May 29, 2024

Moana 2” Teaser Trailer, First Look at Disney Sequel

Walt Disney Animation Studios has released the first teaser trailer for “Moana 2,” scheduled for release in the United States on November 27, 2024.

This theatrical feature film is somewhat unexpected from Disney. In February of this year, Disney CEO Bob Iger made the surprise announcement that the planned Moana streaming series would be retooled as a feature film. Iger said at the time, “We were so impressed with the film that we thought it deserved a theatrical release.”

The performance of the original film in streaming in 2016 may have also influenced the decision to produce a second animated feature film. Last year, “Moana,” directed by John Musker and Ron Clements, was the #1 most streamed title in the U.S. and has been in the top four streaming titles for four consecutive years.

Also uniquely (and perhaps worryingly, if you work in the animation industry in L.A.), “Moana 2” is the first feature film in a long time not to be produced entirely at Walt Disney Animation Studios' Burbank studio. This is because production of the “Moana” series was originally done at Disney's new animation studio in Vancouver, Canada. Currently, production is split between the Vancouver and Burbank studios. As other animation studios continue to shift away from domestic production, it is not surprising that “Moana 2” has become a test run for Disney Animation's new production model.

“Moana 2” is directed by David Derrick, Jr, Jason Hand, and Dana Ledoux Miller. Derrick and Hand were the story artists on the original film, and Derrick and Ledoux Miller are of Samoan ancestry. Producers are Christina Chen and Yvette Merino.

In addition to Moana (voiced by Auli'i Cravalho) and Maui (voiced by Dwayne Johnson), the film will feature the return of characters from the original film, including Heihei the rooster and Pua the pig. The film takes place three years after the original. According to the script, “Moana receives an unexpected call from her way-finding ancestors and must journey to the distant and dangerous, long-lost oceans of Oceania for an adventure unlike any she has faced before.”

The music for “Moana 2” was composed by Abigail Barlow and Emily Bair, with opertia for? Eye, and Mark Mancina.