Walt Disney Animation Studios offered a first look at Moana 2 today at the Annecy Festival, revealing some new details about the sequel’s plot and characters while showcasing some work-in-progress footage. But before that, future Disney Legend Mark Henn was brought to the stage, receiving an immediate standing ovation. As the hand behind classic Disney characters, including Ariel, Belle, Jasmine, Young Simba, Mulan, and Tiana, Mark Henn’s first visit to the Annecy Festival was marked by his induction into the Annecy Walk of Fame, with his handprints immortalized in bronze, similar to how they will be this August at D23: The Ultimate Fan Event. Attendees were the first to see his new short, D.I.Y. Duck, on the big screen (it debuted on Disney+ on June 9th to coincide with Donald Duck’s 90th birthday).
(Annecy Festival/B. Aguirre)
David Derrick Jr. and Jason Hand represent two-thirds of the directorial team for Moana 2 (Dana Ledoux Miller stayed in Burbank to keep working on the film), segueing into their presentation by pointing out that Mark Henn was one of the hand-drawn animators for Mini Maui on the first film, and that the apprentices trained on D.I.Y. Duck are working under Eric Goldberg to animate Maui’s tattoos in the sequel. David and Jason also shared that they were classmates at CalArts, and both went on to careers as Story Artists. David joined Disney specifically to work on the first Moana, a calling inspired by his own Samoan heritage. In the first film, he storyboarded “How Far I’ll Go,” in addition to the sequence where Moana talks to her Gramma Tala, leading to the song’s iconic reprise. Jason was also a Story Artist on the first film, taking credit for Shark Head Maui, with other career highlights including the sloth DMV sequence from Zootopia and “The Family Madrigal” sequence from Encanto.
(Annecy Festival/B. Aguirre)
As with the first film, the Moana 2 filmmakers have sought the wisdom of the Oceanic Cultural Trust, with many members returning to advise on the sequel. New to the trust is Nainoa Thompson of the Polynesian Voyaging Society, a group that has reclaimed the artistry of wayfinding. This knowledge was an integral part of unlocking this new voyage for Moana and her people. Nainoa also said something to them that has reverberated into the themes of the sequel: Getting lost as a wayfinder is scary, but it’s in those moments that you find out who you are, which can be magical.
The sequel begins with Moana returning home to Motunui via a new song called “We’re Back” (previously screened at CinemaCon). Set three years after the first film, there have been a few changes back home, starting with the arrival of Moana’s little sister, Simea. Moana loves her sister dearly, and Simea wants to be just like Moana when she’s older. Moana has been searching for other inhabited islands to try and reunite Oceania, but she has so far been unsuccessful. But on this last voyage, she found an artifact that could help with her quest – a clay jar with a drawing of a mountain beneath a constellation.
In a storyboard sequence, we saw Moana show her father the jar, and he understood its significance. David and Jason also showed concept art of a scene in which Moana introduces Simea to the Cave of Ancestors and tells her about their family’s wayfinding past. In the next scene, Chief Tui holds a ceremony to bestow a great title upon Moana, “Tautai,” which means leader of land and sea. But during the ceremony, which involves drinking from ceremonial cups, lightning almost strikes Moana.
The lightning strike triggers a vision for Moana, who is visited by a whale shark, the spirit of one of her ancestors, Tautai Vasa (a familiar face from “We Know the Way”), who had his own incomplete mission to reunite the islands. Through Tautai Vasa, Moana learns about an island called Motufetu, which once connected all of the islands of her people. It’s under a curse from the god of storms. Moana must answer this new call, and her mother, Sina, insists that she assemble a crew to join her this time.
(Disney)
Accompanied again by HeiHei, and with Pua now along for the ride (with one small tusk to age him up a bit), Moana assembles a team to join her quest. There’s the brainy but quirky Loto, grumpy farmer Kele, and Maui’s biggest fan Moni. A clip was shown in which Moana assembled her team, and we next saw the first roadblock on their adventure – Kakamora. But this time, the little coconut people were in their own danger when a giant clam rose up from the depths to feast. One of the Kakamora will join Moana’s team, a new character named Kotu, who was described as being the Kakamora equivalent of Moana.
Where is Maui? It’s no secret that he’s back in the film and eventually becomes part of Moana’s crew. In the final clip shown, we see Maui in the lair of an unnamed demigod, a female voice whose face was unseen in the brief sequence. But she warns Maui that the god Nalo is going to destroy Moana if he doesn’t go protect her.
That seems like a pretty exciting first act. Alongside these character and premise details, David Derrick Jr. and Jason Hand also shared some casting news. We already knew that Auli'i Cravalho and Dwayne Johnson were reprising their roles as Moana and Maui, but Temuera Morrison and Nicole Scherzinger are also back as Moana’s parents, Chief Tui and Sina. Voicing Moana’s little sister Simea is Khaleesi Lambert-Tsuda. As the mortal members of Moana’s crew, fans will hear Rose Matafeo as Loto, David Fane as Kele, and Hualālai Chung as Moni. Composer Mark Mancina returns to score the film, with Opeatia Foa‘i also contributing to the music alongside Grammy winners Abigail Barlow and Emily Bear.
(Disney)
The voyage begins November 27th with Moana 2, exclusively in theaters.