Moana 2 finally hits theaters on November 27, and we have our first clip from the highly anticipated sequel, featuring the new song “We’re Back.” Featuring the vocal talent of Auliʻi Cravalho, you can watch the clip down below. Afterward, you can continue to read about our experiences getting a behind-the-scenes look at Walt Disney Animation Studios at the creation of this follow-up to the modern Disney animated classic Moana.
In early September, Walt Disney Animation Studios hosted Nerdist and other journalists at a special presentation for Moana 2. After a traditional Polynesian dance performance, we saw a presentation from the Oceanic Cultural Trust, with an “Art of Celestial Navigation and Wayfinding Session.” The Oceanic Cultural Trust is a group of anthropologists and historians from the Pacific Islands, deeply involved in the making of Moana 2. They are there to make sure the film maintains the cultural authenticity of the original. After viewing the first 30 minutes of the film, the production team gave us a peek behind the curtain on how they crafted Moana’s continuing journey.
After an in-depth conversation with Moana 2 directors David G. Derrick Jr., Dana Ledoux Miller, and Jason Hand, which you can read here, we also got to talk to the character designers for the film. Daniel Arriaga, character art director, Amy Smeed, and Kevin Webb, the heads of animation, explained how the characters we reinvented visually. We got a lesson on how to draw an animated Disney character ourselves. The Moana 2 animators even taught us how to draw “Mini Maui.” That’s the little version of Maui that’s his own living tattoo. True, our efforts weren’t quite on a Disney Animation level. But the final results weren’t too far off from how Mini-Maui appears on screen. This is a true testament to their teaching skill and not our artistic talent.
For Moana 2, the animators explained to us the visual changes in the characters for the sequel. Especially as there’s a four-year time jump in the film from the first, and our heroine is now a teen. Her hairstyle received a slight update, among other things. We asked the team how they approached giving Dwayne Johnson’s Maui, and Immortal being, a visual update. Their answer? “Maui is exactly the same. He’s the one character that we just said ‘That’s Maui.'” The arrogant (but lovable) demigod now sees Moana as a peer, and his changes are internal. This young girl is now his best friend, after all. But visually, he’ll remain just as we saw him in the first film. As the saying goes, “If it ain’t broke…”
We also got to experience how the foley artist created the sounds of Moana 2. We were invited to a demonstration session at the studio, where foley artist Ronni Brown showed us how the sounds of the film were created with nothing more than wet rags, ropes, baby bottles, and more. Pretty much anything you can use to create sounds appropriate to the action on screen. Brown used coconut shells to represent the sounds of Pua’s footsteps when he ran onto Moana’s boat. For Hei-Hei, she used dried-up Wisteria pods. She even used leather and some rubber pieces to make the sounds of vines snapping while Moana took a tumble. Yes, some aspects of filmmaking feel like they are probably a chore. But during Ronni Brown’s demonstration, foley work never looks like anything but fun.
The real highlight of our day, however, was getting a moment in the recording booth. There, the team at Disney demonstrated how they record ADR (Automatic Dialogue Replacement) for their films. Moana 2 actor Hualālai Chung (voice of Moni) coached us through the ADR. The scene used was Moana and her new crew encountering Kakamori pirates. They gave us a list of characters we could do ADR for, and the character of Kele was our choice. As the “grumpy old man who never leaves the island,” we saw him as a good fit. All we got to do was yell “LAND!” upon seeing shore, but it was a blast to be part of an animated Disney film. Even if it wasn’t used for the real movie. Clearly, tons of love and care went into making Moana 2, and we can’t wait to see it up on the big screen.
Moana 2 arrives in theaters on November 27.
