Moana 2

image for Moana 2

Short takes

Not suitable under 6; parental guidance to 8 (violence, themes, scary scenes)

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This topic contains:

  • overall comments and recommendations
  • details of classification and consumer advice lines for Moana 2
  • a review of Moana 2 completed by the Australian Council on Children and the Media (ACCM) on 3 December 2024.

Overall comments and recommendations

Children under 6 Not suitable due to violence, themes and scary scenes.
Children aged 6–8 Parental guidance recommended due to violence, themes and scary scenes.
Children aged 9 and over Ok for this age group.

About the movie

This section contains details about the movie, including its classification by the Australian Government Classification Board and the associated consumer advice lines. Other classification advice (OC) is provided where the Australian film classification is not available.

Name of movie: Moana 2
Classification: PG
Consumer advice lines: Mild themes
Length: 100 minutes

ACCM review

This review of the movie contains the following information:

A synopsis of the story

Centuries ago, all of Oceania was connected by the currents that flowed to the legendary island of Motufetu – a place where human communities could come together to learn from each other and to trade – but the power-hungry God Nalo (voice of Tofiga Fepulea’i) sank the island to the bottom of the sea in an effort to keep the people apart, weaken the individual cultures and ultimately destroy them all. Long ago, an ancient ‘wayfinder’ wanted to reconnect his people, so he set out to find the island but never returned. Meanwhile, Demigod Maui (voice of Dwayne Johnson) has made Moana (voice of Auli’i Cravalho) the next wayfinder and, as she accepts her new role, she is struck by lightning and receives a visit from the previous wayfinder with instructions on what she must do to reunite the oceanic cultures and save her people. Following a light in the sky, Moana and her small crew: an elderly farmer named Kele (voice of David Fane), a shipwright and inventor called Loto (voice of Rose Matafeo) and a strong warrior named Moni (voice of Hualalei Chung), set off to find the fabled island. When they are waylaid by a gang of wild coconuts and then trapped in a giant clam, they encounter Maui who has been taken prisoner by a witch called Matangi (voice of Awhimai Fraser). With help from Matangi, Moana and Maui set off once again to find Motufetu, to raise the island and to brave the storm that will free them all.

Themesinfo

Children and adolescents may react adversely at different ages to themes of crime, suicide, drug and alcohol dependence, death, serious illness, family breakdown, death or separation from a parent, animal distress or cruelty to animals, children as victims, natural disasters and racism. Occasionally reviews may also signal themes that some parents may simply wish to know about.

Forced segregation; Sacrifice; Isolation; Manipulation and Power at all costs.

Use of violenceinfo

Research shows that children are at risk of learning that violence is an acceptable means of conflict resolution when violence is glamourised, performed by an attractive hero, successful, has few real life consequences, is set in a comic context and / or is mostly perpetrated by male characters with female victims, or by one race against another.

Repeated exposure to violent content can reinforce the message that violence is an acceptable means of conflict resolution. Repeated exposure also increases the risks that children will become desensitised to the use of violence in real life or develop an exaggerated view about the prevalence and likelihood of violence in their own world.

There is some violence in this movie, including:

  • Moana, a pig and a chicken slide off a clifftop on a rock and crash down through the jungle. A paddle hits Moana on the head as she lands.
  • A villager threatens to eat Moana’s chicken.
  • Maui tries to slice Matangi with his hook.
  • Moana is hit by a bolt of lightning through the roof of a hut. She is knocked to the ground but is soon shown to be ok.
  • A chicken is nearly crushed with a log.
  • Maui is held prisoner in a strong net made of fish bones.
  • A hatchet knocks into a mast, nearly striking a pig.
  • A character is hit with a rudder.
  • A pig is nearly eaten by a shark who bites the deck of Moana’s boat.
  • There is mention of a farmer who was murdered by coconuts.
  • Moana is shot at by wild coconuts. She fights back with her oar.
  • Moana and her whole crew are shot repeatedly with little darts containing neurotoxins. She and her crew become paralysed.
  • Moana and her crew try to shoot spears with neurotoxins into a giant clam that is trying to trap them.
  • A wild coconut stabs the clam with a spear.
  • There is a creepy creature that get stabs with a poison dart. It explodes some sort of acid substance and causes Moana’s crew to fall through the floor. Moni lands on Maui’s head.
  • Moana falls off a waterfall.
  • Maui tells Moana and her crew that they are all going to die.
  • Sea monsters attack Moana’s boat. Moni is knocked overboard and it looks like he has been eaten. Maui saves him.
  • Moana and another character are about to be eaten by sea monsters.
  • Maui cuts through the tornados that Nalo is sending towards Moana and her crew.
  • Nalo hits Maui with lightning and gets him to drop the island before Maui can bring it to the surface. There is a huge explosion and Maui is hit so hard that his tattoos disappear. As Maui falls into the ocean Moana’s boat is overturned.
  • Moana swims down to try to touch the island and is hit by a lightning bolt just as her hand grazes the surface. She is knocked unconscious and is left floating in the water where is looks like she has drowned.
  • During the end credits, a fish sneezes neurotoxin and paralyses a bunch of wild coconuts, a crab is zapped by lightning and Nalo imprisons Matangi, blaming her for Moana’s success.

