menu_open Columnists
We use cookies to provide some features and experiences in QOSHE

More information  .  Close

Disney needs more morally ambiguous characters like Moana 2’s bat goddess

1 1
31.01.2025

Compared to the original Disney musical Moana, which largely just follows wayfarer Moana (Auli‘i Cravalho) and cocky demigod Maui (Dwayne Johnson) for most of the movie, Moana 2 boasts a pretty expansive ensemble cast. The Moana sequel, now available for digital rental or purchase, introduces a wave of new characters, originally designed for a TV-series version of the story. Among them are Moni (Hualālai Chung), a Maui fanboy who loves to draw self-insert fan art of him with his favorite hero; Loto (Rose Matafeo), a cheery inventor who confidently proclaims that the only two certainties in life are failure and death; Keke (David Fane), a grumpy farmer who somehow ended up on a boat-based quest despite not knowing how to swim; and Moana’s adorable little sister Simea (Khaleesi Lambert-Tsuda).

Unfortunately, that’s a lot of cast for the movie’s breezy 100-minute run time, so they all get a bit lost in the shuffle. And no one’s shafted more than Matangi (Awhimai Fraser), the trickster goddess who commands an army of bats and arguably has the movie’s best song. She’s a character archetype that Disney desperately needs more of: a morally gray female character who doesn’t have the same

© Polygon