Beyond the sea: “Moana 2”'s Auli'i Cravalho and Dwayne Johnson reflect on the unexpected path to their surprise sequel

Why Disney scrapped its plans for a Moana TV series, instead making a movie franchise out of one of its biggest animated titles.

No one knew how far Moana would go — not even the actress who’s given her a voice.

Auliʻi Cravalho began her career at 16, voicing the Disney heroine from the island of Motunui. Following Moana, she booked a starring role on the short-lived musical TV series Rise, played Ariel in a live TV musical production of The Little Mermaid, and this past year, she reinvented the character of Janis Ian in the film adaptation of the Mean Girls musical for the social media generation. But returning to the role of Moana means more to her than all of that combined.

Not that Cravalho's ever strayed too far from water, reprising her first role in several shorts and a Disney Princess gathering of epic proportions in Ralph Breaks the Internet. But she never expected to lead a second film, much less one that sees Moana evolve from a teenager to a young leader of her people — a journey that reflects Cravalho’s own growth.

"It being my first ever acting gig, there was no degree of separation between the two of us," Cravalho tells Entertainment Weekly, hopping on Zoom from her New York apartment where she's currently rehearsing to take over as Sally Bowles in the Broadway revival of Cabaret. "I have also gone on such a journey beyond the reef. She started my career, and I'm now in New York. So, I've grown right along with her."

That growth "feels really special" to Cravalho, and for good reason. While there have been plenty of animated Disney princess sequels, the studio has historically perpetuated a vision of eternal youth and beauty. The characters never age, always looking the same as when we met them (even Ariel, who becomes a mom in The Little Mermaid II: Return to the Sea, appears not to have aged a day). But there was never any question that a new story for Moana would mean seeing an older (potentially wiser) version of the now-16-year-old wayfinder we first met in 2016. In fact, the entire story is shaped around Moana's coming-of-age, mirroring Cravalho's sense of coming into her own.

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"Moana and I have gone on similar journeys," the Hawaii native notes. "In that first film, I was so excited to go beyond the reef and be flown to Burbank, Calif. I'd never been to Burbank, and that was the coolest thing ever. Moana was also taking her first tentative steps onto the canoe and feeling what it was like to leave her home. She and I have both felt the growing pains of leaving home and the big celebration of coming back and seeing how our families have changed. I still see so much of myself in her strength and vulnerability."

Dwayne Johnson, who voices demi-god Maui, similarly sees Moana and Cravalho as inextricable from each other. "She is such an anchor of our film and represents the embodiment of so many elements of our movie," he comments.

Cravalho has also ripped a page out of Johnson’s career playbook, taking on a larger leadership role behind the scenes. It's a significant step from Moana, where she was more worried about fitting in time to complete her high school coursework. "This is my career, and I've leaned all the way in," she says. "I have notes for songwriting. I have ideas for how a line should be spoken. I have more questions than I ever did before, and I feel like I've earned my stripes."

So does Moana. Three years older at the start of Moana 2, the barely still-a-teenager has assumed new duties as a leader of her people and continues to explore the ocean around Motunui. A call from the ancestors sends her back to sea, this time with a crew (and rooster Heihei and pig Pua!), to search for other island communities to connect with to prevent the destruction of their way of life.

Related: 10 fun facts about Moana that will make you say 'Wow, what a fun Moana fact'

"As a young person, you're still trying to figure out who you are. And in the first film, Moana was always focused on the horizon, what's out there," says co-director Jason Hand, who adds that he and co-directors David Derrick Jr. and Dana Ledoux Miller "talked a lot about the simultaneous pull of what was on the horizon and her people — the idea of her as a leader within her community has really grown."

While the first film — directed by John Musker and John Clements — focused on Moana's attempts to understand her people's hidden history, the sequel (in theaters Nov. 27) is far more forward-looking. "She has a little sister now, so that draws Moana back home," Cravalho adds. "Moana is venturing out into new waters and trying to connect all of the people of the Pacific."

"We were really trying to build off who Moana is in the first film," adds Miller. "We're not going to betray that version of the character. We are building, not replacing. We were really intentional about taking what we had and extending and expanding instead of starting over again. In the first film, Moana showed incredible strength in her willingness to take off into unknown danger for the sake of her people. But now, her responsibilities are changing, and we've never really seen her have to lead her people day to day. It was really important to us to show her evolution in that way."

Moana may already be a brave go-getter, but a crucial aspect of being a leader is having the skills and wisdom to guide those around you. "This is not only her journey anymore," Cravalho says. "She must share in those responsibilities if she wants to not only get to her end destination but also make it back home. This has become an even larger quest of basic survival."

Sailing with a crew will prove the ultimate test. "Is she going to be somebody who tries to do everything on their own despite having a team of capable people with her?" Miller posits. "The crew all push against Moana and challenge her in new ways." Adds Cravalho: "Moana has this sense of, 'No one's going to run this canoe like I am,' and yet there is an absolute need to realize that we are all pieces in a much larger puzzle."

Moving screens

There wasn’t even supposed to be a Moana movie sequel. In 2020, Walt Disney Animation's chief creative officer, Jennifer Lee, announced plans for a new Disney+ streaming series inspired by Moana and her world. However, about a year ago, the team realized the scale of their story demanded a theatrical experience, and Disney surprised audiences with the news of a feature-length sequel earlier this year.

"We constantly screen [our projects], even in drawing [phase] with sketches," Lee explains. "It was getting bigger and bigger and more epic, and we really wanted to see it on the big screen. It creatively evolved, and it felt like an organic thing."

