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Moana 2

Moana 2

Team reviewed
1h 40m2024Canada, United States of America
AnimationAventureFamilialComédieFantastique

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Detailed parental analysis

Vaiana 2 is a Disney animated adventure film with an uplifting and colourful atmosphere, tailored for young children and families. Vaiana sets out to sea with a new crew to lift a curse that isolates her people from the rest of the Pacific Ocean. The film is aimed primarily at children from 5 or 6 years old, with a level of tension suited to younger viewers, although it does contain some genuinely frightening sequences.

Violence

The film multiplies intense peril situations: storms with lightning and giant waves, a giant clam-shaped creature that swallows the entire crew, aggressive sea serpents, Kakamora creatures that fire paralysing darts. Several characters find themselves unconscious or apparently dead, and Vaiana herself goes through a temporary death before being brought back to life. These sequences are treated in a spectacular rather than realistic register, but their succession is sustained and may overwhelm more sensitive children under 5 or 6 years old. Violence remains without bloodshed, without gore, and always oriented towards resolving ordeals rather than towards brutality.

Underlying Values

The narrative emphasises responsibility towards one's community, the courage to act despite doubt, and the idea that leadership is built with others rather than against them. Vaiana actively seeks the help of her crew and takes risks for her people, making her a model of a leader rooted in collective service rather than individual performance. The notion of sacrifice holds a significant place in the dramatic progression. The film also values cultural transmission and belonging to a lineage, without turning it into an identity constraint.

Discrimination

The filmmakers worked with Oceanic cultural consultants and anthropologists specialising in Pacific cultures to avoid exoticising or romanticising representations of Polynesian characters. The result is broadly respectful: Vaiana does not follow the classic romantic arc of Disney heroines, and cultural codes are treated with care. A debate remains around Maui's build, which some cultural consultants themselves identify as a persistent stereotype despite the consultation approach. This is a possible angle for discussion with an older child.

Language

The register is very mild: a few slightly informal expressions without vulgarity or coarse language. Nothing that warrants particular attention from parents.

Strengths

The film shows genuine attention to the transmission of Pacific cultures, in keeping with the first instalment, and offers Western children a window onto traditions of navigation, cosmology and community that are poorly represented in mainstream animation. The relationship between Vaiana and her crew introduces supporting characters that broaden the narrative's horizon beyond the duo of the first adventure. On the other hand, the narrative construction suffers from choppy pacing and insufficiently developed secondary characters, a visible consequence of its origin designed for the series format. The songs, a strong point of the original film, are less memorable here. The result is a film that entertains without making a lasting impression.

Age recommendation and discussion points

The film is suitable from age 6 for serene viewing, and can be appropriate from age 5 for children comfortable with tension sequences. Two angles of discussion are worth opening after viewing: why does Vaiana need a crew rather than setting out alone, and what does that say about the way to care for others when one is responsible for a group?

Synopsis

After receiving an unexpected call from her wayfinding ancestors, Moana journeys alongside Maui and a new crew to the far seas of Oceania and into dangerous, long-lost waters for an adventure unlike anything she's ever faced.

About this title

Format
Feature film
Year
2024
Runtime
1h 40m
Countries
Canada, United States of America
Original language
EN
Studios
Walt Disney Animation Studios, Walt Disney Animation Studios

Content barometer

  • Violence
    2/5
    Moderate
  • Fear
    3/5
    Notable tension
  • Sexuality
    0/5
    None
  • Language
    1/5
    Mild
  • Narrative complexity
    2/5
    Moderate
  • Adult themes
    0/5
    None

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Values conveyed