BACKGROUND
First things first, consider this your spoiler warning. I like to go into detail with plot points, so you might want to ensure you’ve watched Moana 2 first before reading anymore.
Moana 2 was never meant to be a feature film. It began its life as a series, created for and made to be streamed on Disney+.
This is actually not the first time Disney has done something like this. Atlantis: The Lost Empire (2001) already had a spin-off television series in development by the time the movie came out. However, due to a lacklustre reception and an underwhelming box office performance, the series was promptly cancelled. Instead, some storylines from the series were packaged together to make Atlantis: Milo’s Return (2003), a direct-to-video sequel to add to Disney’s ever-growing list in the 2000s. This sequel saw the team solve different mysteries around the world, but these stories didn’t link well and felt only too much like episodes of a series crammed together. I feared the same for Moana 2.
But I didn’t need to worry. That was not what happened. Moana 2 did have a cohesive storyline, and it was animated to a similar standard as the original, whereas Atlantis 2 was clearly not. What Disney actually did with Moana 2 was make a carbon copy of the original, almost scene-by-scene, and ripped off the original in many aspects, something I find to be a worse crime than simply making a low-quality, but different, sequel.
I don’t enjoy pointing out the flaws of the Walt Disney Company, and I’m not the best at it; there are many other Disney critics who can do that job for me. However, I have found myself increasingly irritated at the state of Disney and Pixar’s animated movies. They seem incapable of making anything new these days, not wanting to shoulder the risk of a movie not doing well. I understand that the COVID-19 pandemic in particular made movie-making difficult, and the fact that less people had been visiting the cinema meant that lower budget, streaming-friendly films were all the rage, but I don’t think this is an excuse.
Since the pandemic, Disney Animation has struggled with both box-office results and reviews for some of their latest movies, like Strange World (2022) and Wish (2023). I didn’t find anything negative about either of them, and actually really liked Wish. Since then, though, what can we look forward to from Disney Animation? The previously announced Zootopia 2, Frozen III, and of course, Frozen IV. I’m sure there will be another non-franchise movie released, but why bother making that the majority of your upcoming movies when you know just the idea of a continuing franchise, or a “reimagining” of a beloved classic, will bring the public into the movie theatres? I can just hear Bob Iger rubbing his hands together at the thought of all that money. That’s probably why Pixar have begun to do exactly the same, having recently announced Toy Story 5, Coco 2, and even Incredibles 3.
It just baffles me how a studio – or two, if you want to look at Disney and Pixar separately, as I do – that was founded on innovation and creativity can resort to such laziness. Because of this, I didn’t enjoy Moana 2, and instead found myself matching the scenes from Moana 2 to the original Moana as I was watching it. I couldn’t help it though; it was so blatant. I understand that companies need to stay in business and it’s always better to make a hit than a flop, but I don’t believe Moana 2 was the way to boost profits.
PLOT
Moana 2 is set three years after the events of the first movie and starts on mountainous terrain, where Moana is running through a forest with her pet pig Pua, and Heihei the rooster. She runs to the top of a mountain and blows a shell. It seems that she is looking for other island communities. Suddenly, Pua starts to slip, so Moana grabs him, but all three of them fall to the ground, and Heihei gets his head stuck in a coconut shell. Moana takes it off him, noticing a symbol on it, of an island. Moana thinks she’s found something special.
Moana hops back on her canoe to return to Motunui, her home. At the village, we see that the people are thriving and Moana’s story of restoring the heart of Te Fiti has become legendary, with young girls wanting to be just like her now. We also meet some new friends of Moana’s, like the farmer Kele; historian and Maui fanboy Moni; and Loto, the resident engineer and craftsperson. Moana shows the coconut shell to her father, believing that this must mean that there is another island they should search for. Moana also now has a little sister, Simea, who is unimpressed with the shell and with Moana’s voyaging plans. Moana takes Simea to the “place of ancestors”, where she talks about their ancestors and the heroic explorer, Tautai Vasa. She tells Simea of the importance of their voyaging heritage.
Later that evening, there is a feast on the island – and a representation of an ava ceremony, a sacred Samoan ritual with a specific ceremonial drink – where the title of Great Wayfinder or Tautai is to be bestowed on Moana. During the ceremony though, lightning strikes the central hut and Moana is hit. She sees a vision of Tautai Vasa, the last Great Wayfinder and her ancestor, who says Moana must find the island of Motufetu, an island that once connected all the islands of the Pacific, but which was sunk by the storm god Nalo. Tautai Vasa says that she must raise Motufetu once more to protect the people of Motunui, as the separation of the people of the ocean will weaken them all. Moana then sees a light in the sky, showing her the path to Motufetu. Moana knows what she needs to do, even if that means leaving her distraught sister Simea behind. Moana begins to assemble supplies for the long voyage, and this time also assembles herself a crew, with Loto, Kele, and Moni joining her on this journey. As the team is about to leave, Moana shows Simea that they will be connected by her friend, the ocean, during the time they are apart. A huge send-off is organised and Moana and her team set sail.
Meanwhile, Maui is looking to open the portal that will take him to Motufetu, however, he is being warned that should Moana go looking for the island, she will be hurt. Maui tries to fight off a demigod but he is captured, and tied up over a pit of weird-looking fish – mudskippers, apparently – with his magical hook just out of reach. He almost manages to grab it, when the demigod, Matangi, returns to stop him. Matangi works for Nalo, and she wants to meet Moana for herself.
Initially, Moana’s crew struggle to adapt to “boat life”, especially Kele, who is an elder and generally a grumpy one at that! Moana tries to encourage everyone to cheer up but they soon find a strong current moving their canoe. Except that’s no current; Moana sees that it is the Kakamora, the coconut pirates! Moana had an encounter with them on her previous journey and she is well aware of their tricks. However, as Moana prepares for another battle, the Kakamora float right past them. Confused, she turns around – only to see that her and her crew are about to be swallowed by a huge clam monster! With some quick thinking and smart manoeuvres, the team get away from the monster, but are soon confronted by the Kakamora again, who dart the group, paralysing them.
The Kakamora begin to explain that they are not looking to fight them, but might need their help. The Kakamora have simply been trying to return to their own island, since Nalo’s sinking of Motufetu has disconnected them from their home too. They just want to get back there. Moana sympathises with their plight, but she doesn’t know how to defeat the huge clam. The Kakamora then bring out a huge green slug, whose mucus will not only un-paralyse Moana and her friends, but will paralyse the clam. Moana takes three arrows with some of this slug mucus on the end of it, and her group travel into the mouth of the clam. It’s a real struggle trying to keep hold of these arrows, though, when this clam is intent on swallowing them, so naturally, Moana drops most of them. In the end, one of the Kakamora, Kotu, goes inside the clam to help paralyse the monster, but it is too late for them to get out and Kotu sacrifices all of them, sending him and the crew down the monster’s throat….
