Moana 2 Directors On Transforming A Disney+ Show Into A Film & Designing Moana's Perfect Antagonist

Moana 2's directors teased the direction, shape, and stylish flourishes of the upcoming Disney sequel. Building off the massive global success of 2016's Moana, Moana 2 brings back the titular wayfinder and sets her out on a new journey across the seas. Traveling alongside old friends like Maui as well as some new faces from her home village, Moana finds herself confronting the wrath of the gods, along with a mysterious figure who believes a future far different from the one Moana seeks to ensure.

Starting life as a Disney+ series, the upcoming Moana 2 is shaping up to be one of the year's biggest family films. During a visit to Walt Disney Animation Studios in Burbank, California, members of the press (including Screen Rant) got the chance to check out the first act of the film and see some behind-the-scenes elements of the movie. Screen Rant also sat down with the film's directors — Jason Hand, Dana Ledoux Miller, and David Derrick Jr. — to discuss expanding the scope of the show into a theatrical film and the key to developing Moana 2's villain.

Related

Ming-Na Wen & James Hong Discuss Gremlins: The Wild Batch’s Immigrant Story & Family Dynamics

Screen Rant interviews Ming-Na Wen & James Hong about reprising their Wing family roles as Fong and Grandpa in Gremlins: The Wild Batch.

Building Off Of Moana's Success For Moana 2

"[We wanted to bring in] a bunch of new characters, and then really just push it and go as far as we possibly can."

Image via Disney

Screen Rant: I wanted to start with how big the first Moana. The film is so big, the music is so big, the impact it had culturally has been so big. As filmmakers, what was it like to step into a sequel like Moana 2 and go, 'alright, now we just got to top that"?

David Derrick Jr.: Honestly, that's the amazing part about this project. The first film was so big, but we really wanted to take these characters that everybody knows and loves, Maui and Moana, and put them on a new journey. [We wanted to bring in] a bunch of new characters, and then really just push it and go as far as we possibly can.

Jason Hand: I mean, all of us have worked on Moana outside of [the movies]. We love this world. We love these characters. And so for me, it was more what a gift to go back to this world, go back to these characters, and continue on a story.

Dana Ledoux Miller: It's been eight years since the first film, and technology has changed — which has helped us have an even bigger scope. The water and the hair in Moana were iconic new additions to the animation world. It's only gotten better since then. I'm so excited for everyone to just see the rich lushness of this world again, but also to just step back into Moana's world to go on a new adventure. We don't let her off the hook for anything. So it's really exciting, and I can't wait for everyone to see it.

The Key To Making An Ideal Villain For Moana 2

"Everybody really just wants to do right by her story and to make it bigger and more exciting."

We've gotten a few teases of the film's villain. I know you can't go too much into detail, but what was it like trying to find that ideal antagonist and contrast to Moana?

Dana Ledoux Miller: I think it really starts with trying to determine what the themes of this film are, what we really want to say. So much of what we wanted to say was about connection, this idea in the Pacific that the ocean is what connects us, not what separates us. As we were thinking about who [Moana's] antagonist could be, we started thinking about what is the opposite of connection? It's disconnection. What does it mean to be isolated? It was from there that we really started to think about who the foe would be.

Honestly, it's visually stunning what our effects and lighting team has put together. Every day walk into those departments for reviews and are like, 'I mean, I know we asked you to do this, but it's cooler than I ever could have imagined on my own.' Which is one of the benefits of working with the best artists in the world who have their own high standards and their own passion for Moana. Everybody really just wants to do right by her story and to make it bigger and more exciting than the first adventure.

4:21

Related

Transformers One Interview: Keegan-Michael Key Reveals The Key To Bumblebee's Popularity

Keegan-Michael Key discusses Bumblebee's popularity, his approach to voicing the character in Transformers One, and his work with Josh Cooley.

Transforming The Moana Disney+ Series Into A Feature-Length Moana 2

Moana 2 was originally going to be a Disney+ series before it shifted gears to become a feature-length film. What was that process like, of taking these characters who'd been designed to develop across an entire season and tweaking it to work as a single movie?

Jason Hand: Because we got to focus on the on each one of those crew members in the series format, we got to know them and understand makes them tick, where they are the funniest, where they can be the most emotional. When we switched it to the feature format, it became about how all of that fits through Moana's lense and her journey.

Dana Ledoux Miller: The movie really is about Moana's continued [evolution a sa leader]. In the first film, it was her setting out on her own, except for Heihei. But Heihei is his own thing [ Laughter ]. We wanted to explore what kind of leader Moana is when she has a crew that she's responsible for. It's one thing to be out on the ocean taking care of yourself and a chicken and a demigod with some issues.

It's a completely other thing to have a bunch of other people there who you're responsible for, who may not be as experienced as you are, but bring other really valuable gifts to the journey. Part of learning who Moana is, is learning who she is as a leader under the highest stakes possible. As someone who never quits, and is fiercely independent, it's a test to have to answer directly to other people and for other people when lives are in the balance.

David Derrick Jr.: There's just so much fun, honestly. We have so much entertainment that comes from... like, Moni is this major super fan of Maui. He has all this knowledge as a storyteller. Loto is an incredible genius engineer, but is always trying to fix stuff on the canoe in the middle of actually sailing the canoe, which is not the best idea.

Then there's Kele, who brings food and keeps everybody fed. He's this incredible indigenous genius, being able to bring these plants across the entire ocean, but he's never been out on the ocean before. He loves the dirt! It's both funny, but also gives a lot of richness to the story and heart.

What Makes Moana Special & The Big Surprises Of Moana 2

"It's really her love for others and her ability to relate to others that makes her so special."

Image via Disney

Less than a decade after the original film debuted, Moana has become a Disney icon. Given the amount of experience you've all had exploring this character, what separates Moana from the Disney pantheon?

Dana Ledoux Miller: Her empathy. Early on, when I started working with Jared Bush, he said Moana's one superpower is her empathy. What an incredible superpower to have. It's really her love for others and her ability to relate to others that makes her so special. Plus she's awesome.

David Derrick Jr.: She also never quits. That empathy means that she never gives up. That's such an admirable quality. I think that is why she is such a an iconic character, honestly.

What would you all say was the biggest surprise you encountered during the production of Moana 2?

Dana Ledoux Miller: I would say the biggest surprise for me was the depth that we were able to take with her friendship with Maui. We really pushed it to new levels, while still maintaining that really fun kind of ridiculous banter between them. They're still very much the characters we fell in love with in the first film, but this friendship that they formed in that first film has changed them in ways that are unexpected and takes them to places that I really don't think anyone in our audience sees coming.

Jason Hand: I'd say the same.

David Derrick Jr.: I think by the end of the film, she has changed in such a significant way. The fact that we were able to do that in this film was so surprising to me, and how incredible it looks and feels when we finally get to the end. It's a different Moana than we have seen before, and I think it's going to be so exciting for our audiences to see that.

Moana 2 releases in theaters on November 27.

Source: Screen Rant Plus

Moana 2 is the sequel to the 2016 animated film Moana. Directed by David G. Derrick Jr., Jason Hand, and Dana Ledoux Miller, the film continues the journey of Moana as she embarks on new adventures, exploring the vast Pacific Ocean while encountering new characters and challenges along the way.

Director David G. Derrick Jr. , Jason Hand , Dana Ledoux Miller

Release Date November 27, 2024