Moana 2

You know, I’m wondering how many of these “not my style” movies I can make it out to before someone calls the cops or assumes that I was abducted by aliens. I’m going to push my luck on that one and see what happens. 

But anyway, Moana 2: what a movie! You know, I can’t say that I’m really disappointed in this one. I got a few thoughts from my favorite critic before I went to see it, so I had an idea of what I was getting into. But most critics are trying to tell you whether or not you’re about to see the next legendary masterpiece, so they set their standards nice and high. What I try to do is to tell you whether or not you are going to come crashing out of the theater like a prisoner of war who has been rescued from the absolute foulest of tortures. 

And that, folks, you won’t be. 

Like I said, this movie isn’t bad, it just doesn’t live up to the hype of its original. It had some pretty big shoes to fill and it sadly, didn’t even try to fill them. Disney has this animation thing down-pat and they know how to pump out stuff that the kids will be happy with. Honestly, kids are pretty easy to please. I think the only other group that comes close is us action fans. But where we want explosions and crashes, kids want their favorite characters and a few songs. It’s all pretty simple these days. 

Now, I have seen some bad movies. Stuff with awkward lines or plot moments that make you want to shout “why?!?” I have even had one or two where I have wanted to chuck my popcorn at the screen and walk out mumbling angry curses at the ridiculously bad choices that were made. This movie was pretty far from that. I think if you know someone that wants to scratch the Disney-itch, this will do it just fine. Will it be a five-star experience to remember for generations? Probably not. But will anyone in your party be absolutely miserable? Also, probably not. The only person that would give you a “yes” to that question would be the egotistical jerk who already made up his mind beforehand. But you would know that ahead of time.

Like I said, Disney has this formula down pat and I’d say this one holds to their standard. But I’m only being so generous because I think there will be some hate for this movie in store. Some hate that I have to admit is pretty fair to concede to. You see, it really isn’t the next big thing. The songs are pretty forgettable, and much of the cast is even moreso. There’s just nothing truly there to get excited about. I mean, it flows well and the visuals are stunning, but it does what all sloppy sequels do: focus on the plot at the cost of those precious moments that give a movie its personality. Those moments where they stop for a punchline or to give a character a loveable quirk. None of that is here and it’s kind of sad. It does a “sloppy sequel” better than some others that I have seen, but it still feels like something that didn’t get as much love as it should have.

But it did get me thinking about something. The movie is all about getting lost, jumping into the chaos and hoping to deliver a certain outcome. It reminded me of a quote by Sun Tzu, in The Art of War.

In the midst of chaos, there is also opportunity.

When you lose your way and your original plan falls apart, a new way often finds you in the middle of the madness. I can’t count how many times I have said “oh, lookie, it works!” as I have tried to fix something in maintenance. I wish I had a deeper explanation of how this actually happens, but I don’t. I just know that it does. Time and time again I have seen it in my own life: I will jump into something in hopes of making things better. Sometimes I have a plan, sometimes I don’t. But the vast majority of the time, I have a moment where I accidentally do something and wind up saying “huh, didn’t know that would work!” After a while, I would start to tell people 

I got it fixed, but don’t ask me how! 

The only thing I can concretely tell you about this whole thing is to be prepared to be adaptable. Relax your mind and stay on your toes as you go through life. The more rigid you are, the more opportunities you may miss. Get used to saying “screw it, let’s try that!” Find ways to keep yourself loose and flexible. Personally, I like to ramble. When a pipe won’t fit or didn’t get cut right, I’ll shake my finger and say “well, that’s just rude!” lightens me up every time.   

And as you start to make yourself more and more flexible, you start to find new ways forward. Ways you probably wouldn’t have been able to anticipate by planning ahead or thinking them through. Sometimes, you just have to jump into the storm. 

So there you have it! Even a slice from the mediocre plateau of 2024 Disney can spark some deeper conversations. I hope you enjoyed my thoughts for the day and I pray that your day is blessed. 

Overall, I believe this movie will go down in history…

For 2 days, before we forget about it.