The good news: we were in at theater filled with, what sounded like, young children. It sounded like they were engaged with the movie throughout. There is plenty of action and funny antics, and a good amount of song and dance. Young kids will eat it up. But, if you’re the parent tasked with taking your young children to see this movie you may have trouble staying awake.

Moral Theme

A good children’s movie needs two things:

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1. Keep the kiddies entertained/engaged.
2. Provide a distinct moral theme.

As I mentioned, the children in the theater seemed engaged, but the moral theme might be hard to pinpoint. The story is all over the place. The characters are trying to get to a specific island while the writers are trying to tell a story that goes everywhere and nowhere.

The writers provide a quick synopsis of the first movie through the actions of the storytelling character in this movie; then they assume we watched the first Moana a few days ago and remember it perfectly.

I have no idea who the villains are. The only explanation for the isolation is that some god thinks he’s more powerful if people can’t join together. I have no idea why Maui (Dwayne Johnson’s character) is introduced in this story in chains, similar to the opening of Thor: Ragnarok. I have no idea who this bat-goddess woman is and what her relationship is with Maui. Was she in the first movie? I don’t know because that was years ago.

I don’t have kids myself, but when I see a kids movie I think about what I would talk to them about on the drive home. With most kid’s movies, there’s a central moral theme that can be explored. Pixar is exceptionally consistent at providing distinct moral themes in their movies. Disney, not so much.

Grade: C-

About The Peetimes: This movie was hard to find good Peetimes for. That’s usually the case with any musical, but this movie has lots of characters introduced, important exposition, and then the song/dance scenes.

The first Peetime isn’t bad, but a song begins about halfway into it.

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Nprtykty, 03/28/2021

Brilliant idea with great information

I’ve been using RunPee for a few years now and it’s basically a requirement of going to the movies for me. The best part of course are the “pee times” that give you cues, synopses and times for when you can pee without missing the most important parts of the movie. There is also information about the credits- length, extras and if there are any extra scenes at the wayyy end. Super helpful to just know that it is or isn’t worth staying. There is a timer function that will buzz your phone when it’s a good time to pee. I also appreciate that the app is very conscientious about it being an app you use in a theater- dark background, all silent alarms etc. I will always enjoy the experience of the theater even if I could watch things at home- but I’ve even used it at home to check for things like after credit scenes or other information too.

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The last Peetime is all dialog that is easy to summarize, but the action begins right as the Peetime ends.

There are extra scenes during, or after, the end credits of Moana 2.

Plot
After receiving an unexpected call from her wayfinding ancestors, Moana must journey to the far seas of Oceania and into dangerous, long-lost waters for an adventure unlike anything she’s ever faced.