The Screen Critic: A smash-hit musical from Disney, a clunker from Cate Blanchett and some sweet Christmas fare

People across the planet are presently cramming their way into every available multiplex to see Moana 2, and it’s easy to see why.

The upbeat sequel to Disney’s 2016 animated musical smash does everything the first film did, plus a bit more just to make sure everybody leaves with a big smile on their faces.

This vibrant, energetic follow up finds our heroine happy and in charge of her all-singing island community when she is called upon to assemble a team and head out into the ocean to break a curse.

Whereas the first film saw Moana conquer her fears to assert her individuality, this splendid adventure is driven by the theme of community.

The mission here is for Moana and her crew to draw together the peoples of the ocean who were forced apart by a villainous god.

No two ways about it – Moana 2 is a sheer delight, full of great songs, plenty of action, an uplifting message and, best of all, an 85-minute running time.

After a run of bad films, it seems like Disney has gone back to basics by aiming its movies at families instead of fringe groups. For this we give thanks.

Fans of Happiness singer Pharrell Williams are the best placed to enjoy Piece By Piece, a conventional bio-doc but for its unconventional form as a Lego movie.

Produced by Williams, the film certainly has novelty value, though that quickly wears off once you realise that the Pharrell Williams saga is only of marginal interest to non-fans.

Just beware that the Lego content might make the film seem like a comedy for kids when it clearly isn’t.

At the arthouses the ever-versatile Cate Blanchett headlines Rumours, a political satire/horror movie that can’t seem to make up its mind what it’s doing.

Our Cate plays the heavily-accented German Chancellor who is attending an emergency G7 meeting to formulate with other world leaders the best way to end some ill-defined crisis that is consuming the world.

The shebang starts off well but quickly deteriorates into a confused mess as all these zombies start turning up. Please avoid.

For a nifty dose of solid horror head over to Prime and order up a screening of Tarot, a lovely little spookfest about a group of college kids who conjure up all sorts of killer demons when they mess with somebody else’s deck of Tarot cards.

That’s a big no-no, apparently. Did you know that?

As we power towards the big day all the streaming platforms are proudly showcasing their huge Christmas movie catalogues, a ritual that is now as big a season tradition as over-eating, food comas and family squabbles.

Always mixed in with the usual Yuletide classics – Elf; It’ s a Wonderful Life; Die Hard, etc – are stacks of new Christmas films that studios can’t seem to crank out fast enough.

Two such delights presently running riot on Netflix are Our Little Secret and ‘Twas the Text Before Christmas.

Lindsay Lohan stars in the former, a sweet romantic comedy in which two childhood sweethearts break up when one of them gets a job offer in London.

Ten years later they accidentally meet up again at a family Christmas gathering because their respective new partners happen to be brother and sister.

To avoid chaos and complications they vow to keep their relationship shtum, though that turns out to be harder than landing a team of flying reindeer on a gable roof.

Breezily directed, it’s a fun ensemble piece though it does have about six endings.

In the made-for-TV charmer ‘Twas the Text Before Christmas a text accidentally sent to city chiropractor Addie (Merritt Patterson) sees her becoming part of a tradition-loving suburban family that happens to include James (Trevor Donovan), a strapping, handsome young doctor.

With Christmas music running throughout the whole film and with the same Christmas decorations apparently used in every scene – talk about being budget-conscious – it’s a congenially schmaltzy, easy-to-like slice of Christmas cheer that clocks in at a very agreeable 85 minutes.

Wow. Just like Moana 2. It’s a Christmas miracle.

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