2016’s Moana is absolutely one of the best Walt Disney Animation movies – which is impressive considering it came out years after the Renaissance Era. When I heard there was going to be a sequel, I had some concerns. However, now that Moana 2 is in theaters and hitting the massive box office numbers prophesied ahead of Thanksgiving, I need to talk about one moment that calls back to the original movie. And, as CinemaBlend learned, said moment left one of the directors with goosebumps.
I recently had the chance to speak to Moana 2’s directors David Derrick Jr, Dana Ledoux Miller and Jason Hand in Oahu, Hawaii for the movie’s press junket. Amid our chat, I asked them about their favorite callbacks from the original film. I especially loved Hand’s answer, as she told me:
In ‘Beyond’ where Moana says, ‘I am Moana’, she's re-declaring who she is, and she's also in a sense, setting up the story that she's about to go on, that is going to mean something different by the end of this film. I thought that was really powerful to, to uh, use that line again as a declaration of here I am right now and she thinks she's gonna go off on this journey and likely come back the same person. But it doesn't really work like that.
You can check out all of their answers in the video above, but Jason Hand’s answer is special because of how right he is about the moment's importance to the movie. Ledoux Miller added this to his answer:
I got goosebumps the first time.
Yeah, I don’t blame her. I’m in the exact same boat… er, voyaging canoe. When Moana declared she is Moana at the top of the hill in Motunui early in Moana 2, I think I had goosebumps, too. The sequel is set three years after the events of the first movie, and the Polynesian wayfinder has clearly grown and matured since her first major adventure, which is fitting since there are higher stakes for her and the people of her island.
The young woman is asked to sail further than she has ever before, and even further than her ancestors in order to save her people. Throughout the song, she asks “what lies beyond” and while she doesn’t know what's in store, she has to trust in herself. As Hand also said:
Oh my gosh, it was so powerful. Everybody really connects with that moment when they see it. And I think it's because of that, but it's also a setup for the rest of the film, honestly.
When Moana last declared her name, it was at a pivotal moment late in the movie, at which point the protagonist needs some encouragement, and her Gramma Tala arrives (from the afterlife) to remind her how amazing and worthy she is. While watching the sequel, I wanted to cry when, early on, Moana recited a line from a song from the end of the first movie because it shows that those lessons have stuck with her.
It should also be mentioned that Lin-Manuel Miranda didn't compose the music for this film as he did with the original Moana movie. This time, Emily Bear and Abigail Barlow of the Unofficial Bridgerton musical wrote the songs. Personally, I can’t stop listening to their tracks! Kudos to them for managing to give me and Dana Ledoux Miller goosebumps.
After you see this latest Disney film for yourself, check out what the directors told us about the Moana 2 ending. Those who want more information on the film's music can also see what the songwriters said about working with Dwayne Johnson on his song, “Can I Get A Chee Hoo?”
