Eight years after the original, Moana 2 explores the challenges of coming of age, as the heroine’s responsibilities now extend beyond her initial ambitions. The Press traveled to Hawaii to meet film makers from Disney Animation Studios.
Published at 7:00 a.m.
(Kapolei, Hawaii) At age 16, Moana secretly left at night to explore the ocean like her ancestors did.
Now aged 19, the young woman sets off in search of other island peoples in order to preserve the future of her own.
“She’s still as adventurous as ever, but she now understands the magnitude of the risk and that there are consequences to her actions,” explains co-director and co-writer Dana Ledoux Miller.
In the first film released in 2016, Moana (voice of Auli’i Cravalho) discovered the explorer past of the residents of her Polynesian island, Motunui, and became chief explorer (wayfinder). Three years later, she traveled the Pacific in search of other inhabited islands. Without success so far.
IMAGE PROVIDED BY DISNEY
Moana, Kele, Moni et Loto
In a vision, Motunui’s legendary chief explorer, Tautai Vasa, tells her that she must find the lost island of Motufetū. It once served as a meeting point between the different peoples of the Pacific islands before Nalo, god of storms, plunged it into the abyss.
In order to accomplish the perilous mission, Moana recruits an inexperienced crew – with the exception of the chicken Heihei – but motivated. It consists of the pig Pua, the resourceful and energetic Loto (Rose Matafeo), the grumpy gardener Kele (David Fane) and the history buff Moni (Hualālai Chung), who is also Maui’s biggest fan (Dwayne Johnson). Precisely, the group must first find the demigod, because his knowledge, his strength and his magic hook are essential to the success of the expedition.
Difficult decisions
Moana also wants to reconnect with her friend, because she fears she will collapse under the weight of her responsibilities. “She does not fear going to sea, she fears not coming back, not seeing her community that she cherishes so much, her parents and her little sister,” emphasizes Dana Ledoux Miller.
IMAGE PROVIDED BY DISNEY
Maui and Moana
Her relationship with 3-year-old Simea (Khaleesi Lambert-Tsuda) reinforces the idea that Moana’s sacrifice is to secure the future of her people, argues co-writer and co-producer Jared Bush.
Simea doesn’t understand why her big sister has to leave, and that’s normal. This affects Moana’s decisions. Growing up, our choices aren’t always black and white.
Jared Bush, co-writer and co-producer
Many parents have to deal with this type of situation on a daily basis. The artisans of Moana 2 found it interesting to apply this dynamic to two sisters. “The inspiration comes from my family,” says co-director David Derrick Jr. “My daughter is 21 and my son is 7, and they have a bond that I have never seen in a Disney film. Growing up with this age difference has its share of challenges. I have seen my daughter say goodbye to my son and each time they find it difficult. »
PHOTO BENJAMIN CREMEL, AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
Co-directors Jason Hand and Dana Ledoux Miller, producer Christina Chen and co-director David Derrick Jr. at the premiere of Moana 2 in London, November 24
Music and mysteries
The catchy songs of the first Moana contributed greatly to its success. How Far I’ll Go among other things, won a Grammy and was selected for the Oscars, then one for the Golden Globes.
The trio of Lin-Manuel Miranda, Mark Mancina and Opetaia Foa’i composed and wrote the pieces for the original. The latter two are back, but this time they are accompanied by Abigail Barlow and Emily Bear. The duo rose to prominence through a series of videos on TikTok in which they sang musical-comedy-style songs inspired by the series Bridgerton. An album of 15 compositions The Unofficial Bridgerton Musicalwas launched in 2021 and won a Grammy.
“Writing a musical number at Disney is a very specific process,” says co-writer Jared Bush. With authors and composers, we identify what the characters need, what they want or what is important to them. The rule is that there can’t be a song if the characters don’t have anything meaningful to sing. »
PHOTO MARCO GARCIA, REUTERS
Dwayne Johnson, who voices Maui, and co-writer and producer Jared Bush at the premiere of Moana 2 in Kapolei, November 21
Co-director Jason Hand, who worked on the storyboard (storyboard) of the film Charm et Zootopiaadds that the musical numbers also serve to progress the story visually.
There are songs that take us back to familiar places, others that take us to surreal places. This is one of the things I like most about this type of film.
Jason Hand, co-director
The surreal place he refers to is where we meet the mysterious Matangi (Awhimai Fraser). “She forces Moana to think differently, to see things from another angle,” says David Derrick Jr. “There are key moments in our lives that force us to change, and Matangi helps Moana in this sense. »
Matangi presents himself through a breathtaking song entitled Get Lostwhich surprises as much by its subject as by its mind-blowing visuals.
“From the start, we wanted Matangi to be a difficult character to pin down,” emphasizes Jared Bush. Is she a villain or is she just different? She is a little older than Moana and she admires her in a certain way, like a big sister. Their relationship is as fun as it is dangerous. »
Don’t leave the theater until the credits end for a glimpse of what this relationship has in store for the heroine.
Moana 2 takes place on Wednesday.
Travel and accommodation expenses were paid by Disney, which had no control over the content of this report.
