DisneyWarrior27
Active Member
I refuse to believe that. And I won’t believe it. I won’t.
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Moana 2 (Disney Animation - November 2024)
- Thread starter DCBaker
- Start date
Sir_Cliff
Well-Known Member
Yes, I don't get the sense that Frozen 2 has a strong reputation as a bad sequel beyond forums like this. It seems more a case of it kind of fading away post-release compared to the original, as will most likely be the case with Moana 2. I'll admit, though, that I was never interested enough to see it despite liking Frozen a lot more than most people on forums like this seem to like it!
This does seem to be a hangover from the, shall we say, overly ambitious streaming strategy embraced during Chapek's brief tenure. I still feel a little sad at how this has left Luca somewhat off the radar as I really liked that film. While I haven't seen Moana 2, I concur with those who think crafting a Moana sequel should have been more important to Disney considering what a monster the original film has been for them.
On that note, I generally find it strange how poorly Disney has been able to capitalise on Moana's popularity, particularly in the parks. You'd have to imagine there are plenty of pitches and possibly plans for Moana attractions that have been developed over the years, and it's not hard to imagine a very different response to D23 if they announced a decent Moana attraction for Adventureland versus filling in Rivers of America for more Cars attractions.
LittleBuford
Well-Known Member
Though I also found it average, I don’t think it felt made-for-TV. They actually did a pretty good job of disguising the film’s origins as a Disney+ show.
DisneyWarrior27
Active Member
I'm not sure what you mean. It wouldn't have had the 100th to capitalize upon in the marketing if it came out this year, and it didn't have much else going for it as a film. Being an original concept it wouldn't have had a built-in audience to draw upon to way Moana 2 does, and the reviews wouldn't have been any better.
Coaster Lover
Well-Known Member
- In the Parks
- No
Shows the power of the brand. Reviews for the movie are "fine", but there was so much pent up demand for more that it's overperforming at the box office. Saw a similar situation with Cars 2. Just proves that the hype from so many people watching it on Disney+ was very real. Seems like this may make it easier to green light the Moana attraction for Magic Kingdom (if it wasn't already green lit).
LittleBuford
Well-Known Member
Wish came out during a peculiar moment when the box office was still in the process of bouncing back and when Disney’s brand was suffering something of a cinematic and possibly reputational slump. Had the film been released in 2019 instead of 2023, it would have done significantly better than it did, and I believe the same would be true of this year. I’m not suggesting it could have achieved anything like Moana 2’s numbers, but I’m convinced it fared much, much worse last year than it would have done under more “normal” circumstances.
ETA: The fact that the truly awful Chicken Little made more than Wish—and significantly more if you adjust for inflation—bears out my point.
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I think it's unfair that Wish flopped at the box office, even though it has flaws. And I hate to say this, but I blame the executive meddling for that. Because we could've had a Starboy and King Magnifico and Queen Amaya as the first villainous couple. Oh great! Now I'm being negative!
DisneyWarrior27
Active Member
We can’t change the past. But we can learn from the past to do better for the future.I think it's unfair that Wish flopped at the box office, even though it has flaws. And I hate to say this, but I blame the executive meddling for that. Because we could've had a Starboy and King Magnifico and Queen Amaya as the first villainous couple. Oh great! Now I'm being negative!
Ghost93
Well-Known Member
I hate to admit it, but Wish is indeed the stronger movie in almost every aspect except animation (credit where credit is due, Moana 2 looks stunning). While the lyrics were occasionally awful, I still remember the tune of most of the Wish songs and the general story pretty well, and I haven't seen it since last year.
The central conflict of Moana 2 was extremely vague and bland. I didn't feel the stakes AT ALL. The music was utterly forgettable and the supporting cast was a waste of space. Moana's new crew members were in the movie enough to be noticeable and take up valuable time, but not enough to be properly developed in their own right.
I didn't HATE the movie, but it feels very much like a movie meant to be a babysitter for children, whereas the first film was a solid movie in it's own right. The first Moana is an 8/10 whereas Moana 2, is a 4/10.
