7 Things Every Disney Fan Needs To Know About Moana 2

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"Moana 2" is heading our way faster than you belt out "AND NO ONE KNOOOOWS, HOW FAR IT GOOOOES!" and we have some details on what you can expect about the highly-anticipated animated sequel from Walt Disney Animation Studios. Ahead of the film's release, /Film was invited to the animation studios in Burbank, California for an early look at the upcoming film, including character designs, discussions with the writers and directors, an informative look at the extensive research process that goes into authenticating the story, and so much more. Suppose you caught the trailer for "Moana 2" and are eagerly awaiting even more news about the continuation of one of Disney's best animated films in their historic canon. In that case, we have everything you need to know about "Moana 2" right here.

In addition to all of the first-look details shown to the journalists invited to the special event, I also sat down with Jared Bush (co-writer of this movie and chief creative officer of Walt Disney Animation), David Derrick Jr. (co-director), Jason Hand (co-director), and Dana Ledoux Miller (co-writer, co-director) to hear more about how "Moana 2" came to life, what changes were made between the planned series and the new feature film, and how the first film had a massive impact on the lives of countless real-life people, including one of the directors.

There are even more surprises to come beyond this list, so keep your eyes on /Film for more "Moana 2" goodies ahead of the film's theatrical debut on November 27, 2024.

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Known for her work on "Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides," "The Hollow," "Designated Survivor," and the canceled-too-soon "Kevin Can F*** Himself," Dana Ledoux Miller has been working in Hollywood for quite some time. However, "Moana 2" is her first foray into animation. As a Samoan-American, seeing "Moana" in theaters had a massive impact on her and helped her realize that the film was going to open doors for more stories centered on Pacific Islanders. "I didn't know in that moment that I would be a part of telling Moana's story ever," she says. "Like, it didn't even seem possible to me." Miller was writing for TV at the time and was hired to co-write the live-action "Moana" with Jared Bush. Clearly Miller made a great impression, because Bush then invited her to work on the animation side for the at-the-time "Moana" series as a consulting writer.

"I've always dreamed of being able to truly represent my people and tell stories that were meaningful to us," she says. "And there's really nothing bigger than 'Moana' for us right now." Miller also credits the film for changing the course of her career as a storyteller. "My career has changed because Moana exists in the world," she explains. "It was the first time I saw anyone that looked like my family on the screen. It changes the way the world sees you."

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"Moana 2" introduces a new crop of characters from the island to join her on her journey, as well as a little sister named Simea and a group of Moana fangirls known as the "Moanabes." In talking with writer Jared Bush, he says the big personalities of the group were inspired by another Disney hit. "I had the benefit of just having finished 'Encanto,' where we had a very big cast and you had to immediately understand who each of those characters were and hear that voice immediately and have those all separate," he says. "And having that very top of mind for me as we headed into this next story, building Moana's crew, we knew everyone had to have very distinct personalities, and you wanted those to pop immediately."

There's Loto the inventor who, as Bush describes her, "changes herself every three seconds," and is "very happy to destroy anything in the pursuit of evolution." Kele is a grumpy old farmer who "lives in the dirt and he's happy in the dirt and he's never going to change." They're the polar opposites of one another, with Moana balancing in the middle. Rounding out the group is Moni, a storyteller who might be Maui's biggest fan.

But for Moana and her sister Simea, the inspiration came from director Jason Hand watching his own children with a big age gap and wanting to explore that relationship for Moana. "There was a very difficult moment when [his young son] realized [his eldest daughter] was going to college and not coming back home," he explains. "That this pillar of joy in his life was suddenly not always gonna be there." Moana going on an adventure and leaving Simea behind adds a layer of responsibility and a relatable experience for so many elder siblings.

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Hollywood tends to treat coming-of-age stories exclusively as high school films, but the reality is that we never stop changing. When approaching Moana's continued story, writer Jared Bush wanted to emulate the understanding that comes with continually coming of age. As he tells me:

"I remember distinct moments in my life, certainly graduating from high school and feeling like, 'Oh, I understand who I am,' and you get to the college and you go, 'Whoa, I don't know anything anymore and I have to redefine myself,' and then you leave college and you go, 'Wait, I have to redefine myself again?' and then I got married and then I had kids. I'm like, 'This just keeps changing all the time.'"

