The decision to continue the seafaring ways of Moana - the strong-willed daughter of a chief of a Polynesian village - as an animated musical feature film instead of a TV series will be a major success in terms of making money. The original “Moana” was such a massive box office hit and remains a strong draw for the Disney+ streaming service that more tales were an obvious decision. Because the sequel, “Moana 2,” will make so much money, there will either be a third film or the original plans to create a TV series will be resurrected. Either avenue will be another smart financial move. The problem with making a sequel – whether or not it started out as a TV series – is that there are certain magical elements that can’t be replicated. In this case, the fact Moana is no longer an untested champion, the lack of a specific villain and a musical soundtrack that doesn’t have the same spirit leaves “Moana 2” a good movie but nowhere near as great as the initial offering. Moana – as voiced by Auli'i Cravalho – was an underdog in the first film. There was a natural tension created by her quest to free her island after being selected by the ocean to reunite a mystical relic with the goddess Te Fiti. "Moana 2" takes her on a new voyage to lift a curse that has isolated her people from the rest of the world. She’s certain there are other people beyond the ocean horizon but finding them means facing and overcoming numerous deadly perils. Joining Moana on her trek are her faithful sidekicks of Hei Hei (Alan Tudyk) the chicken and Pua the pig plus expert fixer Loto (Rose Matafeo), cranky Kele (David Fane), Moni (Hualalai Chung) and demigod Maui (Dwayne Johnson). They must journey to the far seas of Oceania and into dangerous, long-lost waters for an adventure unlike anything she's ever faced. Because she showed such heroics in the first film, there is never any doubt she will succeed. The addition of a worried little sister adds some tension to Moana’s brave expedition, but those moments play toward the sappy side. The bulk of the journey is a very linear trip across the water interrupted by various dangers that must be faced. There is no drop in animation quality from the original as the team has created a blend of colorful characters (suitable for merchandising) and built stunning worlds for them to exist. The design of the water is so close to the real world it is almost as if a heavenly hand had been involved. What is missing is a major villain. Moana and her crew have to survive a mutant clam and deal with the menacing Matangi (Awhimai Fraser), a storm demigod who appears to be the big bad of the film but is actually just a minion for Nalo (Tofiga Fepulea'i). Matangi would have been an acceptable villain, but writers Jared Bush and Dana Ledoux Miller use her only as a filler. Nalo doesn’t make an appearance until the middle of the closing credits. Not showing Nalo to the end is like watching “Peter Pan” and Mr. Smee is the villain until the closing credits. Saving the reveal of the bad guy in “Moana 2” for the end is nothing but a big clue more tales of Moana are to follow. It is also odd that Fraser’s Auckland accent comes through in her performance as it sounds very out of place compared to the rest of the cast. Not enough had been established about the world of Moana to make such an accent appropriate. The other element that weakens “Moana 2” is that composer Lin-Manuel Miranda didn’t create the music for the sequel. The Grammy-winning team of Abigail Barlow and Emily Bear have taken over writing the songs for the film. Their work is good but not memorable. The curse of a hit movie is that there is a reason the production had so much success from original ideas to unexpected surprises. “Moana 2” has enough colorful characters, swirls of action and cute musical numbers to be entertaining but it can’t overcome the problem that tends to sink so many follow-up films in that they always come across as pale copies when compared. Movie review Moana 2 Grade: B- Cast: Auli'i Cravalho, Alan Tudyk, Rose Matafeo, David Fane, Dwayne Johnson, Hualalai Chung, Awhimai Fraser, Tofiga Fepulea'i. Directors: David Hand, Dana Miller, David G. Derrick Jr. Rated: PG for action and peril Running time: 100 minutes.