The reviews for Moana 2 are finally out and the movie has managed to impress critics as well as the audience. However, the Rotten Tomatoes and Metacritic scores of Moana 2 have failed to surpass those of the first movie. Starring Dwayne Johnson, Auliʻi Cravalho, Rose Matafeo, Hualalai Chung, and many more, the sequel debuted in theaters across the United States on November 27, 2024.

Moana 2 reviews are largely positive

Following the release of Moana 2, critics are praising it for being a satisfactory follow-up to the first movie which came out in November 2016.

Moana 2 follows the story of Moana (Cravalho) going on another oceanic adventure with Maui (Johnson) to search the hidden island of Motufetu. Apart from the storyline, critics are also in awe of how the returning characters carried the same energy and grace as in the first film.

Labeling the sequel an “entertaining experience”, Coming Soon’s Jonathan Sim wrote in his review, “Moana 2 continuously proves to be a safe sequel that doesn’t take any risky swings but doesn’t disappoint you with poor quality.”

Kate Erbland of IndieWire also lauded Moana 2 for taking on the task of meeting the expectations of the first film and wrote, “It’s always a tough ask to improve upon an original, but “Moana 2” is a sprightly addition to this sea-faring legacy. It does something nearly impossible in our sequel-glutted world: made me want further adventures.”

2016’s Moana earned a satisfactory 95 percent on the Tomatometer and 89 percent on the popcornmeter.

According to Rotten Tomatoes, Moana 2 has a rating of 70 percent on the Tomatometer, whereas it managed to bag 89 percent on the popcornmeter. These numbers, however, are lower than what the first movie earned upon its release.

On the other hand, on Metacritic, Moana 2 has a score of 57, while the first movie earned a score of 81.