Inside, Loto, Kele, and Moni find themselves separated from Moana, but they still have Kotu and the canoe with them. Nobody knows where they are, but who should join them but Maui? Yes, this is where Maui was tied up by Matangi. But where is she? Matangi is with Moana, who was separated from the others. After seeing a vision of her sister Simea telling her she’s failed in her mission, Moana regains consciousness to find herself face-to-face with Matangi. Matangi claims to want to help her, telling her that she can only be free from Nalo if Motufetu is raised once more. Matangi seems dodgy, taking Moana on a rollercoaster ride through this lair, but she does reunite Moana with Maui and her crew. All of them end up at the portal that Maui tried to open earlier on. Moana is actually the one to open the portal. As the team set themselves up to sail through the portal, Matangi says she cannot go with them but wishes them luck on their journey. Hmm, is she dodgy or not?
Back out on the ocean, Moana is told by Maui that no human can get to Motufetu and that they will all most likely die trying to raise it – which is just what you want to hear when you think you’ve made some progress! The group are soon hit by huge eels, which the group must outrun. Moni falls into the ocean and is rescued from the eels by Maui. They continue to outrun the eels until the sun rises, at which point, all the eels flee. They come to rest on a small island, alive but with their canoe bashed up and her crew just a bit traumatised. Moana also discovers Tautai Vasa’s canoe washed up there, battered and almost destroyed. That doesn’t bode well for their own upcoming battle with Nalo.
Moana starts to regret her decision to come on this journey, fearing that she has now not only endangered herself, but the three people from her village she decided to bring with her. Maui tries to lighten the mood, encouraging Moana to keep going. Well, where was that enthusiasm earlier, Maui? You know, when you said they were all going to die? Anyway, Moana is feeling better now, and Loto has managed to fix up their canoe, using parts from Tautai Vasa’s vessel. Now, they need to outsmart Nalo.
They begin to sail towards the site of Motufetu, encountering a huge lightning storm, courtesy of Nalo. The plan is for Maui to use his hook to raise Motufetu. Once it’s raised, the humans will land on it, breaking Nalo’s curse. As Moana and her crew sail into the heart of the storm, crashing against huge waves, Maui uses his eagle form to fly through the various powerful tornadoes that encircle the site. The group see Maui use the hook to lift up the island, but as he struggles against the weight of it, Maui is struck with a lightning bolt from Nalo, weakening him. Moana then realises there is another way of reaching Motufetu. She dives down and swims to it, ready to touch it and break the curse. However, just as Moana touches the island and breaks the curse, she is struck by a lightning bolt and is killed.
Maui dives in to save her, but it is too late; Moana is dead. Maui sits in an air pocket created by the ocean, cradling Moana. He begins to chant, which calls the spirits of Moana’s ancestors to him. This includes Tautai Vasa and Tala, Moana’s grandmother. The spirits manage to revive Moana, who is rewarded for her actions with a tattoo across her arm. For her bravery, Moana is now a demigod, with a magical oar. Maui’s powers are also restored and he successfully raises Motufetu to the surface, with Moana proudly standing on top of it.
Moana blows her shell to signal that Motufetu has been raised, whilst the rest of the crew land on the island. They discover carvings of other islands all across the rock face of Motufetu, showing that this was once a meeting ground. Suddenly, Moana hears a shell. Looking to the horizon, they see other canoes arriving. They did it; they have managed to reconnect the ocean.
Maui goes on ahead to Motunui and finds Simea, Moana’s little sister. He gives her a present, which is a rock that works like a binocular. He tells her to look through it. Simea sees Moana coming home! The ocean parts so that the two can be reunited quicker. Moana is welcomed back by her family and fellow villagers. Moana then announces that she may’ve brought back some friends. They all look up to see loads of canoes coming to the island, where these guests are also welcomed. Moana also voyages out to return Kotu, the Kakamora, to his own island, where the others have since returned. The movie ends with Moana, her crew, and Maui out on their canoe, heading out on their next voyage.
In a mid-credits scene, there is an additional part of the story. Here, we see Nalo talking to Matangi. He is furious at her for helping Moana and plans to enact his revenge on all of them. Tamatoa, the giant “shiny” crab, from the first movie also makes an appearance.
CHARACTERS & CAST
Moana has always been a very different type of “Disney Princess”. She is strong, brave, and independent, yet is also very caring and has a sense of duty and family. Moana may have succeeded in restoring the heart of Te Fiti, but she knows there is much more outside of Motunui to discover. In Moana 2, Moana wants to reconnect her people with those from other islands. When she sees a vision of how to do that, by raising Motufetu, Moana knows she must do this, regardless of how long it will take or how difficult it will be. However, just like in the first movie, Moana is torn about leaving her family, and this time around, she has her little sister, Simea, who is devastated at having to say goodbye to her big sister for an unspecified amount of time. But Moana knows it’s the right thing to do and believes she will always return to her family. In Moana 2, our main character is more confident this time around, both around wayfinding itself and battling powerful gods, although there are always moments where she loses her courage and must rely on Maui and friends to help.
Moana is once again voiced by Auli’i Cravalho. Cravalho was born and grew up in Hawaii. She never expected to make her acting debut in something as big as Moana, winning an Annie Award for Voice Acting for the role. Cravalho has since gone on to star in the drama series Rise (2018), playing the part of Lilette, and performed the part of Ariel in the TV special The Little Mermaid Live! (2019). More recently, Cravalho played the part of Janis in Mean Girls (2023) and voiced the main role of Hailey Banks in the animated Disney Channel series Hailey’s On It! (2023-24). Cravalho has also been starring in stage musicals, such as the title role of Eva Peron for Evita in Concert for two dates in 2023 in London, and as Sally Bowles in the 2024 Broadway revival of Cabaret, performing the role until March 2025 in her Broadway debut, alongside Adam Lambert as the Emcee. Cravalho also reprises her role in the Hawaiian language dub of Moana 2.
The demigod Maui makes a return in Moana 2. He used to be braggy and arrogant, although quite lovable, however, since his journey with Moana, the two now have a strong friendship and he fights to protect her. The underestimating of Moana and her strength has now stopped, and has progressed to affectionate teasing between them. Although Maui doesn’t reunite with Moana particularly early in the movie, or in their voyage, it is an obviously positive reunion between them. Maui is also there for Moana this time around when she is having a crisis of confidence, whereas in the first film, she had to help him, when he struggled to use his hook correctly, and even left her to fend for herself for a while when he felt there was no good end result for them in their dealings with Te Kā. Now, Maui has someone to fight for, a true friend, as well as someone to fight beside.
Wrestler-turned-actor, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson returned to voice the character of Maui. Johnson is known for starring in multiple movies and franchises such as the Fast and Furious franchise from 2011 as the character Luke Hobbs, as well as Spencer in the new Jumanji movies (2017-present). For Disney, Johnson made multiple guest appearances in Disney Channel series in the mid-2000s, such as Hannah Montana (2007), and starred in the movie Jungle Cruise (2021). Johnson also created, produced, and starred in the partly-autobiographical television series Young Rock (2021-23). More recently, Johnson was cast as Cal Drift in the Christmas action-comedy film Red One (2024) and will reprise the role of Maui in the live-action remake of Moana, due to be released in 2026. Fun fact: Johnson’s daughters, Jasmine and Tiana, voiced two members of Moana’s “fan club” in Moana 2.
