The first social media reactions for Moana 2 have splashed down, and while they promise a mostly worthy sequel, it doesn’t sound like the songs deliver without Lin-Manuel Miranda in charge of them…
Yesterday, Auli’i Cravalho and Dwayne Johnson joined stars, filmmakers and special guests at the Lanikūhonua Cultural Institute in Kapolei, Hawaii for Moana 2‘s world premiere.
The event kicked off with a special performance led by Tiana Nonosina Liufau, Kayla Faʻamaligi, and Polynesian creatives honouring the Pacific peoples, cultures, and traditions that gave voice to the heart of the Moana story. A few critics were also in attendance, meaning we now have some early reactions.
It’s also worth pointing out that Disney appears less confident in the sequel because the review embargo doesn’t lift until the day before Moana 2 arrives in theaters. That’s extremely late for one of the studio’s high-profile movies.
Still, taking what’s here at face value, it does sound like Moana is a solid follow-up to its 2016 predecessor. The songs perhaps aren’t as good, but considering the fact this movie started life as a TV show before Disney CEO Bob Iger decided it should be released in theaters, early word being this good is impressive. Fingers crossed the movie delivers over Thanksgiving weekend.
Check out the first wave of Moana 2 reactions below (via Toonado.com).