December 11, 2020 was a key day in the recent history of The Walt Disney Company. The coronavirus crisis was still far from being overcome and its initial phase had been devastating. As far as the Mouse House was concerned, this studio had been lucky enough to have just coined their service streaming on the eve of the pandemic, but the excellent performance of Disney+—benefiting, like its competitors, from subscribers who didn’t have much to do other than stay home browsing the catalog—was insufficient to right its finances.
Like the cinemas, the company’s lucrative theme parks around the world had been closed, or in the best of cases their capacity had been reduced. The big premieres were postponed, or were subjected to questionable exhibition strategies with access premium on the aforementioned Disney+. All of which led to the Investor Day scheduled for the end of the year—that is, an event aimed at Disney’s main shareholders and investors—being decisive. The trust of the partners had to be regained in any way possible, so the company could not think of anything other than to make an impossible, astronomical, number of advertisements.
The Lucasfilm division was going to continue to have a hard time developing Star Wars films after the debacle of The Rise of Skywalker —in all this time none has yet materialized—, but the success of The Mandalorian would favor the emergence of series set in George Lucas’ universe: Obi-Wan, Ahsoka, The Acolyte. Marvel Studios was not going to be less with its own batch of series and, apart from more shocking announcements like that of Mufasa —a prequel to remake of The lion king which premieres this December 20—that was the general tone: take advantage of the triumphant beginnings of Disney+ to seduce shareholders with a multitude of content for its catalog.
Beyond Star Wars and Marvel, the chaotic announcements of that Investor Day planned to lighten spirits in the middle of the pandemic also extended to Walt Disney Animation. With which there would be series of Big Hero 6, Tiana and the Frog, Zootopia… and Moana. The latter is being released right now, but it will not be in the Disney+ catalog but in theaters, like a movie. Its producer Christina Chen, speaking with elDiario.es, explains: “We went from an episodic structure to a feature film intended for cinemas by mandate of the studio. We had already shown our material three or four months before, and we were realizing that it asked for a bigger screen.” The series of Moanain fact, has been turned into a theatrical sequel titled Moana 2. Things that happen.
Post-coronavirus Disney
It is not the most shocking thing about the fate of Moanasince before it was announced in February of this year that the series is now a feature film, there was already another film by Moana being developed for cinemas. Specifically a remake in live action, with Dwayne Johnson confirmed to play Maui after having voiced his animated version. This type of remakesof course, have been very successful in recent years—to the point that the competition, DreamWorks, has also started making them with the next update of How to train your dragon—, but they usually start from animated classics. Moanathe original film, was released just eight years ago.
His remake It is scheduled to be released in theaters on June 27, 2025. Dana Leodux Miller, who already contributed to the script of the series (now sequel) of Moana In addition to co-directing it, he also works here, but assures that Moana 2 and the remake They are independent projects. “Moana 2 has its own entity,” he explains, while “director Thomas Kail and the entire team behind the remake “In live action they are doing an incredible job bringing that movie back to life.” Sticking to Moana 2 It happens that, in turn, the film concludes with a post-credits scene hinting at new adventures. Disney’s wishes that Moana be a great franchise are pretty obvious.
Jason Hand is the other co-director of Moana 2 along with Miller and David G. Derrick Jr., and despite the obviousness of the plan he prefers to be cautious: “We will see what happens after Moana 2. Obviously there is an incredible world and new characters to explore, but right now we just want to focus on the audience enjoying this movie.” This entire operation emanates, of course, from the historic triumph of the first Moana: not only the stupendous box office it made in 2016, but also its subsequent brilliant career in streaming. Moana was the most viewed animated film available on platforms of 2023. In 2022 it had been the fourth most viewed, and between 2020 and 2021 it was number two. It is not at all unreasonable to proclaim it as the most successful ‘Disney classic’ of the 21st century.