Now for the crew. Moni is my favourite of the new characters, because he’s the comedy element of the group. Not even because he’s meant to be, but just because of his reaction to meeting Maui, being such a huge fan of his, and for his slightly clumsy nature! Moni is the historian and storyteller of Motunui. He comes in handy when they need to communicate with the Kakamora for example. Moni was voiced by Hualālai Chung, who is a fire knife performer in the luau at Aulani, A Disney Resort & Spa in Hawaii, having been performing there since the KA WA’A – A Lū’au opened in 2016[1]. Chung is set to appear in the Lilo & Stitch live-action movie, due for release in May 2025.
Loto is the quirky chief engineer, who fixes up the canoe on various points in the journey, but most notably, just before they are about to battle Nalo. Loto is energetic, surprising everyone with how fast her mind works. Loto also has a handy Swiss Army knife-like axe, which has lots of additions like rope, a needle, and thread. Comedian and New Zealander Rose Matafeo was chosen to voice Loto. Matafeo is a very familiar face on the British stand-up comedy circuit, but she also created, wrote, and starred in the comedy series Starstruck (2021-23) as Jessie, and is the current host of Junior Taskmaster in the UK (2024-present).
Kele is the farmer, who is necessary for this new voyage because the group will need to survive on more than just fish during their journey. Kele isn’t so sure about going on this boat, seemingly never having left Motunui before, so he is the one that needs the most convincing that this voyage is going to be “fun”. He is also older and grouchier than Loto and Moni, so naturally, he’d find it more difficult to get out of his comfort zone. Kele was voiced by New Zealand actor David Fane. In recent years, Fane has appeared as Ace in the sports comedy film Next Goal Wins (2023), directed by fellow New Zealander Taika Waititi. He also appeared as Kevin/Fang in the comedy series Our Flag Means Death (2022-23).
Another new character is the half-good-guy, half-bad-guy Matangi. She is a mysterious bat-like figure, with a gang of flying foxes – a type of fruit bat – around her, who works for the all-powerful storm god Nalo. Matangi seems to have been tasked with keeping Maui and Moana away from Motufetu, but although she ties up Maui, she is quite happy to send Moana on the path to Motufetu and to Nalo’s potential downfall. I think Nalo needs to rethink his choice of henchwoman here! It’s unclear if Matangi is actually a double agent and that getting Moana to raise Motufetu is part of some grand scheme she has, or whether she is actually an unwilling slave to Nalo. In the mid-credits scene that Nalo appears in, he seems to be suggesting she’ll be punished for her actions, so I guess she was good? Nalo and Matangi seem very much like Hades and Megara in Hercules (1997) to me.
Matangi was voiced by Awhimai Fraser, who has previous work with Disney Animation, having voiced Elsa in the Te Reo Māori dub of Frozen (2013). Fraser also was cast as Chantelle in the Māori web series Ahikāroa (2018-present). Fraser reprises her role for the Māori language dub of Moana 2. Nalo was voiced by New Zealand actor and comedian Tofiga Fepulea’i who was part of the comedy duo Laughing Samoans. Tamatoa makes a brief appearance in this same mid-credits scene, and Jemaine Clement returned to reprise the role. Clement is known for being part of musical comedy duo Flight of the Conchords, getting their own series from 2007 to 2009. He also created the 2014 movie What We Do in the Shadows and its subsequent television series.
Then, there are Moana’s family and ancestors. Once again, Moana’s family get left behind as Moana goes out on another journey, so her parents, Chief Tui and Sina, are left to wait for her once more. However, this time, they have a new addition to the family who no doubt kept them busy while Moana was away, and that is Simea. Simea is incredibly close to Moana and she is very upset at finding out the two will be separated as Moana goes on her latest voyage. Simea was voiced by Khaleesi Lambert-Tsuda, who is of Hawaiian descent, in her first screen role. Tui is still voiced by New Zealand actor Temuera Morrison, who is set to appear in the upcoming AppleTV+ miniseries Chief of War as Chief Kahekili alongside Jason Momoa. He also recently starred as Ed in the crime series Far North (2023) and reprises his role as Tui for the Māori language dub of Moana 2. Nicole Scherzinger returned to voice Moana’s mother Sina. Scherzinger has been performing more on stage recently, starring as Norma Desmond in London productions of Sunset Boulevard since 2023.
For Moana’s ancestors, Tautai Vasa is the one who is spoken about the most. He was the best wayfinder of Motunui back in the day. He returns in spirit form to provide Moana with information of her task to raise Motufetu and save everyone from becoming disconnected. Tautai Vasa is also part of the most moving scene of Moana 2, when Moana is revived, with help from other spirits. One of these other spirits is Gramma Tala, who returns in Moana 2 in spirit form. Tala encourages Moana to complete this new mission and comes back to revive her granddaughter. Tautai Vasa was voiced by Gerald Faitala Ramsey. New Zealand actress and director Rachel House returned to voice Tala. For Disney, House has performed the voice roles of Terry in Soul (2020) and Mama Binturong in The Lion Guard (2019), and reprised her role of Tala in the Māori-language version of Moana. She also voices Malgosha in A Minecraft Movie (2025), and recently appeared as Ruth in Next Goal Wins (2023) and Nienke Van Spee in The Portable Door (2023). House reprises her role as Tala in the Māori language dub of Moana 2.
We also have the non-speaking characters of Pua, Moana’s loyal pet pig, and Heihei the silly rooster. Once again, Heihei joins Moana on the canoe, but this time, so does Pua, after many were disappointed to find the lovable pig was left behind in Motunui in the first movie. Heihei is still quite dumb in Moana 2, but he needs rescuing less often. Heihei is “voiced” again by Disney veteran and lucky charm, Alan Tudyk, who has had roles in every Disney movie release since Wreck-It Ralph (2012). Kotu, the Kakamora who joins Moana and her friends for their journey, is also a non-speaking role. The Moana 2 filmmakers wanted to expand on the story of the Kakamora to make their backstory closer to that of the Kakamora of the Solomon Islands who were not pirates but actually helped people, so their storyline in Moana 2 had to change to have them be foe-turned-friend[2].
Sadly, I don’t think we got to see enough of the new characters in Moana 2, specifically Matangi and Nalo, meaning that it is hard to understand the dynamic between the two. I don’t think Loto, Moni, and Kele were used particularly well in Moana 2 either, with the gang being secondary to Moana and Maui, having their assigned roles in the group but not having any big emotional breakthroughs or memorable moments to make them fully fledged characters.
PRODUCTION
The idea for the original Moana movie came about from a discussion with John Lasseter, Chief Creative Officer of Disney Animation at the time, who suggested that Ron Clements and John Musker, directors of some of Disney Animation’s most beloved films, such as The Little Mermaid (1989) and Aladdin (1992), make a film based in the Pacific Islands. The two directors were happy to look into this idea further and went on a three-week research trip with some other members of the team. They went to Fiji, Samoa, Tahiti, as well as some of the smaller islands around those areas, before ending the trip in New Zealand.
It was decided that the movie’s story would focus on a teenager named Moana (which means “ocean” in Polynesian) having dreams of being a navigator, since they had learnt this was an important part of the ancestry of the area. 3000 years ago, navigators migrated from Taiwan and moved eastward. They went to the islands of Fiji and Samoa, before the migrations suddenly stopped. 1,000 years later they suddenly began again, going eastward once more to areas such as New Zealand. This gap in the timeline, called “The Long Pause” was used as the setting of the film, with Moana being the driving force for the migrations happening again.