Moana 2 feels right at home with the direct-to-video Disney sequels. It's not utter garbage like Belle's Magical World, The Hunchback of Notre Dame II, Atlantis: Milo's Return or Cinderella II, etc. But it's definitely worse than the better DTV sequels like The Lion King II, Aladdin and the King of Thieves and Cindrella III.
Ghost93
Well-Known Member
I just can't agree. While Wish was indeed a disappointment, I think it's better than most people on this forum give it credit for. It's treated like an unforgivable abomination when it's really just a kind of generic/bland movie that relies too much on the Disney formula without bringing anything new and exciting to the table.
LittleBuford
Well-Known Member
Chicken Little wins that prize easily.
WISH coulda been a good musical movie if the music was good.*
*not a pixie duster
*not a pixie duster
Ghost93
Well-Known Member
If I were to rank the bottom 15 Disney movies (from Worst to best)
1. Home on the Range
2. Chicken Little
3. Saludos Amigos
4. Ralph Breaks the Internet
5. Make Mine Music
7. Melody Time
8. Moana 2
9. Dinosaur
10. Strange World
11. Bolt
12. Fun and Fancy Free (Mickey and Beanstalk is great, Bongo is not)
13. Wish
14. The Sword in the Stone
15. Oliver and Company
LittleBuford
Well-Known Member
I think much of the music was good. "This Wish" in particular would have made a wonderful addition to the songs Disney uses for fireworks and other nighttime entertaintment, but the film's failure put paid to that possibility.
LittleBuford
Well-Known Member
I like most of those films to varying degrees. Chicken Little is probably the only Disney movie I actively dislike and can't imagine ever rewatching. (The Sword in the Stone has no place on that list! It's a wonderful film!)
Ghost93
Well-Known Member
The top three are the only ones I actively dislike, the rest I just think are weaker compared to Disney's other movies.
I actually think Chicken Little tells a better story than Moana 2, but I dislike it more because the movie is just so mean-spirited and the animation is ugly. It's just a pleasant film to sit through, and it really rubs me the wrong way.
Dinosaur has aged the worst. It was sold on it's — at the time — cutting edge visuals, but in the past 25 years those visuals have become quite dated and all that's left is a lackluster story.
As far as the Sword in the Stone goes, it was one of the few Disney movies I didn't see until I was adult, (with the other few being the Fox and the Hound, the Great Mouse Detective, Oliver and Company and most of the package films). As a result, I have no nostalgic attachment to it and I just felt it was nowhere near as good as it should have been for a Disney adaptation of the King Arthur story. The only thing I love about it is the Higitus Figitus song (which was on my Disney Sing along Songs VHS tapes). It's definitely a charming movie, but not one of the all time best.
Farerb
Well-Known Member
The Sword in the Stone - has great animation and great humor. Its story is weak though and it just randomly ends, apparently there's a reference to a commercial there that no one seems to remember. It's easily the weakest animated film from Walt's time (I cannot consider the package films as actual films, they're basically a collection of shorts, some are good, some aren't).
Oliver and Company - now that's a glorified Saturday morning cartoon! Honestly there are Disneytoons films that look better than this film.
Home on the Range - I don't hate the movie but I don't think it's great. It has fine animation whose angular design was inspired by Disney's '50s Western shorts. The songs are good too, better than the music in Disney films nowadays (all those LMM wannabes). I prefer this movie to Brother Bear, which I thought was just bland (beautiful backgrounds though) and prefer it to most of Disney's CGI films.
Oliver and Company - now that's a glorified Saturday morning cartoon! Honestly there are Disneytoons films that look better than this film.
Home on the Range - I don't hate the movie but I don't think it's great. It has fine animation whose angular design was inspired by Disney's '50s Western shorts. The songs are good too, better than the music in Disney films nowadays (all those LMM wannabes). I prefer this movie to Brother Bear, which I thought was just bland (beautiful backgrounds though) and prefer it to most of Disney's CGI films.