It is a phenomenon that must be exploited, and equally the trick of turning what was originally conceived as a series into a film is not new in the history of Disney. Many of the consequences that defunct DisneyToon division produced for video between the 90s and 2000s, they were born like this: The Return of Jafar He was, for example, the pilot of the series Aladdin for Disney Channel, while the footage of Bella’s magical world It was made up of episodes from a series of Beauty and the beast that was never broadcast. The novelty of Moana 2 It lies, therefore, in Disney’s current circumstances. In the scenario that has led to this indiscriminate exploitation.
What happened after that Investor Day of chest beating and impossible promises? Well, with the pandemic behind us, Disney has had a hard time getting back on its feet. We are not just talking about canceled projects or franchises that have gone into decline – a clear case of Marvel – but about an openly fateful year: last 2023, which to make matters worse turned out to be the one in which Disney celebrated its centenary of existence. While The Marvels and Indiana Jones and the dial of destiny were sinking at the box office, the Mouse House watched with disappointment as the animated film conceived to pay homage to its history, wishpassed without pain or glory.
And not only that, but wish followed the overwhelming failure in 2022 of strange world: a Walt Disney Animation film that had barely raised 73 million dollars (69 million euros) on a budget of 180. Adding, on the side of Pixar, the disappointment of Lightyear and the uneven performance of Elementary —a title that overcame fierce criticism and an unfortunate opening to end up making profits despite everything—, the inevitable conclusion was that the public had lost interest in Disney animation, even in the Disney brand in general. The Mouse House has fought bitterly against this, and we are seeing the results of this reaction in 2024.
A recovery, but at what price?
2024 is being a better year for Disney. Much, much better. With more than 1,698 million dollars (1,609 million euros) raised, Inside out 2 It is the highest-grossing animated film in history. Deadpool and Wolverinein turn, is the highest-grossing adult-rated film of all time with 1,338 million dollars (1,268 million euros). The forecasts of Moana 2 They are also excellent – it could not be otherwise given the popularity of the original film – so there is no doubt that Disney has followed the appropriate strategy. One consisting of exploiting its intellectual properties without shame, giving the public the opportunity to reconnect with brands that they already love from the start.
Within the Pixar area, the premiere of Elio for June next year, with a good chance that it will be the flexo studio’s last original film for quite some time. On the part of Walt Disney Animation, Moana 2 will follow him Zootopia 2 and Frozen III on the calendar for the next few years. There is no sign that the strategy will change, so all that remains is to examine what these methodical sequels can offer, or the possible contributions to the source material. With respect to Moana 2the replacement of Lin-Manuel Miranda —creator of hamilton and composer of the soundtrack of the first film—at the hands of Abigail Barlow and Emily Bear. They are the ones who sign the new songs of Moana 2another animated musical.
In the CV of both, the presence of unofficial musical The Bridgertonsvery loved by fans. His work in Moana 2 has gone through developing “heirs” to previous songs—for example How Far I’ll Go becomes Beyondor the You’re welcome from Maui in Can I Get a Chee Hoo—, trying to give them their own flavor that Miller wants to highlight. “Abigail and Emily are two young women who are at the top of their game and want to prove themselves. They understood Moana in a very personal way. “They brought a new energy to the movie, and instead of wanting to recreate something, they chose to reconstruct it.”
“In this film Moana has become a leader and wants to give a new future to her people. They understood that perfectly.” The town, the culture of Moana, continues to swell a Polynesian imaginary that has turned out to be very promising for Disney —next year we will have another remake in real action, the one of Lilo & Stitchwith similar coordinates—, to which Miller has approached with great respect for having Samoan ancestry herself. “It is a great responsibility for me because it is my community,” says the co-director. “But the reason this culture is so exciting is that we can see ourselves in it. “Community is at the heart of what it means to come from the Pacific, it is the core of who we are and something we can all bond with.”
It’s a culture whose future Moana fights for in the sequel, symbolized by the addition of a new character: her little sister Simeia. “Moana’s goal is to create a better future for her people, and specifically for her sister,” Hand advances. “He is a very important character because he expresses the central idea of the film.” The idea of a future, indeed. A future where, of course, for Disney, the existence of a project as idiosyncratic as Moana 2 is key. Whether it is positive or negative, that will have to be discerned in due time.
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