‘Moana 2’ opens in theaters: Film ‘levels up’ with focus on the future

Disney’s “Moana 2” has arrived in Maui movie theaters with early community screenings drawing a swell of fans ahead of the Nov. 27 official opening in theaters. It’s been eight years since the original release, and movie goers were eager to see what new adventures abound beyond the reef for the wayfinder and her voyaging friends.

Moana, voice of Auliʻi Cravalho, set sail in 2016 as Disney’s first “princess” of Polynesian descent. But in “Moana 2,” the chiefess asserts that she’s “still not a princess,” only to be challenged by Maui, voiced by Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson who replies: “Well, a lot of people think you are.”

With self discovery the focus of the first, Moana emerges with confidence and determination in the 2024 sequel, as she is tasked with ensuring a future for her people.

In an interview with Disney Animation during the premiere on O’ahu, Cravalho said: “If I could only choose one thing that I’m excited for people to see in ‘Moana 2’ is the real sense of Polynesian pride and community that this film really embodies. If our last film was about connecting with the past, this one was about connecting with the future and Moana’s going even further beyond the reef to connect everyone across the entire Pacific. I’m so grateful that we have more story to tell.”

The new film, set three years after the first, reunites Moana with Maui for a new curse breaking journey to reconnect the people throughout the ocean by finding Motufetu, an ancient island where channels of different islands are known to converge.

“What makes Maui larger than life in ‘Moana 2’ is he thinks of others before himself,” said Johnson during the premiere. He also traveled to Maui on Friday for a private screening at the Maui Arts & Cultural Center before jetting off to London to continue the film tour.

The larger-than-life shape-shifting demigod helps Moana to “level up” and go after her destiny. On the way, Moana is advised that there’s always another way to get where you need to go, “even if you have to get lost to find it.”

Before departing, Moana takes part in an awa ceremony, where she is bestowed with a title previously held by her respected ancestor, Tautai Vasa. It’s a special detail that co-director David Derrick Jr. told Island City TV was intentional in specificity, allowing Polynesian people to be seen as who they are.

More details surface that celebrate the diverse cultures of Polynesia including the honor of earning a tattoo and utilizing ancestral knowledge to guide decisions.

“I have to say, I do not own Moana—we own Moana,” Cravalho said during the Hawaiʻi premiere. “Moana is a celebration for all of us—from Tonga to Tahiti to Hawaiʻi to Aotearoa to Samoa, from the Pacific islands to being Polynesian to Micronesian to Melanesian—This is for us,” she said.

“I want to thank Disney for the belief in us and in our people and in our culture,” said Johnson when addressing premiere attendees. “In knowing that when we put a film like ‘Moana 2’ out, it brings joy to the world and this idea [of]… looking beyond the reef and how important that is… Dream big. Work hard,” he said.