Asian American and Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander (AANPHI) audiences are finding much to rejoice about in Disney’s latest animated feature “Moana 2.”
Little details such as Moana’s conch shell, the pottery ceramics she finds, the tattoos and even the wayfarer’s canoe are touchpoints that the creatives went to great lengths to include.
But it took a village of artisans to make that happen. Directors Jason Hand and David Derrick Jr. lead the way and were joined by screenwriter and director Dana Ledoux Miller, who is currently working on the live-action version of “Moana.”
In addition to the above-the-line talent, behind-the-scenes, there were experts in language, navigation, dance and even botany, as well as story artists and the Oceanic Cultural Trust, which also worked on the first film to ensure the rich heritage of Polynesian wayfinding could be honored.
Derrick says when he made the first film, he was the only person with a direct connection to the Pacific Islands. This time around, Miller, who is of Samoan descent, brought not just her heritage, but everything that made her who she is. She says, “It’s inspiring that they’re coming in because they’re not telling us, ‘Here’s the art, do this.’ They’re sharing generational knowledge and wisdom.”
That wisdom helped inspire many story points in Moana’s latest outing. The sequel picks up three years later – this time she finds herself going on a new adventure to save her people and break a curse. Of course, Maui (voiced by Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson) returns as the demigod to help her find the lost island of Motufetu.
In one scene, Moana heads right into the belly of the beast — a storm. Nainoa Thompson from the Polynesian Voyaging Society provided insights into ocean navigation and informed Miller how this would be represented.
“I remember talking to him about what happens when you’re out on the ocean and using traditional navigation and you run into a storm, what do you do?” Miller says. “What would you want to do in this scenario? And he said, ‘There’s nothing you can do when you head into a storm and you can’t get out of it. It’s a moment of surrender because you can’t control the situation; you can’t control the weather; you can’t control the canoe; you just have to let go.’” That made sense to Miller, as getting lost was the pathway to magic and helped shape Moana’s journey. Miller adds, “It helped define our story in a lot of ways. It was a touchpoint to me throughout writing the script with Jared [Bush] that we kept coming back to.”
The conch shell that Moana picks up and blows came from Derrick. Hand reveals that throughout filming, “Dave had a conch. You could tell it was being made in our studio because it was constantly being blown.”
In another scene, Moana takes part in an “ava ceremony” in which she drinks from a coconut shell. Dionne Fonoti of the Oceanic Cultural Trust explains the significance of that: “Ava is used in ceremonies all over the Pacific… it’s something that’s very much celebrated and used as a ceremonial tool in the past, and today. When it appears in the film, it’s specifically Samoan. What I appreciated was how Dana and Dave and the team leaned into it.”
Moana’s tattoo is another nuance. Not only is it a symbol of her newly acquired powers, it is reflective of the tattoos Polynesian women get. While Maui’s tattoos tell his story as a demigod, the question was how Moana’s look would. Miller explains, “That’s why it has the island, Motufetu, and all the channels. She connects the ocean.”
The most important element that reflected Pacific Islander heritage was the notion of community. “Service to our community was a huge thing,” says Hand. “The idea of the ocean connecting us are huge ideas within the Moana world, but all of those are rooted in Polynesian culture. Every consultant we talk to would agree that community comes first.”
Aside from the visual references, musically, “Moana” composer and songwriter Opetaia Foa’i returned for the sequel, working alongside fellow composer Mark Mancina and songwriters Abigail Barlow and Emily Bear.
Foa’i wanted as much Pacific culture in the first film as possible and the sequel was no different. The team fully immersed themselves in the island traditions and the use of Samoan and Pacific Islander language. Says Foa’i, “It warmed my heart to see them accept this and put it in. You look at a couple of songs that are completely in the Pacific language. It’s unheard of.”
After Maui is stripped of his powers, he doesn’t have his hook to draw on, and he has nothing left. “We’ve unmade him,” explains Miller. “I just love this idea that for the first time in his 3000 years of existence, he feels so helpless that he calls out to the Gods and he calls out to the ancestors.” The song he’s singing in that moment, in Samoan, is a plea and a prayer to the ancestors to make it right.
While there are many more cultural touchstones, Miller feels proud to have created something where, she says, people of the Pacific are seeing themselves.
Being a part of the process is of deep significance to Miller — and a step forward. She says, “I am a kid who was afraid to tell people that I was Samoan growing up because nobody believed me, and nobody thought that meant anything. I was so proud of who I was, but the world made me feel like I wasn’t enough, and I let that bleed into so much of who I am.”
She gets emotional as she recalls getting the call for the live-action job. “My first thought was, ‘I bet everyone’s going to say that I’m not enough to do this and because I’m too white.’ That was the internal thought going through my mind.”
In making both films and working alongside consultants and the team, she felt embraced in ways she wasn’t expecting. She says, “I think it gave me more confidence, but it also made me more passionate about making sure that I do right by everyone.”