The first Moana film ended with Moana saving her village and other islands from a curse by restoring the heart of Te Fiti. She learnt how to be a voyager and came back to Motunui to encourage her community to navigate the ocean alongside her. Moana 2 picks up three years after the events of this movie with Moana wanting to reconnect her people with those from other islands. However, Moana 2 was never going to be a feature film. It was meant to be a follow-up series for Disney+, announced in December 2020.
It has been said that Bob Iger, the CEO of The Walt Disney Company, and other executives made the decision to turn this series into a feature film after viewing the episodes of the series. They were overwhelmingly positive about them, being so impressed they believed it deserved a theatrical release. Yeah, I’m sure that’s exactly how it went, and not at all like this: well, Moana got loads of streaming hours on Disney+ and was the most streamed movie of 2023, and we haven’t had a theatrical hit in a while, so let’s use that popularity of the first movie to make some big, easy money…. Anyway, that’s just me being cynical. The announcement of Moana 2 came as a surprise to many, with some fans concerned about how well a TV series could be adapted into a movie[3].
From this point, there was a lot of work to do to get this series to become Moana 2. David G. Derrick Jr., who had been a story artist on Moana, as well as Encanto (2021) and Strange World (2022), and was working on the Moana Disney+ series, became one of three directors for the movie, in his directorial debut. Dana Ledoux Miller had been hired as a consulting writer for Disney, before being asked to come in to retool this series into a feature film. She became both a co-writer and co-director of Moana 2. Jared Bush wrote the screenplay for Moana 2 alongside her, having become the Chief Creative Officer of Walt Disney Animation Studios in 2024 after Jennifer Lee stepped down. Bush is also well-known for writing the screenplays for Zootopia (2016) and Moana (2016), as well as writing and directing Encanto (2021) and the upcoming Zootopia 2 (2025). Bush and Miller have also both written the screenplay for the live-action remake of Moana. The other director added to Moana 2 was Jason Hand, who worked as a story artist on other Disney animated movies, including Big Hero 6 (2014) and Zootopia (2016).
This new directorial team included people of Oceanic descent in a welcome move. Dana Ledoux Miller knew that Moana was a game changer for representing Oceanic culture, remembering how important it felt at the time she watched it in theatres[4]. David G. Derrick Jr. and David Hand had both been storyboard artists on the original Moana movie, so they were also were pleased to work on the sequel, knowing how proud the team were of the original and what a meaningful film it became.
Many of the original team that worked on Moana ended up coming back excited to work on Moana 2. Due to the fact that Moana 2 was initially a Disney+ series, I presume, the majority of the animation work was completed by Walt Disney Animation’s Vancouver studio in Canada. This was likely a cost-effective method to create series at a quicker pace rather than relying solely on those animators at the Burbank studio who are busy with theatrical films. Some critics picked up on this “cheaper” method of animation, feeling that the expressiveness of characters was lacking – I did not notice this and wouldn’t have known that it was animated primarily at a different studio had I not looked into it.
Creating the sequel was an opportunity to build on the original story, with so much more ocean to explore and so many more people to meet. The Moana 2 filmmakers looked into more folklore, which had been touched on in the first movie with Maui’s background, to help build the story. They wanted Moana to be sent on a mission. With the movie being set three years later than the events of the first movie, Moana herself had to be different, having been changed by her first journey. She is a strong leader in her community now, and less naïve, but Moana wants more from life still and it was important to see how she dealt with being pushed to her limits once again. Maui also had to be changed from the first movie, finding himself more vulnerable thanks to his friendship with Moana[5].
To help with the story, the Oceanic Cultural Trust were on hand once again, having been a vital part of the production process on the first Moana film. The Oceanic Cultural Trust consists of experts and advisors in different fields, such as anthropology, linguistics, history, choreography, and wayfinding, who use their knowledge and insight to help guide Disney into creating a movie that truly represents the peoples of the Pacific. The Trust are also consulted for any Moana-related consumer products or Disney Parks attractions that are developed. Kalikolehua Hurley, who grew up in Hawaii, was the head of the trust during production on Moana and felt very lucky to be involved again for the sequel. Hurley stated that it is a big challenge to create a fictional place blending different cultures, from areas like Samoa, Tonga, Figi, Tahiti, Hawaii and the Solomon Islands. The Oceanic Culture Trust involves experts from these countries, who each bring their own unique insights and contributions to the movie. Another contributor to the Trust was Lāiana Kanoa-Wong, who was invited to be part of the Trust thanks to his lifetime of work dedicated to the language and culture of his native Hawaii. Kanoa-Wong even visited the animation team in Vancouver, leading activities to help connect the animators to the Pacific culture and to their voyaging heritage, since animating scenes of wayfinding, navigating, and voyaging was crucial to the movie. The animators were taught the basics of navigation and rope making, for example[6].
There was also a collaboration with the Polynesian Voyaging Society for this movie, with master navigator and head of the society, Nainoa Thompson, being very inspirational to not only the filmmakers but other members of the Oceanic Cultural Trust. The Polynesian Voyaging Society use their hand-built canoe Hōkūle’a to teach others about the history of navigation and wayfinding, since there was a time when nobody believed that the Pacific voyagers had discovered all these islands, because they are so spread out. Wayfinding requires a lot of skill, technical knowledge, and observation, studying the weather and stars; monitoring the vessel; and of course, ensuring that the crew are healthy and motivated. To be a wayfinder, you have to make 5,000 observations of nature and make 500 different decisions based on those per day of your voyage. The lessons the filmmakers learnt from Thompson and the Polynesian Voyaging Society that made it into the film include the idea that you have to get lost to truly discover where you’re going, and that you must control your fear and believe in yourself, even turning into the wind during a storm, which Moana does both physically and metaphorically[7].
Moana 2 was also the opportunity to create more impressive animation sequences. One of these was the battle with Nalo. Te Kā was already quite a fearsome god, with its lava powers, however, this time, the animators created a powerful storm of tornadoes for the storm god Nalo. It certainly shows that Nalo is more serious about destroying Moana and Maui than Te Kā was. I actually quite liked this scene, with the pink/purple tornadoes, but it didn’t last very long which was quite disappointing.
There was also the return of hand-drawn animation in this sequel, in a small way. This was also the case with the first Moana film, as “Mini-Maui”, Maui’s moving tattoo guy, is a 2D animated character. Eric Goldberg, veteran Disney animator famed for his characters such as Genie in Aladdin (1992) and Phil in Hercules (1997), returned to supervise the sequel’s hand-drawn animation team. Many of the animators were desperate to work on some of these sequences just to get an opportunity to work alongside Goldberg. Maui’s tattoos were designed to be as similar to the Pacific traditions as possible, whilst also detailing Maui’s backstory[8].
