From series to epic film

With Moana 2 (November 27), Disney Animation took the unprecedented step of expanding its TV spinoff, originally intended for Disney+, to follow the film. This made sense, especially since Moana became the most popular animated film on Disney+.

After studio executives viewed some promising early footage, they realized they were undervaluing the franchise and that there was an opportunity to create a potential blockbuster in 2024 that would make up for last year’s underperforming Disney centennial tribute, “Wish.”

“The premise is the same,” executive producer and new chief creative officer Jared Bush told IndieWire. “Moana received this call from her ancestors because of something very important that she does not fully understand: she has been asked to travel beyond the seas of anywhere else she has been to ensure the future of her people. I would say the only thing we did was make the story more epic.”

Indeed, the scope of the series required the big screen. It all started as a unique collaboration between Disney’s animation studios in Burbank and Vancouver (the latter being created for Disney+ projects). The story, visual development, direction, screenplay and post-production were based on Burbank from the very beginning. Then, as production began to pick up steam even before the film was officially released, artists in Vancouver and Burbank began working together in key departments such as animation, lighting, visual effects and rendering.

“What was nice was that we built the series in sequential order, which is unusual for our feature-film process,” added Bush (who wrote the screenplay for Moana). “But it also meant that we knew the first act of our film very well. So the transition was very easy.”

The story takes place three years after Moana, as the titular teen adventurer (again voiced by Auli’i Cravalho) embarks on a journey to find the mysterious island of Motufetu, with a crew of inexperienced villagers and, of course, the demigod Maui (Dwayne Johnson). ) and adorable pals Hei-Hei, the dumb chicken, and her pig pal Pua.

It turns out that Motufetu, which once connected all the Polynesian islands, is now guarded by Nalo, the envious Storm God. Moana’s mission as the new leader of her tribe on land and sea is to unite the islands again, but there’s more at stake as she needs to protect her little sister Shimea.

“Moana was trying to find herself in the first movie,” Bush said. “She was torn between her love for her island and her desire to go out into the ocean. And she was told that this was impossible. And throughout the first film, she managed to combine these things. Now she has become a travel guide and, with the help of Maui, has found incredible talent and skill in connecting all the islands of the Pacific. And that means she has to go further than ever before. It’s scary. And she feels like she has found that balance in her life. In addition, she now has a three-year-old sister whom she loves very much. It’s such an emotional anchor for the story.”

First-time directors David Derrick and Jason Hand (both animation veterans from Moana) are joined on the series by showrunner Dana LeDoux Miller. However, when they moved on to the film, LeDoux Miller was attached to direct and went on to co-write the script with Bush (they also co-wrote the film adaptation). They expanded the roles of Moana (whose animation reflects an older, more physically skilled traveler) and Maui (who still has a 2D sentient Mini Maui tattoo), moving slightly away from the team that was more prominent in the series. They include Lotto, who designed and maintains the boat; Kele, head chef preparing vegetables; and Moni, a young storyteller and Maui fan.

Meanwhile, there are eight new songs: five from Abigail Barlow and Emily Bear (including the Oscar-nominated “Beyond” and “Can I Get a Chee Hoo?”) and three from Opetaia Foai and Mark Mancina. Some of them existed in the series, while others were part of an expansion.

“We were committed to going beyond the first film and developing it in a way that could be captured in IMAX,” Hand told IndieWire. “And it’s about creating an entertaining and enjoyable ride for our audience.”

The crew’s early launch in the boat was an incident that needed more scope for the film. “It was great and we loved what we had there,” Derrick told IndieWire. “And then Dana came along and felt very strongly that we needed to expand this. And lead the emotional singing. Because historically it wasn’t as emotionally grounded as it could have been, or culturally grounded.”

Cultural expansion of the sequel was one of LeDoux Miller’s mandates. The Samoan-American understands the power of stories about the Pacific Rim. “It was important for us to demonstrate that Moana’s community now supports her,” she told IndieWire. “And what better way to do this than to gather them all together, sing and call upon the ancestors to protect her as she embarks on this new and epic journey? It just speaks to how she has led her people in the present as she sets out on an adventure that will shape their future.”

The crew represents different generations, personalities and skills. The fact that they didn’t work together tests Moana’s new leadership role after she was alone for so long during the expeditions between the two films.

“What I love about this movie is that everyone evolves and changes and grows because it speaks to who Moana is as a leader,” added LeDoux Miller. “But also how open her team becomes and how much she shapes them by taking them on this journey. And it was also important for us to show how this community and this connection can help her want to go further and further than she has gone before.”