The upcoming picture from Walt Disney Animation Studios, Moana 2, is a letdown that has garnered 48% on Rotten Tomatoes, and it marks the beginning of an unsettling trend for the studio’s animated film schedule. The highly anticipated film Moana 2 is a sequel to the 2016 smash hit Moana, and its release will mark a shift in the company’s release schedule. Although Moana 2 might be a terrific film, this shift is probably a reaction to the box office failure of their prior film, and it sets an unsettling precedent for Disney’s animated features going forward.

For decades, Walt Disney Animation Studios rarely ever made sequels, with The Rescuers Down Under being the only sequel to come out of the studio until 2018’s Ralph Breaks the Internet and 2019’s Frozen II. After experimenting with these two sequels, the studio went back to making original films, with 2023’s Wish being the most recent entry from the studio. However, Wish was a big disappointment, with it only getting 48% on Rotten Tomatoes, with this likely being one of the reasons that Disney has decided to shift their release plans in a big way.