Not everything that was initially conceived to be a part of the story of Moana 2 was able to be used in the final film. There were a variety of creatures that were not included in the final cut of the movie, such as a two-faced bird and very large pigs, which were meant to be a feature of the lair that the crew enter through the mouth of the clam monster, with Moana and her crew still being separated, but having to outsmart these creatures as well. It was eventually decided to keep the area relatively clear to focus on Matangi. There was also going to be a scene that led Moana to discover what her mission from the ancestors was, as she was not given all the answers immediately from a vision. Here, Moana would’ve had to dive underwater to discover drawings on the cave walls that would come to life and show her the island of Motufetu, leading her to discover what she must do. This deleted scene felt kind of similar to when Milo and Kida discover the energy source that Atlantis is powered by, and that Rourke wants to steal, in Atlantis: The Lost Empire (2001), when they have to swim underwater to decipher drawings on the undersea cave walls[9].
Randomly, but not uncommon for The Walt Disney Company as they seem to get sued a lot, an animator named Buck Woodall filed a lawsuit on 10th January 2025 alleging that Disney stole from his copyrighted screenplay “Bucky the Wave Warrior” and used ideas from it in both Moana and Moana 2. Woodall claims to have provided his screenplay and a trailer to Jenny Marchick back in 2003, who worked as the Director of Development for Mandeville Films, a company who had a first look deal with Disney and offices in Disney’s Burbank studio at the time, and that it is possible that an individual at Disney Animation had seen these materials prior to working on Moana. After a two-week trial, it was decided that Disney did not have access to Woodall’s screenplay so his ideas could not have been used in the Moana movies, so the case was won by Disney, however, this lawsuit only relate to the original movie. A separate suit was filed for Moana 2 and that case is still ongoing[10].
MUSIC
Although the soundtrack for Moana has proven to be one of Disney Animation’s most popular soundtracks, Moana 2’s soundtrack was more divisive.
The original movie’s music team consisted of composer Mark Mancina, and song-writers Lin-Manuel Miranda, and Opetaia Foa’i. Mancina had composed the score for other Disney movies such as Tarzan (1999) and Brother Bear (2003), and arranged the music for The Lion King Broadway musical for which he was nominated for a Tony Award, prior to his work on Moana. Samoan song-writer Opetaia Foa’i founded the group Te Vaka in 1995, with the group having had much success over the years. He was very happy to collaborate with Disney on the Moana soundtrack as he had spent years promoting his culture through music and knew this was a good opportunity to go further with that aim.
However, for Moana 2, although Mark Mancina and Opetaia Foa’i made welcome returns to the music for the sequel, Lin-Manuel Miranda was unavailable, which was a big disappointment to fans of the original soundtrack. He was replaced by songwriting duo Abigail Barlow and Emily Bear, becoming the first all-female songwriting team for a Disney animated film, working alongside Opetaia Foa’i, as Miranda did, in the creation of many of the songs. Together, the two wrote The Unofficial Bridgerton Musical, based on the hit Netflix series Bridgerton (2020-present), which became a viral hit on TikTok during the pandemic, and even won a Grammy Award for Best Musical Theater Album, despite Netflix having a copyright infringement lawsuit against them, which was later settled. A year after this success, Barlow and Bear met with the creative team for Moana 2, knowing that they had to live up to the first soundtrack, which has had more than 20 billion streams worldwide. Lin-Manuel Miranda kindly gave them help and support during the process[11].
For me, the soundtrack for Moana 2 was an incredibly mixed bag. After watching the movie for the first time, the only piece of music that actually touched me was “Mana Vavau”, the chant that Maui sings along with Gramma Tala and Tautai Vasa to revive Moana after she has been struck by Nalo’s lightning bolt. It was a very moving moment and the only point of the film that brought me close to tears. This chant was written by Opetaia Foa’i’, performed by Foa’i, Rachel House as Tala, and Dwayne Johnson as Maui.
Outside of that, I couldn’t recall any of the other songs after watching Moana 2. However, having done a lot of research for this piece, it’s impossible to avoid hearing the songs again, and this time, two others have stuck with me. One of those is “Beyond”, Moana’s big emotional number where she sings about how torn she is between her family on Motunui, and her mission to help the wider community. Auli’i Cravalho found the song difficult to record, as it involved lyrics about being away from home and going beyond your comfort zone, something that Cravalho no doubt had to deal with after her whirlwind success as an actress after her voice role in Moana. This song was written by Barlow, Bear, and Foa’i. This song is later reprised, after Motufetu is raised and Moana sings in celebration. “Beyond” was also recorded as End Credits song, with Cravalho and Te Vaka performing it.
The other song that grew on me was “Can I Get a Chee-Hoo?”. Although it is not as good as Miranda’s song for Maui, “You’re Welcome”, and I was slightly annoyed at how the same animation style was copied from the first movie for the sequence that accompanies the song, it’s quite catchy after you’ve listened to it a couple of times. It’s also really hard to dislike it when you can hear how much fun Johnson had singing it and just generally being Maui! This song was written by Barlow and Bear, and involves Maui trying to boost Moana’s confidence, ready to face Nalo. It apparently was challenging to sing and to write.
Now, let’s go to the songs I actually really didn’t like. The first was “We’re Back”, the recap song of where Moana, her family, and Motunui are after the three years since the events of Moana. To be honest, I was quite surprised to still see them in Motunui, seemingly not having voyaged very far, despite the final scene of Moana showing Moana teaching her community, including her father, how to be wayfinders. I don’t really like songs like this, because they stuff so much information into the song that you’re spending too much time trying to figure out what’s going on instead of enjoying the music. I had a similar problem with “The Family Madrigal” in Encanto (2021). “We’re Back” was written by Barlow, Bear, and Foa’i, and performed primarily by Cravalho, along with other Motunui residents. There is also an End Credits version of this song, performed by Te Vaka, Olivia Foa’i and Sulata Foai-Amiatu.
Then, there is “What Could Be Better Than This?”, which is all about Moana trying to motivate her crew, telling them how enjoyable their voyage can be if they just let loose and go with it, something that Kele in particular is struggling to do. Although I enjoy watching people who don’t want to have fun being forced to have fun, like Kele, I didn’t feel like it needed to be a song and could’ve worked better as a spoken scene. I was quite impressed with Rose Matafeo’s solo “fast-talking” part though. This song was written by Barlow and Bear, performed by Cravalho, Matafeo, as Loto, David Fane as Kele, and Hualālai Chung as Moni.
I also wasn’t a huge fan of “Get Lost”, the “villain’s” song that Matangi sings to Moana, telling her that to succeed, she’ll have to get a little bit lost, and leading her back to her friends and the portal to Motufetu. I thought Awhimai Fraser performed the song well as Matangi, but I just didn’t like it. It was no “Shiny”. It was also quite disappointing to find that Matangi was not leading Moana down the wrong path, as she’d been shown to be a villain, or at the least a spy for the enemy, but then she just turned out to be helpful… “Get Lost” was written by Barlow and Bear.
Then there are other songs that feature in Moana 2 that I either didn’t mind or quite liked. One was “Finding the Way”, which is being sung by the people of Motunui as a farewell to Moana and her crew. It is reprised as the crew return home from their journey, with their multitude of guests. It was written by Foa’i, performed by Olivia Foa’i and Te Vaka.
