious. It feels rushed and simply has the ebb and flow structure seen in most series but less commonly seen in films.

Conclusions

Frankly it’s simple. Is this a terrible film? No. But when you are an internationally known studio considered to be among the best in the industry of children’s movies, even a merely subpar movie feels like a complete failure.