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Moana 2, the highly anticipated sequel to Disney’s hit 2016 animated adventure, received lukewarm reviews from critics.

The original film was set in ancient Polynesia and introduced audiences to Moana, the strong-willed daughter of a local chief, and Maui, a shape-shifting demigod. There were also songs from it Hamilton writer Lin-Manuel Miranda. The film is currently being remade as a live-action film.

In the new animated sequel, which continues the story three years later, Auli’i Cravalho reprises her voice role as the title character, while Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson returns as Maui. The songs are from Unofficial Bridgerton musical creators Abigail Barlow and Emily Bear.

The film began life as a spin-off television series, and several critics have criticized it for maintaining a lackluster episodic structure and failing to convince as a standalone film.

‘It’s more accurate to describe Moana 2 as an episode of mediocrity Moana television series (what the sequel was originally supposed to be), in which the characters remain relatively static and merely react to the crisis that arises each week,” wrote William Bibbiani of The cover.

‘There’s nothing particularly terrible about it Moana 2,” Bibbiani continued. “But the fact that it is necessary to write ‘there is nothing particularly terrible about it.’ Moana 2‘ means something still went wrong.’

Kevin Maher from The times also discovered unwanted traces of the reworked television series. “The story lumbers along in episodic fits, beginning with isolated story fragments that have little impact on the broader, unfortunately limp arc,” Maher writes in his two-star review. “An Adventure with Matangi plays like a filler episode that would have been canceled long before a series hit streaming.”

He concludes: “It’s just a shame that the (…) film is different Moananever really finds its way.”

India Block of the Evening standard was more positive, handing out a five-star review and praising the new songwriters. “Abigail Barlow and Emily Bear prove to be adept and emotional songwriters who can channel the style of Lin-Manuel Miranda (who did not return as lyricist for the sequel) to maintain continuity without falling into pastiche,” Block writes.

She also highlighted the look of the film, saying: “The animation is even more beautiful, allowing you to see every grain of sand and drop of ocean water. With the artistry being so good, it begs the question of why a live-action remake (billed for a 2026 release) is even necessary.”

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Rolling stone critic David Fear, meanwhile, argued that the film is better than the “straight-to-video sequels that Disney assigned to their most popular titles at the time.”

But he did suggest that audiences may still want to lower their expectations. “The overall sentiment seems something like Sequel 101: You loved the first movie, so here’s a second movie that’s a lot like the first movie,” Fear writes. ‘Here’s the good news if that’s what you’re looking for. If not, it is one hour and forty minutes.”