Following on from that are some pieces of music that might sound familiar to fans of the first Moana. One of these is the return of “Tulou Tagaloa”, which is used for the opening scene. It is not exactly the same, being credited as “Tulou Tagaloa (Sei e Va’ai Mai)”. I did appreciate it being used here, liking the familiarity of it. It was performed by Olivia Foa’i and Te Vaka. As Moana talks to her little sister Simea about how the ocean is her friend, the music “My Wish For You (Innocent Warrior)” is used, which was used in the first Moana movie, I think both as the backing for “Know Who You Are” and when young Moana first meets the ocean and it messes with her hair! It was written by Foa’i, performed by Foa’i, Olivia Foa’i, Sulata Foai-Amiatu, Matatia Foai, and Matthew Ineleo.
To match the familiar opening music to Moana 2, another song from the original movie was updated to be used as the final scene of Moana 2, as Moana goes off voyaging again. This is “We Know the Way (Te Fenua te Malie)”. I also liked this song from the first movie so I quite enjoyed hearing it again at the end of Moana 2. It was written by Foa’i and Lin-Manuel Miranda, performed by Foa’i, Auli’i Cravalho, Olivia Foa’i, and Te Vaka.
Like in the previous movie, Mark Mancina collaborated with Opetaia Foa’i on the score to ensure the music stayed true to the sound of the Pacific, once again being heavily based in percussion and vocals, to suit the style of traditional Pacific music. The two collaborated well on both the music for Moana and Moana 2 in my opinion[12]. Within the score, I particularly liked the pieces “Waves Like Mountains” and “There’s Another Way”, which are used for the Nalo battle scene. I tend to find the instrumental pieces used for battle and finale scenes are the best and most memorable ones within Disney Animation.
The original soundtrack for Moana won Lin-Manuel Miranda a Grammy for the song “How Far I’ll Go”, which was also nominated for Best Song at the Academy Awards and Golden Globes. The Moana soundtrack as a whole won Top Soundtrack Album at the American Music Awards in 2017 and at the Billboard Music Awards in 2018. Moana continued its fame way beyond its 2016 release, with the soundtrack breaking the Billboard Soundtrack chart record for number of weeks spent at No. 1. The record was won in 2021, after 52 weeks at No.1[13].
In contrast, Moana 2 received no Grammy nominations. “Beyond” and “Can I Get a Chee Hoo?” were both nominated for Best Original Song in an Animated Film at Hollywood Music in Media Awards, but lost to “Kiss the Sky” from The Wild Robot (2024). “Beyond” was also nominated for Outstanding Original Song for a Comedy or Musical at the Society of Composers & Lyricists Awards, but lost out to “Compress/Repress” from Challengers (2024). It also only topped the US Billboard Kid Albums chart. It currently has peaked at No.102 in the US Billboard 200 chart. Moana hit the No. 2 spot in that same chart.
RECEPTION
Despite Moana 2 not being announced as an official Walt Disney Animation feature film until February 2024, meaning that there was less than nine months of promotion for the new sequel, anticipation for the movie was at a high.
Usually, we know at least two years in advance of a new Disney or Pixar feature film. The company like to drip-feed information over those months to really build excitement for their new movie, whether it is a sequel to an already popular franchise or not.
Although I’d personally expect the lack of build-up to mean interest in a movie stays fairly limited, in the case of Moana 2, the opposite happened as was evident when its teaser trailer was made available to the public. Debuting on 29th May 2024, it received 178 million views in 24 hours across social media platforms, beating out previous high-performing Disney and Pixar movies of recent years, such as Inside Out 2 (2024), which had 157 million views in that time, and Frozen II (2019) with 116 million views[14].
Moana 2 also got to take advantage of a very Disney “rite of passage” and that is the usual Upcoming Movies panel at the D23 Expo, which took place in Anaheim between 9th and 11th August 2024. Here, further details about the movie were revealed, as was the official trailer. So, this showed that the interest in Moana 2 was there, but how did it progress as the official release date got closer and closer?
Moana 2 held its world premiere event in Hawaii on 21st November 2024, before being released in theatres in the US on 27th November 2024, in time for Thanksgiving weekend. Its release to international markets followed in the coming days and weeks to perfectly coincide with the holiday season in many countries.
Many studios like to release movies around Thanksgiving to take advantage of people being off work. In this case, Moana 2 was expected to gross around $130 million during the Thanksgiving five-day weekend. It smashed those expectations, making $225 million in those five days, despite being released at the same time as another box-office success, and family-friendly movie, Wicked (2024). Gladiator II (2024) was also released around this time, with these three movies contributing to North America’s biggest Thanksgiving theatre takings of all time.
Overseas, Moana 2 fared just as well in its first few days, making $165 million, for a combined global total of just under $390 million. The movie opened in the No.1 spot in many countries, with Moana 2 being the biggest opening for a Disney Animation feature film in places such as Latin America, Australia, Mexico, and France, ahead of Frozen II (2019).
Moana 2 smashed records, such as the best five-day debut of all time, with the top spot previously being held for The Super Mario Bros. Movie’s April 2023 release, with $204 million, and the biggest five-day Thanksgiving opening, which was held by Frozen II, with $125 million. Moana 2 was also the biggest global opening of all time for an animated film, and the biggest opening day total for a Disney Animation title[15].
After its theatrical run, Moana 2’s worldwide gross hit just over $1 billion. Moana 2 was only the fourth Disney Animation movie to cross $1 billion at the global box-office, after Frozen (2013), Zootopia (2016), and Frozen II (2019)[16]. Yet, this was not enough to beat the summer success of Pixar’s Inside Out 2 (2024) to become the highest-grossing movie of 2024, hitting the top spot with around $1.7 billion worldwide. Other sequel animated movies also did well at the worldwide box office that year, such as Despicable Me 4 from Illumination, with just under $970 million, and DreamWorks’ Kung Fu Panda 4, with $550 million. Mufasa: The Lion King, Disney’s “photorealistic animated” sequel to their 2019 remake of The Lion King, released in December, also did well with $720 million[17].
Moana 2 did well to bring in people to the theatres, but how did they respond to it? Well, it was a mixed response, and the reason for this may be in the popularity of the original Moana itself, meaning its sequel would always be compared to it.
Many said that the animation of Moana 2 was still high-quality, even though much of the movie was actually animated in the Vancouver studio, not in the main Disney Animation Burbank studio. Others also felt that it was entertaining, charming, and fast paced, with some tender, heartfelt moments. The voice acting was also praised, with Auli’i Cravalho and Dwayne Johnson once again being given deserving credit for their performances. Less positive responses simply stated that Moana 2 was fine, and that children would enjoy it.
There were quite negative reviews as well, with words like “rehash”, “forgettable”, and “disappointing” being used. Other comments agreed with my opinion by saying that the story lacked creativity and purpose, repeating many moments from the original movie, and that plot points and newly introduced characters were underdeveloped. A good point that was made was that Moana 2 was slow to reunite Maui and Moana, with their chemistry being a major reason for the original being as good as it was, so the two not being seen together on screen until almost an hour into the movie is strange, especially when the opportunity to create similar dynamics with Moana’s new crew was not used fully. The music was criticised as well for not being as good as the music of the first music, with the songs not being nearly as memorable. There are some exceptions to this, with some stating that “Beyond” was a standout song in the movie, but this is all subjective, with everyone having a different opinion on what song was best for them. Generally, it was agreed that Moana 2 simply lacked the magic of the first movie.
