These days, my cinema-going involves my children and Disney sequels. The previous one was Inside Out 2.

I haven't seen the original Moana from 2016, but I believe it's one of Disney's best ever animated films. Rotten Tomatoes ranks it sixth out of all of them. (Conversely, their two films before this, Strange World and Wish, failed both critically and commercially.) However, this film was a cancelled TV series that Disney decided to rework into a movie only ten months before release, without the original film's directors, producers or composer (Lin-Manuel Miranda). Nonetheless, its box office has passed a billion dollars worldwide and it's still in cinemas. They're also making a live-action remake of the original for release next year. (Ugh. I hate these Disney live-action remakes, although only on principle rather than after actually seeing any of them.)

This sequel's first half is pointless. I was nearly asleep in the cinema. People talk about going to sea and then go to sea, with no drama or scenes that matter. The animators create the odd charming moment, e.g. some great face acting, or the quirky dance-off. It's pleasant and likeable. The supporting cast are modestly endearing, albeit the kind of second-tier eccentric that would make more sense in the expanded space of a TV series than the punchy requirements of a movie. (I like Mr Grumpy, but would you take him to sea?)

After forty minutes of nothing, the second half starts coming alive. (Slowly, bit by bit.) We meet cool creatures inspired by real sea life, e.g. mudskippers, blobfish, angler fish and a giant Lovecraftian clam. You wouldn't have been surprised to find Cthulhu inside... and that's not far from the truth. It's a prison for gods. Moana herself is a cool action heroine (who deserved a better action movie!) and the film takes a huge leap when at long last she's reunited with Dwayne Johnson's Maui. They were the first film's heroes and they've got more chemistry and history than everyone else in this film put together. The ending has emotional reactions that actually have an effect on us and the demigod Maui lifting an island out of the sea. I'll repeat that. LIFTING A FREAKING ISLAND.

One problem is that the film's threats and obstacles are impersonal forces of nature. Moana stocks up her boat, recruits a crew and sails across the ocean. Be still my beating heart. She never meets a baddie. (Matangi is a classical Disney Villainess, admittedly, but only until that gets subverted.) The enemy god is personified as a storm. A cool one, yes, but it's still basically our heroes vs. the weather. (We only meet the bloke himself during the end credits, in a scene that's shouting "Watch Moana 3.")

That said, though, apparently it's become common for Disney to avoid antagonists. Strange World had been their third film in two years with no baddie and instead a plot about the reconciliation of a troubled family. Wish had been their first film in nearly a decade with a proper, old-fashioned Disney villain.

The songs are forgettable. I liked one-and-a-half of them and I'd listen again to Matangi's song, Get Lost.

I like the way the film takes inspiration from real sea creatures. I like the animation, which even as a die-hard 2D animation fan I'll admit needed CGI for the water. I like the weird bits. The Lovecraftian clam, the coconut pirates, the sentient tattoos and the sentient water tentacles. (I like to think of this film as a sequel to James Cameron's The Abyss.) Mind you, the clam's a bit easily defeated... even with neurotoxin, that's 1 HP of damage knocking out a 1000 HP monster.

Overall, it's okay in the second half and good at the end... which means children with goldfish memories will leave the cinema saying "THAT WAS GREAT!" If it comes on television, by all means watch it. But you might want to leave the first half playing in the background as you do something else.