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Listeners expecting to hear any significant dose of Miranda's music in Moana 2 may be disappointed despite the needle-drops of song fragments within the new Barlow and Bear work. That said, it's extremely heartening that "We Know the Way" has become the overarching franchise identity, its reprise placement at the end of this movie a fantastic wrap of both stories. It's frankly a stronger song than any of the new ones, and Cravalho is allowed to take over the lead vocal lines with a little more pop inflection in the interlude sequence. The relationship between the new songs and Mancina's score is pretty comfortable, the composer supplying a variety of subtle allusions and outright instrumental interpolations at regular points where appropriate. The intersection between the work of Mancina and Foa'i is where this score is a bit less satisfying, however, causing it to lack the highlights that graced the final cues of Moana. Beyond the early feast music, the short Te Vaka performances of source-like use aren't really well adapted into the score in obvious ways even though Mancina does run with one of their melodies extensively. A song like "Nuku O Kaiga" stands apart as too short to really establish a purpose, though Mancina goes to great lengths to push the Johnson and Te Vaka resurrection chant during "Mana Vavau" into the score. As before, the infusions of Foa'i material come with a much, much wetter recording ambience than the straight orchestral score, and that disparate conflict in sound is not solved in the sequel. (The voices and orchestral bravado in "Tulou Tagaloa" don't really jive that well in their merging for the opening title.) The best portions of Mancina's work for Moana involved the fantasy and celebration passages, especially late. In Moana 2, that material is diminished across the board and supplanted by an increase in ridiculous comedy and outright action, both of which sufficiently handled but not spectacular. The composer handles these parts in workmanlike fashion, and most listeners will really only appreciate the score for its moments of direct reference to the songs or Foa'i influences. Unlike the first score, this one struggles to establish a narrative flow on its own, too. Mancina does his best to provide the mythical island of Motufetu with its own musical voice as related to the "Mana Vava" chant, and he even throws in a handful of motifs that seem unique to only the score, but that's it.

Mancina's treatment of the song melodies of Moana 2 starts with what seems to be his primary concern with his role: definition of the island of Motufetu. His adaptation of the "Mana Vava" chant's various impressive guises during "Motufetu" includes a fully orchestral treatment in one of the score's best cues up front. The "Mana Vava" melody is again dramatic in the second half of "Sacred Title," teases early in "Meet Matangi," and informs the victorious opening to "Wayfinders." Don't expect these thematic references to really connect the dots for most listeners, as the scene of resurrection that accompanies "Mana Vava" is more of a visual treat, and the song doesn't really enunciate its lines with obvious clarity. The early "Moana of Motunui" cue reprises a snippet of the mystical Foa'i material, which returns briefly in "Missed Connections" among upbeat "We're Back" song references. Then, "It's Me Maui" allows a playful explosion of "Get Lost," a crescendo of "I am Moana" highlights the middle of "Fire in the Sky," and a slight preview of "Finding the Way" style creeps into "Assembling the Crew." The descending lines from "Get Lost" return in "Run and You'll Live" and are adapted against "Mana Vava" early in "Meet Matangi." Mancina's comedic chicken material carries over in "Hei Hei Saves the Day." Further song interpolations includes a faint reference to "Finding the Way" in "Welcome to Pouli," a wholesome moment for "Beyond" in "Gotta Chee Hoo It," and the tone of the mystical ancestral song in "Stronger Together." The climax of the movie really pushes the song melodies to the forefront, sounding like the straight instrumentals were dropped into the score without much alteration. "Waves Like Mountains" is a wholesale instrumental version of "Can I Get a Chee Hoo?" while "There's Another Way" is essentially another instrumental version of "Beyond." In between, the prior film's "I am Moana" again touches the contemplation of "Change of Course" while the opening "Tulou Tagaloa" chant informs "Just a Little Different." The concluding "Wayfinders" cue is filled with references, starting with "I am Moana" for redemption at the start against the "Mana Vava" melody, followed by "Beyond" fragments thereafter. A dramatic adaptation of "We're Back" changes the song's meaning to represent all the other tribes coming together, and a triumphant brass rendition of "Tulou Tagaloa" at the conclusion wraps the music back to the opening titles rendition.

Despite all of the references to song melodies described above, the score for Moana 2 does explore some motifs that aren't immediately attached to one of those songs. A perseverance motif drives the action and travel cues for Moana's crew, and its ascending figure offers inspiration at the outsets of "The Plan for the Clam" and "It's Go Time." Returning in the latter half of "The Pearly Gate," this motif is cheery early in "Between Realms" and joins the mystical tones and fragments of "Beyond" in "Safe-ish for Now." Mancina handles the Kakamora coconut race with the same percussive emphasis in this film, though double conch hits are turned into an explicit warrior salute in diagetic form here. The composer can apply that pair of drum hits as stinger reference to the one coconut that ends up on Moana's crew, as in "Safe-ish For Now" as well. More nebulous and reliant upon its tone is the Nalo material of true villain intent. Usually handled with a heavily percussive presence and growling with deep choral tones, this music strikes (quite literally) in the middle of "Sacred Title." Thereafter, it threatens in "Fire in the Sky," is adapted into the nasty high vocals of "Sea Snake Attack" with a synthetic tilt (the score's most painful moment on the ears), and is developed more fully and almost playfully for a moment in "Nalo." (One has to wonder if this material was shifted into the mid-credits scene.) After that scene, the credits largely maneuver through the score cues that focus on instrumental adaptations of the songs. The entire production of the soundtrack is sufficient but does not excel like that of Moana. It's hard to quibble with the placement of existing themes, though it would have been nice for Johnson to sing the line "You're Welcome" rather than say it. And a brief reference to "Shiny" would have made the cameo for Tamatoa more interesting. But the concentration on reprising "Tulou Tagaloa," "An Innocent Warrior," and "We Know the Way" is highly satisfying as the connective tissue. The new songs, despite the clear winner in "Beyond," are average at best, hampered by poor lyrics, and the score doesn't contain the fantasy highlights of the prior one. On album, the songs were released on a regular album while the score and instrumentals to the songs were added on a "deluxe edition." Generally speaking, this score is the kind that would play better if sprinkled in between the songs on album, Mancina's portion not all that memorable when separated. Still, the entire crew has to be commended for at least continuing some of the magic of Moana, which will save the day for some viewers in context.  ***   @Amazon.com: CD or Download

Bias Check:

For Mark Mancina reviews at Filmtracks, the average editorial rating is 3.27 (in 15 reviews) and the average viewer rating is 3.12 (in 10,201 votes). The maximum rating is 5 stars.