Moana 2: A very early look at the tv show-turned-animated feature sequel

Before that story, here’s what you should also know this week

• Holidays at both Disneyland Resort and Walt Disney World Resort are quickly approaching. Beginning mid-November, both resorts have returning offerings of attraction overlays, merchandise, and food & beverages. Check the Disney Park Blog for details.

• Music by John Williams, the official feature-length documentary on the legendary movie music maestro had its world premiere at AFI Fest last week. Our editor-in-chief Jordie Poblete had posted his reaction on X. Look for a full review later this week. It’s coming to Disney+ on November 1.

• Directing at Disney is a new book by Pixar chief Pete Docter and Don Peri chronicling what it was like for Walt Disney to direct the first-ever animated films and how directors work at the company now. It’s out now.

She is Moana. Still.

Stepping foot into the Walt Disney Animation Studios in Burbank, California, you’re immediately met with how storied the studio is. 

As you get to see in the short film from last year “Once Upon a Studio,” the halls are lined with reminders of legacy–and originality. Not to speak for everyone in the building, but original stories are still made there, even if that originality has to come through sequels.

Case in point? Moana 2.

We were invited by the studio to get a first-look at the animated feature sequel that will continue the story of Moana, her village, and the friends she made along the way like Maui. With the first film establishing pretty much everything you need to get this proceeding film, this is where the originality begins.

Firstly original idea? Moana 2 was supposed to be a TV show. That decision to carry on Moana’s journey on Disney+ was more a business decision from a previous company leader, but with movie theaters opening back up and drawing audiences slowly back in, new leadership at Disney saw the value of the franchise and this new story.

“Bob [Iger] and the studio leadership not only knew the value of Moana as a business. They also knew Moana as a heroine whose new story required the full ocean,” said David G. Derrick one of the directors at the early press preview.

Those invited outlets, including DisneyExaminer, got to see the first 30-minutes of the film, and by some accounts of the journalists who watched, it was enjoyable. It didn’t take a lot of time for the introduction of a new original ensemble of characters like Loto and the teasing of a new foe who we only got to hear and not see.

As for the plot of the new film, we won’t spoil that and only say that it was neatly tucked into that half-hour we saw. So in effect, think about it all as an understandable and enjoyable season premiere of one of your favorite TV shows. But with any preview, it may take a turn into territory you least expect.

“I think what we did with this sequel is go deeper into who Moana is, and like anything else, when you find depth with anyone, there’s bound to be a point where it breaks your heart,” said writer and director Dana Ledoux Miller.

What is sure to break your heart and mend it back up again is the new music that was written for Moana 2. Building on the musical foundations from the original film created by Lin-Manuel Miranda, Mark Mancina, and Opetaia Foa'i, singer-songwriters Abigail Barlow and Emily Bear come by the press preview lunch and performed a selection of new songs that will be in the movie, including “We’re Back,” which plays during the beginning 30-minute opening sequence. The duo, known as Bear & Barlow in the indie music world, felt a deep connection to the music of the first film and only wanted to honor it with their new compositions.

“I think it was easier for us to write these songs because we feel so connected to Moana herself. She’s a warrior, royalty, curious, and creative– just like us and I know so many other girls out there,” said both Barlow and Bear.

So many girls since the first Moana film have not only adopted Moana’s music to be a part of their regular playlist, but her being as well because the Polynesian people and culture once again take an authentic part in the storytelling.

To help guide using real life as inspiration like the first film, Disney Animation formed a group of people that would become their Oceanic Culture Trust. Similar to the famed “story trust” systems at both Disney Animation and Pixar that help guide the narrative of their movies, the Oceanic Culture Trust is brought in to advise on all the cultural aspects of each movie.

For Moana 2, members of the Culture Trust included those who specialized in things that are unique to Polynesian cultures including dance, wayfinding, sailing, food, and even language. The language used in Moana’s world is actually not a specific Polynesian language, but a combination of all the dialects used by the people in Polynesia.

“I think that’s something that is overlooked with these movies: we created an original language that was inspired by all of our peoples’ languages. For a Disney movie. That’s crazy!,” said Lāiana Kanoa-Wong, a cultural consultant on the Oceanic Culture Team.

Put all together, Moana 2 is original in it being a sequel. No matter how many forms it took to get it to be released in theaters this year, the team at Disney Animation have once again found a reason to proudly add it to its long legacy of telling great stories.

Disney’s Moana 2 comes ashore at your local theaters on November 27, 2024.

STILL TO COME: A look at the life of Disney Legend and concept artist Tyrus Wong with a new book by Karen Fang

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