Bush says that Moana's story reflects the "universal idea that you are constantly evolving and learning more about yourself and redefining who you are and what you can be." But these changes don't mean Moana loses the sense of who she is. "She spent the whole first film becoming a Wayfinder, understanding that was who she was meant to be, but that's not the end of that story and that's not the end of her story," he says. "What else can she possibly be? What other adventures will she go on? I think it was a really fun launching point for that story."

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As co-writer/director Dana Ledoux Miller explains, "This first film was about Moana reconnecting to the past and who her people were meant to be. This [new] film is really about Moana looking towards the future." The creative team decided that the best way to express that is through Simea. Miller says, "She looks at her sister and she thinks, What do I want the world to be for her?" It also what makes the stakes higher for Moana. "The future of her people [is] really on the line, [and] she has to walk away from the most meaningful relationship in her life," Miller says. "It's not easy."

Co-director David Derrick Jr. jokes, "Yeah, try talking to a three-year-old about like what it means to go away and why." Little kids have big emotions and primarily operate off of them, so Simea is always going to be the most brutally honest person in Moana's life. But when Moana processes what her journey away from the island might entail, she has to think about more than just herself. She's thinking about her island, her community, the children, her sister, and what she'll have to do to maintain the livelihood and the continued legacy of her people.

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Considering the specificity of Moana's culture and heritage, the Disney team went above and beyond to make sure that everything on screen was designed with authenticity and backed by extensive research. Disney works with organizations like the Polynesian Voyaging Society, countless consultants, Pacific Islanders on staff, and the Oceanic Cultural Trust. During my trip to the Walt Disney Animation Studios for the "Moana 2" preview, journalists on site were even given the chance to learn from the Oceanic Cultural Trust about the art of Celestial Navigation and Wayfinding, to understand how it was the Polynesian cultures were able to travel, explore, and discover new lands without the assistance of GPS systems, maps, or even compasses.

"If you've ever even flown from [California] to Hawai'i over that Pacific Ocean, that's not even the longest trek that they took," explains David Derrick Jr. "And they were able to do that through this incredible art and spirituality of wayfinding." By using the celestial bodies, the movement of waves, and the direction of wind, Wayfinders could travel anywhere. "To hear the stories from people that actually do that today was incredible, and we just wanted to get it right," Derrick Jr. says.

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"Moana 2" was originally conceived as a series, but from what everyone at Disney tells me, it was the story that urged the House of Mouse to consider a theatrical pivot. "The move from a series to a feature is not something that we've done before," says Jared Bush. Fortunately, given how much pressure testing and reconfiguring goes on during the feature production process, modifying the story from a series to a film wasn't all that different from planning a feature from the get-go. Originally, each of the side characters were going to get their own episode to highlight their individual journeys, so scaling back those stories into a fulfilling arc within a single movie was the largest shift.

"I think that was probably the largest shift for us is we retained all those arcs," says Bush. "We just had all of them pay off at the end of the movie versus throughout the story." Considering the relative newness of Disney+, this is the first time a planned series has switched gears to a feature film. If "Moana 2" performs well in the theaters, this could also pave the way for Disney to follow suit on different projects in the future.

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If you were a fan of Pua the pig and Heihei the rooster from the first film, the good news is that both of these animal sidekicks are returning. In even better news, Pua is finally making it onto the water this time! The "Moana" creators heard the complaints from fans loud and clear that the people wanted more Pua, and that's exactly what we're getting. "Everyone so badly wanted Pua to be on the canoe last time and having the opportunity to do that, I think it was really fun for people," says Jared Bush. "Pua is not great out there on that canoe. This is not something he should be doing at all, and watching him try to find his bravery, I think, is a really fun story arc for him, too."

"Moana 2" arrives in theaters on November 27, 2024.