Last February, the big-eared firm took us by surprise by announcing Vaiana 2 just a few months before its release. The studio has a habit of presenting its projects several years in advance, but this feature film is a special case. The new adventures of the heroine have begun their development as a series for Disney+: nothing very surprising since Vaiana first of the name is constantly establishing itself as the most viewed content on the platform. And it was this popularity that ultimately transformed the program.
After several difficult years in cinema, the animation studio desperately needs a strong icon to attract audiences to theaters. And this is how Vaiana 2 comes into play. Rather than wasting its potential with an indifferent launch on Disney+, the adventurer is making a comeback on the big screen. But faced with such a change of direction, even all the good will is not enough to bring back the magic. Vaiana’s new journey is far from being up to the standard of a cinema release and suffers from the lack of means and ambition specific to its initial nature.
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Moana with the means at hand
If you have already followed animated series inspired by animated feature films, you will know that these types of projects are difficult to compare. Very often, the spin-off series simply expands the initial universe for a smaller audience and with a truncated budget. At DreamWorks for example, the series Dragons make a perfect example: the visuals and animation have nothing to do with the original work. On Disney+, series like this – Baymax et Zootopia+ to name just a few – have managed to avoid too obvious visual differences but remain what they are: spin-offs less ambitious than the main films.
Vaiana 2 therefore began its journey with lowered objectives. Since it was “only” a series, the teams from the first film did not take the time to return. We therefore find young talents in the direction (Dana Ledoux Miller, Jason Hand and David Derrick Jr.) far from having the experience of Ron Clements and John Musker. Same observation on the music side with the notable absence of Lin Manuel Miranda, replaced by the duo Emily Bear and Abigail Barlow spotted following the creation of the Unofficial Bridgerton Musical in 2021. Enough to try to reproduce the charm and atmosphere of Vaiana first of its name on television.
Only now that Vaiana 2 arrives in cinemas, the project unfortunately remains the same. The unexpected change in direction did not allow the teams to produce a film that met expectations. The music is as generic as possible, the storyline struggles to take off and the visuals are not as exotic as in 2016. The false nature of this sequel impacts the feature film as a whole.
This film is a series, and it feels
Throughout the session, Vaiana 2 leaves us with the strange impression that something is wrong. Disney did its best to rework the project on a cinematic scale but the details do not lie. We quickly notice that the secondary characters appear less realistic or that the environments are less detailed. But it is above all on the staging side that the film is content to do the bare minimum. In an industry where the competition manages to offer visual gems like Spiderverse or Arcane, Vaiana 2 is disconcertingly simple. The first film did not hesitate to have fun during the songs and offered memorable scenes such as during the restoration of Te Fiti’s heart. But here, the sequences follow one another without ever standing out.
Add to that a lackluster scenario to obtain a terribly disappointing whole. With Frozen 2Disney has nevertheless proven to us that sequels deserve to have their place, but Vaiana 2 is not one of them. The story that we discover is modeled on the initial character of the project. Since a spin-off series isn’t as big as a movie, the narrative can’t afford to do anything crazy. The journey presented takes no risks and remains far too wise, which does not facilitate our investment in the scenario. With just enough twists and turns to avoid boredom, Vaiana 2 says nothing and just acts present.
The art of saying nothing
As if disappointment wasn’t enough, this film is also frustrating. The universe of Vaiana is full of potential but this adventure is never allowed to take off. The story seems held back by specifications that are far too restrictive, so much so that not much happens in the space of an hour and 40 minutes. The adventurer of Motunui has no choice but to embark on a most perilous expedition, but the threats are barely felt. The reunion with Maui serves in particular to present a new entity called Matangi. However, this mistress of illusions does not even have the time to shine up to her potential. After a funny song, and a few revelations, the character does not reappear once. We don’t know who she is, or what she represents, but there is a reason for that.
Vaiana 2 does not aim to tell anything. The feeling of unfinished business that we feel throughout the film takes on its full meaning in the final moments and has the effect of a slap in the face. After an ending that is too quick for a finale that is just as flat as the rest, the feature film has the audacity to conclude with a post-credits scene which explains all the flaws noted up to then. This final scene informs us that this journey is not “that the beginning” of even more dangerous machinations that the heroine will have to face in the future. In reality, we are therefore dealing with a Vaiana 1.5 whose place should be on Disney+ and not at the cinema. It is clear that this cliffhanger was intended to announce the true Vaiana 2which will ultimately be Vaiana 3. This sequel is therefore just a lazy attempt to recycle a project in order to attract people to theaters without making any effort. Moana deserves better.
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