Perhaps due to this mediocre or poor reception, Moana 2 was not as nominated during awards season as Moana was. The original Moana was nominated for numerous awards, including in the Best Animated Film category at the BAFTAs, the Academy Awards, the Golden Globes, and the Annie Awards, unfortunately losing out to Zootopia (2016), Disney Animation’s Spring release of that year, in many cases. However, Moana did win many other awards in other categories such as for Outstanding Achievement in Animated Effects and for Voice Acting for Auli’i Cravalho at the Annie Awards. and two Teen Choice Awards for Dwayne Johnson as Choice Fantasy Movie Actor and Auli’i Cravalho as Choice Breakout Movie Star.
Moana 2 on the other hand was only nominated for Best Animated Movie at the Golden Globes, where it lost to Flow (2024), an independent movie directed by Latvian filmmaker Gints Zilbalodis. Flow also won the Oscar for Best Animated Film, whereas Moana 2 was not even nominated. Nor was it nominated in this category at the BAFTAs, or at the Annie Awards. Moana 2 was nominated for a handful of other Annie Awards, like Outstanding Achievement for Animated Effects; for Character Animation; for Editorial; and for Storyboarding, but it lost to The Wild Robot in all categories. Now, you might be thinking that perhaps Moana 2 was simply not nominated for Best Animated Film at the big ceremonies because it was a sequel. That is not the case, as Inside Out 2 was nominated in this category at the major award ceremonies, as was Frozen II, although it did miss out on an Oscar nomination. Moana 2 was just not good enough. Moana 2 did win one award: the Animation Award at the Celebration of Asian Pacific Cinema and Television Awards.
Moana 2 became available to buy digitally on places like Sky Store, Prime, and AppleTV on 28th January 2025. It later came to Disney+ on 12th March 2025, where it earnt 27.3 million views in its first five days of being on the platform, from Wednesday 12th to Sunday 16th March. This was the largest Walt Disney Animation Studios premiere on the platform since Encanto (2021) came to Disney+ on 24th December 2021, and the third-largest animated theatrical premiere of all time on Disney+. It remains to be seen whether Moana 2 can reach the same heights as Moana has on Disney+, becoming the platform’s most streamed film, reaching 1.4 billion hours streamed since it came to Disney+ when the app debuted in November 2019[18].
LEGACY
Because Moana came out in 2016 and has proven to be popular in the years since, Moana 2 specifically has not yet spanned any attractions or movies of its own. Although if that mid-credits scene is anything to go by, then a third film could most definitely happen, as it seemed to be building up to a war between Nalo, Matangi, Moana, and Maui. Moana 3 has not been confirmed – so far – but I can definitely see it happening, unfortunately.
The biggest screen development to come from the Moana franchise was the surprise confirmation of a live-action remake back in April 2023. I say it was surprising only because the animated movie is fairly recent, whereas other live-action remakes have been focusing on the Disney animated movies from at least twenty or thirty years ago, if not more. Filming wrapped on this live-action movie around November 2024, with production beginning in late July 2024, with shoots in Hawaii and Atlanta, Georgia. This means that production on the live-action Moana was ongoing at the same time as Moana 2. Thomas Kail, who directed the Lin-Manuel Miranda musicals In the Heights and Hamilton on Broadway, made his feature film directorial debut on this film. It is also known that Dwayne Johnson is reprising his role as Maui, with actress Catherine Laga’aia being cast as Moana. Jared Bush and Dana Ledoux Miller, who both wrote the screenplay for Moana 2, teamed up to write the screenplay for the live-action movie. It was originally set to be released in Summer 2025, but after the announcement of Moana 2, the release was moved to 10th July 2026, to give more time between the two films[19].
To specifically celebrate the release of Moana 2, the Disney Parks began rolling out limited time experiences from mid-November 2024 until around early January. One of these was the introduction of a new exhibit showcasing artwork from Moana 2 at the Walt Disney Presents attraction in Disney’s Hollywood Studios at the Walt Disney World resort. There is a rotating exhibit in this attraction, which had previously housed maquettes and artwork for Inside Out 2. The Moana 2 exhibit also gave a brief description of the movie’s story[20].
From 24th November 2024, Moana was also seen in the parks debuting her look from Moana 2. This began with her meet-and-greet locations at Hollywood Land in Disney California Adventure Park at the Disneyland Resort, and by the Journey of Water, Inspired by Moana attraction in Epcot at Walt Disney World. Moana was also seen in an island setting at Disneyland Paris from 27th November. She could be spotted at Adventureland in her new outfit at Hong Kong Disneyland from 29th November.
There was also the opportunity to learn to draw Moana, Maui, Heihei, Pua, and Kotu for a limited time, at Disney Animal Kingdom’s Animation Experience at Rafiki Planet Watch and at the Animation Academy at Disney California Adventure. Also at Disney California Adventure, a new water short entitled “Boat Snack” was shown ahead of presentations of World of Color – Season of Light to promote Moana 2.
Again at Walt Disney World, a Moana 2-themed Christmas tree was created as part of the Disney Springs Christmas Tree Stroll for the holiday season. The new Island Tower at Disney’s Polynesian Resort, a new Disney Vacation Club offering, opened at Walt Disney World on 17th December 2024, which has nods to Moana throughout, with artwork displayed in the room, and the kids’ water play area being named Moana’s Voyage, complete with a statue of Moana sailing the ocean on her canoe. Moana in her Moana 2 costume was also available to meet guests at this location for a media event prior to the grand opening.
Outside of the US Disney Parks, at Disneyland Hotel in Disneyland Paris, guests could enjoy a bedtime story featuring Moana’s little sister Simea and collect a limited edition Pua sticker, alongside the in-park meet and greet with Moana. At Tokyo Disneyland Resort, there were decorations and displays for Moana 2 at the IKSPIARI shopping mall.
Generally, new merchandise, such as a Moana singing doll, clothing, toys, and pins, were available to purchase, and some remain in stock online. Special “Magic Shots” from Disney PhotoPass photographers inspired by Moana were also available. Plus, there were lots of food and drink offerings available at all the Disney Parks that were influenced by characters from Moana 2, such as a Heihei Straw Clip, a Moana 2 cake bar, and a Kakamora dessert[21].
These new experiences, although limited time experiences in many cases, added to the current list of attractions and experiences already on offer at the Disney Parks. These will likely only increase in the coming years.
