"It's one of the more exciting things we've been able to do," Jared Bush said
After the release of Moana in 2016, the appeal of the beloved Disney Animation character still runs deep as Moana 2 (now in theatres), with characters voiced by Auli'i Cravalho and Dwayne Johnson, has achieved record-breaking box office success. The biggest opening weekend for an animated movie globally, it proved to be a successful move to make the sequel a film released in theatres, versus a Disney+ series, as originally planned.
"We screen whatever we're working on internally, just to our crew, about six to eight times over the course of those three to five years, and the resounding note we got pretty much every screening was, 'Man, we love this. Also, it should be a movie. We like this a lot, it's huge, why is it not a movie?'" Jared Bush, Chief Creative Officer of Disney Animation, executive producer co-writer of Moana 2 said at a virtual press conference.
"The overall story arc for Moana remained the same. She was always going to be called by her ancestors to go out to connect the people to the ocean and to discover something new about herself. But I think all of us felt like once we knew we were designing this movie for the biggest screens in the world, I think you see it in the third act especially, it's massive. ... I think in our guts we were like, 'This should be a movie.' ... And so I think it's one of the more exciting things we've been able to do."
Whether a series or a film, the Disney Animation talents were particularly excited about continuing Moana's story.
"Knowing that in the first film, by the time she finished her journey, she became a Wayfinder and there was always this question of, 'OK now that she knows how to go out on the ocean, what will she go out to find next?'" Bush said. "So about ... three-and-a-half years ago, we started talking about what that next journey might be for her, and the natural question is, 'Are there others out there to find?' ... And certainly there are."
"I think all of us have felt many times that ... you've sort of figured out your identity and then life changes and you have to redefine yourself, and I think that was really the genesis of getting into Moana 2, is who would she be next and what will she find out in the ocean."
With the music being such a critical component of the story, songwriter Emily Bear explained that the approach was to still have a connection to the original film that so many people love.
"I think it was important for us to kind of have one foot in, one foot out, and pay homage to the world of Moana that we know and love, while also allowing the characters' voices to grow," Bear said. "If you think back to yourself from 16 to 19, that is a very big shift and you are a very different person."
"We wanted Moana's voice to evolve and Maui's voice to evolve, and also as she kind of sets out on the new waters and is going into uncharted territory. We want the soundtrack to expand and when we meet new characters we want it to sound different."
While both Moana and Moana 2 feel like really fresh and original story ideas for Disney Animation, from the script to the visuals and music, the talents behind Moana 2 revealed that there are connections to popular Disney films of the past.
"I really grew up in a really special era of Disney Animation, I was going to matinees and falling in love with The Lion King and Aladdin and the Little Mermaid, and Beauty and the Beast," director and co-writer Dana Ledoux Miller shared. "I think that the way those stories were told, with such humour and such heart and with such interesting characters that just really brought these special worlds to life, I was really excited to jump into a Disney animated film, because I think every day we were striving to build a film that fit into that legacy."
"We really pushed ourselves to find the humour in this story. I mean, in so many ways, this movie is a celebration of the Pacific, and part of our culture is to be fun and funny, and take joy in nature and each other and community, and it was exciting to bridge the cultural aspects of that with what feels like a very Disney movie, and I'm really proud of what we put together in that way."
Bush, director Jason Hand and songwriter Abigail Barlow added that The Little Mermaid and Beauty and the Beast were particular inspirations for different elements of Moana 2. Specifically, the opening number of Beauty and the Beast was a reference point for "We're Back" in Moana 2.
"I grew up on Little Mermaid," Bush said. "I think there's some obvious parallels, ... Ron [Clements] and John [Musker] having directed that and having directed the first Moana, to me that was such a soundtrack of my childhood, and I made a bunch of home movies where it was always that soundtrack."
"[The Little Mermaid] changed a lot for me, but also just sort of the amazing scope and emotion you can bring to life in a musical. It's a very special thing to work on a Disney musical and I think that, I think for all of us, going on this amazing emotional journey with Moana and her team, that can kind of only be brought to life through song, is pretty incredible."
"I wore my VHS of The Little Mermaid out," Hand added. "But I think what I learned from that, and I think what this film does so well, is tell the story through the songs."
"That's the most important part of a Disney musical, is the emotional turns of the character are done in song moments, and that's such a powerful thing. You can really have a window into the emotions and the soul of a character when they're singing, because at that point in the film they have to sing because the emotion is just raw, and it's right there and raw."