Eight years ago, Walt Disney Animation Studios released Moana, The story of a young Polynesian girl whom the ocean itself chose to embark on a dangerous adventure. Moana had to return the lost heart to the goddess Te Fiti, restoring the balance of nature. Along the way, she befriends an arrogant but lovable demigod, Maui, voiced by Dwayne the Rock Johnson. Not only was Moana a massive box office success, it’s now the animated film on Disney+ with the most streams since the service launched. Disney announced a Moana animated series a few years back. But the project was soon reimagined as a theatrical sequel, Moana 2, hitting cinema screens this fall.
In September, Nerdist and others were invited to Walt Disney Animation Studios in Burbank, California, for a behind-the-scenes peek at the highly anticipated Moana 2. We got to view the film’s first half hour, which flashed forward three years after the events of that first, now classic film. In this new adventure, Moana (Auliʻi Cravalho), now a big sister to three-year-old Simea, receives a message from her Wayfinding ancestors. She puts together her own Wayfinder crew and reunites with Maui. This time, she must break the god Nalo’s curse on the hidden island of Motufetu, which once connected the people of the ocean. The Moana 2 animation we saw was truly jaw-dropping. And judging from the first thirty minutes, this movie has all the heart and joy of the original Moana fim still intact.
After watching the film’s first half hour, we were part of a Q&A with Moana 2 directors David G. Derrick Jr., Jason Hand, Dana Ledoux Miller (who also served as a writer), and writer and executive producer Jared Bush. The creators shared several images and pieces of concept art from Moana 2 as well. This was Pirates of the Caribbean writer Dana Ledoux Miller’s first animated film, and when asked about joining the world of Moana, she recalled watching the original when it came out. “I very distinctly remember sitting in the theater. The lights come out, and over the bumper, the first sounds, the first voices, are Samoan. And I realized at that moment that a Disney Film, which ended up becoming one of the biggest Disney properties ever, would forever change the way people saw Pacific Islanders.”
Miller continued, saying, “I knew that meant that it would change the way I could tell stories. I didn’t know at that moment that I would ever be a part of telling Moana’s story. And then I was fortunate enough to get hired to co-write the live-action Moana with Jared Bush. That was an incredible collaborative experience. And he said, ‘Hey, so we’re doing this thing over at Disney Animation. Would you be interested in coming over and playing?’ And so I was hired as a consulting writer.”
Originally, Moana’s story was going to continue in a Disney+ animated series. But eventually, plans evolved, and those stories condensed into Moana 2. So, how did the story change when the format changed? Director David G. Derrick said “In the beginning, Jason and I, we come from feature animation. And so we approached it the exact same way when we were doing the series. Every artist who worked on it would essentially say the same thing — that this needs to be on the big screen. the story will tell us what it wants to be. And ultimately, listening to the story, listening to the groundswell of all the artists and creators involved, we realized it was destined for the big screen, and that’s what we wanted.”
Three years pass between the original Moana film and its sequel Moana 2. So, how did our lead character change in that time? According to writer Dana Ledoux Miller, they really didn’t want to change Moana too much. “Let’s not reinvent who Moana is. We’re not trying to change her, but we’re trying to expand her world.” She added, “What is her next evolution? And that’s really how we formed this story. This is a film about Moana learning. She’s growing up and learning that you never stop choosing who you are. That’s what we say in the film, but it’s what we really believe. She went on this journey and now she’s looking towards the future. And you know, as we all grow up, we think we know exactly who we are, and then something changes.”
Of course, the music was a huge part of the original film’s success, so how did the filmmakers work with the music team this time around on Moana 2? Dave Derrick shared,”That’s a huge part of the storytelling, right? Every key moment is designed as a musical, told through song. And we tell Moana’s emotional journey through the music of the film. When we were with Emily Bear and Abigail Barlow, they came in and we actually had a piano in our story room. And they would play the opening song for us, the first song that they wrote for the film. And to hear that song, to be transported back into the world of Moana in a musical way, was so exciting.”
Although almost the entire original cast returns, Disney introduced a metric ton of new characters for Moana 2. Some of them, as Dana Ledoux Miller explains, are “Moanabes.” These are girls who idolize Moana and are the Swifties of the Moana universe. Most notable among the additions, however, is Moana’s new Wayfinding crew. This includes the young and idealistic Loto, the “grumpy old man” of the island, Kele, and Moni, a young woman who joins them on the journey. On the new additions, co-director Jason Hand said, “I love all the new characters. From the crew, from Sumia, from the Mysterious Matangi, and then ultimately this God of Storms, Nalo.” From what we saw, the new Moana 2 characters all make an immediate impression, without overshadowing the original characters at all.
Speaking of the first film’s returning characters, the filmmakers had to talk about Maui in Moana 2. Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson’s demigod stole the show in the first film and looks to do the same again in its sequel.
Dana Ledoux Miller said of Maui in Moana‘s sequel, “I am really excited about the relationship between Moana and Maui. They were a lot of fun in that first film and a lot of fun in this film. We don’t want to see them getting along all the time. Who cares about that? In the original, they really developed a friendship that was meaningful. It changed both of them, pushing them to new places. We have this demigod who is strong, he’s been through so much and has a very complicated relationship with humanity. But now his best friend is a human. And so it creates vulnerability in a way that we’ve never seen for him and pushes him to new places.”
Cultural authenticity was also super important to the filmmakers when it came to crafting Moana 2. Dave Derrick was quick to tell us, “We do a ton of research. And every single thing up on screen is designed; it’s researched. That all comes down to our collaborators, who actually have a Pacific Islander heritage or oceanic cultural trust. And for me, someone who’s actually outside of that culture, the generosity that’s been shown me to pass the knowledge from the Polynesian Voyaging Society to every single one of our consultants who come from a different part of, like, let’s say, Tahiti or elsewhere, it’s been incredible.”
With the movie taking place three years later, there were slight visual updates in Moana 2. Derrick said, “For Moana, in particular, she’s a little bit older, and her hairdo is slightly different. We wanted to make sure that it was the same Moana that we know and love. My favorite character that we aged up is Pua (Moana’s pet pig). If you look very closely, Pua is a little bigger, a little stockier. And he has a cute little baby tusk that pokes out sometimes.” As for possibly the most beloved character from the first film, Moana’s dippy rooster, Heihei? Dana Ledoux Miller laughingly said, “He’s as dumb as he’s ever been. And why would you change that? When something works, it just works, you know?” We are not one to argue with that logic.
Moana 2 hits theaters on November 27.
