Disney's Moana 2 Fixes The Greatest Crime From The Original

In John Musker's and Ron Clements' 2016 animated feature "Moana," the title character (Auliʻi Cravalho) takes to the ancient oceans to settle an old dispute, begun a millennium ago, by the local Polynesian deities. Moana, like many Disney characters, longs for "more," and becomes adept at ocean navigation. She also has secret superpowers: she can communicate with the waters of the sea, and it will occasionally become a helpful water tentacle, like in "The Abyss." Moana eventually finds an imprisoned demigod named Maui (Dwayne Johnson), who is something of a trickster, but who ultimately becomes her traveling companion. The pair is only accompanied by a walleyed chicken named Heihei voiced by Alan Tudyk.

The bulk of "Moana" is just Moana and Maui (and Heihei) on a small boat, discussing her mission and the differences between humans and demigods. Occasionally throughout the film, audiences see scenes back on Moana's home island of Motunui to see the comings and goings of the people who live there, but they are all asides. The supporting cast is, as one might predict, full of amusing children, whimsical friends, and stalwart kings and queens. Also back on Motunui is Pua, Moana's pet pig, a "cute animal sidekick" character that seems to come standard with all Disney's animated features. Pua is left back on Motunui while Moana goes adventuring. 

Buy why was Pua left behind? A walk through any Disney-themed gift shop would reveal that cute animal sidekicks are Disney's bread and butter. One can be sure the company makes mad bank on stuffed versions of Abu, Sebastian, Mushu, Timon and Pumbaa, Gus and Jaq, Sven, or that chameleon Pascal from "Tangled." There are toys of Pua, of course, but the fluffy piglet plays such a small role in the film. 

Luckily, the new sequel "Moana 2," directed by David Derrick, Jr., Jason Hand, and Dana Ledoux Miller rectifies that nonsense. Pua is a continuous player throughout "Moana 2." 

In "Moana 2," Moana (Cravalho) has to once again take to the high seas to settle the tempter of an angry god. This time, a wrathful deity called Nalo is indicated as the culprit in a millennia-long effort to keep something vital hidden from humanity's view, and Moana has to find Maui (Johnson) and enlist his aid in uncovering that vital thing (I speak in vague terms to avoid spoilers). For this new mission, however, Moana understands that she, although a Wayfinder, will require aid. This will be a longer journey than she has ever gone on before, and Moana will require a farmer (David Fane) to help grow food on the ship, as well as a plucky engineer (Rose Matafeo) to fix any technical problems, and a muscular storyteller (Hualālai Chung) to help guide the ship and help pull information from the ancient stories that may help them find their way. 

The first "Moana" was more or less a solo adventure. This time, she has a whole crew. Although the film is too frantic for the team to form a long-held group dynamic, it's nice that the title character has colorful, skilled teammates to speak with. Fane's Kele is especially funny. 

And, of course, Pua has now tagged along as the ship's animal mascot. Pua, merely a pig, doesn't have much to contribute other than oinking and looking cute, but Disney animated features often thrive on looking cute. The pig had its share of fans the first time around, so it made logical sense to include Pua this time around. If you bought a Pua stuffie in 2016, you'll be happy to know you can bring it, likely battered with age, to the theater again in 2024. 

Maui threatens to eat Pua a few times. Pua, you'll be happy to know, is not eaten. The pig lives.