For example, Moana started a full-time residency at Disney’s Animal Kingdom at the Walt Disney World Resort, on 22nd April 2023, as part of the park’s 25th anniversary celebrations and as part of the Disney100. Also at Walt Disney World, but this time within Epcot, a whole new attraction opened on 16th October 2023, called Journey of Water, Inspired by Moana, which is a self-guided interactive outdoor trail where guests can play and interact with water, as well as learn about its importance and its playful personality, as Moana did. It features an impressively tall Te Fiti topiary, as well as numerous beautiful waterfalls and streams[22]. Further appearances by Moana within the Walt Disney World Resort include her own scene within the heroes’ montage of Fantasmic! at Disney’s Hollywood Studios, as well as music and scenes from the movie being part of the nighttime fireworks show Happily Ever After at the Magic Kingdom. Furthermore, the rooms within Disney’s Polynesian Village Resort were updated in July 2021 to be themed to Moana, though this is done tastefully via Moana-inspired artworks and themed patterns on carpets and furnishings. Also at the Polynesian Village Resort is a shop named Moana Mercantile. Moana is set to have its own float at the new nighttime parade, Disney Starlight: Dream the Night Away, debuting at Magic Kingdom in Summer 2025.
Outside of the Walt Disney World Resort, Moana can be found at meet-and-greets, and within shows and parades. At Disneyland, although she does not currently have a dedicated meet-and-greet location and time, Moana may still appear in the park. Moana’s music and movie scenes do appear in the Wondrous Journeys and World of Color – ONE show, plus Moana has a float in the Magic Happens parade. These are not always running.
In Shanghai Disneyland, Moana is a part of the Mickey’s Storybook Adventure live theatre show, and she even has her own stage show at Hong Kong Disneyland called Moana: A Homecoming Celebration, along with a dedicated meet-and-greet location in Adventureland. At Tokyo Disneyland, Moana is featured within the Believe! Sea of Dreams nighttime show at Tokyo DisneySea. After the Moana 2 celebratory Moana meet-and-greet ended at Disneyland Paris, she has not returned to meet guests, however, music and clips from the film do feature in the Disney Tales of Magic fireworks show there, and may be a fixture in a float during Disney Stars on Parade. Moana can sometimes be found meeting guests at Aulani, A Disney Resort & Spa in Hawaii as well. The Broadway-style stage show Disney The Tale of Moana also debuted in December 2024 on the Disney Treasure cruise ship, receiving rave reviews from guests.
FINAL THOUGHTS
In all fairness to those who worked on Moana 2, I can see that, much like with any Disney Animation feature film, they wanted to make a great movie, with an exciting storyline, an emotional message, and beautiful animation. I also accept that I came to Moana 2 with a biased opinion in some ways. I was not happy when the sequel was announced so that dislike of the whole concept of a sequel likely clouded my judgement.
However, that does not change my opinion that Moana 2 was a wholly unnecessary movie for Disney Animation to have made. The story was not good enough to warrant a sequel, and Moana’s continuing voyages would’ve been more fitting to a Disney+ series.
Moana 2 followed the same outline as the original Moana. Basically, Moana wants to discover more about her ancestry and wayfinding. She’s given a mission by her ancestors that will tell her more about it. She encounters monsters and villains, like the clam monster and Matangi on the way. At the site of her mission ending, she battles an elemental god who wants to stop her. She completes her mission and returns to her community with more information about other voyagers. It was simply not unique enough.
I believe that Disney management is the one pushing for all these sequels to be made in a bid to make some easy money. After all, just look at the sequels in the works. They are all for movies that did well at the box-office, some even breaking records in that respect. It seems to me that none of these movies need a sequel and I fear that many of these upcoming movies will make a lot of money, sure, but they will be unnecessary and disappointing because of it.
Moana 2 was certainly not a bad movie, nor was it unwatchable, but it was “just ok”, though I enjoyed moments of it. I know families and children likely enjoyed the majority, if not all, of it. But it signals a real problem for Disney Animation and Pixar as a whole.
Instead of making formulaic sequels, what The Walt Disney Company really needs to do is spend less time looking at their profits, and more time looking at the values that the company was built upon.
REFERENCES
[1] Credit: Erica Liu, ‘Hualālai Chung’s Journey from Aulani to the Big Screen’, DisneyParksBlog.com, 26th November 2024.
[2] Credit: Disney, “Join the Crew”, from Moana 2 (2024) Blu-Ray (2025).
[3] Credit: Matthew Rudoy, ‘How Moana 2 Transformed Out Of Disney+ Show Plans Eagerly Explained by Bob Iger’, ScreenRant.com, 25th February 2024.
[4] Credit: Alex Reif, ‘The Untold Story of “Moana 2:” A Film Born to Be on the Big Screen’, LaughingPlace.com, 21st November 2024.
[5] Credit: Disney, “A New Voyage”, from Moana 2 (2024) Blu-Ray (2025).
[6] Credit: Courtney Potter, ‘Behind-the-Scenes Exclusives with Moana 2 Filmmakers’, D23.com, 4th November 2024.
[7] Credit: Disney, “Call of the Wayfinder”, from Moana 2 (2024) Blu-Ray (2025).
[8] Credit: Disney, ‘Behind the ‘Absolutely Incredible’ Animation of ‘Moana 2’’, TheWaltDisneyCompany.com, 2nd December 2024.
[9] Credit: Disney, “Deleted Scenes”, from Moana 2 (2024) Blu-Ray (2025).
[10] Credit: Gretchen McDermid, ‘Disney Wins ‘Moana’ Copyright Infringement Lawsuit Against Screenwriter’, WDWNT.com, 10th March 2025.
[11] Credit: Nicole Fallert, ‘Meet Barlow & Bear, the women who made history writing the ‘Moana 2’ songs’, USAToday.com, date unknown.
[12] Credit: Disney, “Songs of the Sea”, from Moana 2 (2024) Blu-Ray (2025).
[13] Credit: Nicholas Reimann, ‘‘Moana’ Breaks Record For Most Weeks At No. 1 On Billboard Soundtracks Chart’, Forbes.com, 17th August 2021.
[14] Credit: Disney, ‘‘Moana 2’ Sets a Record as Disney’s Biggest Animated Trailer Launch in History’, TheWaltDisneyCompany.com, 30th May 2024.
[15] Credit: Pamela McClintock, ‘‘Moana 2’ Achieves Demigod Status: All the Box Office Records Broken’, HollywoodReporter.com, 2nd December 2024.
[16] Credit: Disney, ‘Can I Get a Chee Hoo? Be The First To Watch At Home – Disney’s MOANA 2 is Now Available on Digital’, Press.Disney.co.uk, 28th January 2025.
[17] Credit: Mark Hughes, ‘‘Moana 2’ Grosses $389 Million – Highest Global Box Office Debut For An Animated Movie’, Forbes.com, 2nd December 2024.
[18] Credit: Disney, ‘Moana 2 Splashes To 27.3m Views Globally On Disney+ After 5 Days Of Streaming’, Press.Disney.co.uk, date unknown.
[19] Credit: Monica Coman, ‘Moana Live-Action Remake Gets Exciting Filming Update Ahead of Moana 2 Release’, CBR.com, 24th November 2024.
[20] Credit: Blog Mickey, ‘Moana 2 Character Maquettes & Artwork Now in Display at Disney’s Hollywood Studios’, BlogMickey.com, 19th November 2024.
[21] Credit: Erica Liu, ‘‘Moana 2’ Voyages Across Disney Parks with All New Experiences and Products’, DisneyParksBlog.com, 27th November 2024.
[22] Credit: Emmanuel Detres, ‘Moana-Inspired EPCOT Attraction Revealed in New Video’, InsidetheMagic.net, 7th April 2023.
The Disney Purist 