Material that may scare or disturb children

Under fiveinfo

Children under five are most likely to be frightened by scary visual images, such as monsters, physical transformations.

In addition to the above-mentioned violent scenes, there are some scenes in this movie that could scare or disturb children under the age of five, including the following:

  • Moana has a vision of her people disappearing and of being alone on her island, there is a terrible storm with a lightning face in the sky and a large, looming whale suddenly appears out of nowhere. She is told she must follow the fire in the sky. The scenes are sudden and are somewhat disjoined. Some viewers may find them confusing and or frightening.
  • Matangi repeatedly transforms into different creatures. She can shapeshift and initially approaches Moana in the form of her little sister before beginning to transform into a bat and then a bunch of bats who all fly at and attack Moana.
  • There are some creepy creatures, such as sea monsters with glowing eyes and sharp teeth. Some very young children also might be disturbed by the savage appearance of the wild coconut gang.
  • Maui transforms and shapeshifts into creatures such as sharks or eagles.
  • Nalo creates a huge, violent storm in the sky with a glowing, evil face, lightning strikes, tornadoes rushing over the sea, and a huge Tsunami-like wave which he aims straight at Moana and her crew.

Aged five to eightinfo

Children aged five to eight will also be frightened by scary visual images and will also be disturbed by depictions of the death of a parent, a child abandoned or separated from parents, children or animals being hurt or threatened and / or natural disasters.

In addition to the above-mentioned violent scenes and scary visual images, there are some scenes in this movie that could scare or disturb children aged five to eight, including the following:

  • Moana has to decide whether or not she will leave her home and family. There is the very real possibility that if she sets out she may never return. Moana’s baby sister is very distressed upon hearing this and Moana is very sad at the thought of leaving her family behind.
  • Moana is visited by the ghost of her grandmother. The scenes are not scary but her grandmother is bathed in a blue light and there is much talk of separation.
  • When Moana is zapped by lightning and it looks like she has drowned, Maui is very sad. He collects her in his arms and is crying as the ghosts of her ancestors begin to surround her. Moana is soon given her own tattoos and comes back to life but some children may be distressed in the moments that it looks like Moana has died.

Aged eight to thirteeninfo

Children aged eight to thirteen are most likely to be frightened by realistic threats and dangers, violence or threat of violence and / or stories in which children are hurt or threatened.

  • Nothing further noted.

Product placement

  • None noted.

Sexual references

There are some sexual references in this movie, including:

  • Maui, in reference to the leaves her wears around his waist, says: “I have been rockin’ leaves on my cheeks for a thousand years.”
  • When Maui says something insensitive to Moana, one of his tattoos pulls on his nipple. Maui tells the tattoo not to give him purple nipples.
  • Moana plants both palms on Maui’s chest and quickly says: “That was awkward.” Moni creates a poster with the image of her hands on his chest.

Nudity and sexual activity

There is some nudity and sexual activity in this movie, including:

  • Maui’s bare chest is consistently exposed, though it is generally covered in tattoos.

Use of substances

There is some use of substances in this movie, including:

  • During a couple of ceremonies (both at the beginning and end of the film), it appears that characters are consuming kava, a mildly narcotic and sedative beverage commonly served in the islands.

Coarse language

There is some coarse language in this movie, including:

  • Sucker / sucking
  • Wind bag
  • Cheater
  • Coward
  • Crude humour includes reference to a butt dial and Maui making farting noises with his armpit.

In a nutshell

Moana 2 is a musical, fantasy adventure, featuring original cast members in the lead roles, many special effects and the top-notch animations we have come to expect from Disney Studios. The film also shares some important messages about taking chances in order to succeed and looking for alternative and creative solutions to problems. Moana 2 is best suited to audiences over the age of six.

The main messages from this movie are that different cultures and diverse people are essential to building an enduring community; and that we need to work together to find creative solutions to common problems.

Values in this movie that parents may wish to reinforce with their children include:

  • Courage
  • Teamwork
  • Creativity
  • Determination
  • Compassion.

This movie could also give parents the opportunity to discuss with their children the importance of working together and learning from one another instead of keeping cultures and communities separate or isolated.