Derrick describes the decision to pivot from a series to feature film as a moment of mutual realization. "It became apparent very early on that this wanted to be on the big screen," he says. "It felt like a groundswell within the whole studio."

Related: Disney's live-action Moana casts Catherine Laga'aia in lead role

Miller cites having "the best artists in the world" as part of that decision. "Why are we not letting them shine on the biggest screen in the biggest way?"

After years of the studio relegating several projects to Disney+ or day-and-date releases (meaning to release on multiple platforms at once), Moana 2's pivot feels like a pointed reinvestment in the theatrical experience. "Supporting the theaters is something that we talked about," admits Lee. "We love Disney+, but it will go there eventually. You could really put it anywhere, but these artists create stories that they want to see on the big screen and that we want the world to see on the big screen."

Given the first film's success, greenlighting a theatrical sequel feels obvious in retrospect. Not only did Moana bring Disney its first Polynesian princess, but the film remained popular long after its debut eight years ago. In 2017, Moana was reportedly the best-selling film on home video. After the launch of Disney+, it became the second most-streamed film of 2021 across platforms and, according to Nielsen, moved to the top spot in 2023, with 11.6 billion minutes watched.

Despite all that, Lee says Disney's decision to jump from TV series to cinematic sequel was not made with dollar signs as a motivating factor. "We haven't done a ton of sequels at Disney animation," she explains. "Our philosophy is always that the idea has to come from the filmmakers. You can't invent a story that isn't meant to be. You have to go from the heart out. If we do it the other way, we can't build an authentic story. Story, to us, is always character first."

Adapting the stories already laid out for the TV series required some refining and reimagining beyond merely splicing a bunch of episodes together. "It was a matter of finding a way to truly make it Moana's story," Miller says of the switch. "In the series, there was a lot more room to play with some of the ensemble. [The shift was about] streamlining into all the things that we love most about Moana as our hero and our adventurer. We have all of that now and it pops so much more, especially with the scale that we get to live in on the big screen. Every element of the adventure that we were already building in the series is now 10 times bigger, 10 times more exciting."

Cravalho, who had already done numerous recording sessions for the TV show, describes the shift as a "kill your darlings" experience, as songs, sequences, and character moments were cut for the sake of the storytelling. Moana 2 introduces many new characters, including Moana's little sister, Simea (Khaleesi Lambert-Tsuda), and three crew members: Moni (Hualālai Chung), Kele (David Fane), and Loto (Rose Matafeo). Originally, the TV series gave deeper, more involved arcs (and musical moments) to these characters that had to be significantly slimmed down for the film. "It all has to answer Moana's drive or Moana's conflict and seeing it through her eyes," Derrick says. "The [new characters] don't get their own tangents, but we were able to figure out who they are and boil them down to how they serve the story."

Related: Auli'i Cravalho sings 'How Far I'll Go' duet with 4-year-old girl

Miller believes the time and work they put into developing these characters for the television show ultimately made them richer and more fascinating once stripped down. "We get to crank up all our favorite parts of them," she says. "From all of the grumpiness of one character to the eccentricities of another character, we have the most fun in the time that we have. That's what really makes them all pop — when we see them, they really shine."

Going beyond the reef

Still, the core story remains the same as it was in the series, echoing and building upon the first film. And Moana isn't the only one with a lot left to learn: "It starts off with Maui getting himself in trouble as he typically does," Johnson quips of his demi-god character's arc. Early in the film, Maui has a run-in with a mysterious new character, Matangi (Awhimai Fraser), with whom he shares a shadowy past. But will Maui be able to turn to Moana in his moment of need?

"We're putting them through new tests, new challenges, and it really pushes them both to places that we haven't seen them go yet," Miller says of the Moana-Maui bond. "It allows their friendship to grow and that relationship to become even more important to them. But it also means that Maui, a character who is so much larger than life, has vulnerability. It's not easy for any of us to ask for help in our lives."

Related: Dwayne Johnson sings Moana's 'You're Welcome' for 4-year-old's Make-A-Wish request

"The idea of asking for help is actually a superpower," Johnson reflects, getting choked up while chatting with EW before the movie’s presentation at D23 in August. "Masculinity, to me, is not being tough. It's not being a badass. Powerful masculinity is having the confidence to look inside and say, 'This is what I'm feeling, and it's okay. Here's my chest. I'll gladly rip it open to someone who can help me.'"

Growing up an only child, Johnson learned to keep his emotions to himself, a notion reinforced by his stint playing football and his career as a professional wrestler. But after losing several friends to suicide, he realized the power of opening up. "When I got to Maui, I was like, 'Okay, I know who this is,'" he continues, "this guy who is very presentational, who puts on a show, who loves to hold court, sing and dance, and make people feel good. But there's a lot that's brewing deep down that, eventually, he is going to have to contend with because it's like a ball that you're holding underwater. Eventually, you've got to let the ball go, and it's going to explode."

Johnson hopes that by discussing these issues and representing them through Maui, he can encourage others to follow suit. "It's an important moment for people to see that you can be strong, you can be big, you can be independent, but it's okay to ask for help," he adds. "When you do finally ask for help, the universe and your loved ones have a way of meeting you halfway. Even the strongest of people need help."

That help comes from Moana, who is now on far more equal footing with Maui than in the first film. "They're much more comrades. There isn't as much of a hierarchy and power between demi-god and human," Cravalho notes. "He trusts her to make large decisions, and she trusts Maui to listen to her."

Maui and Moana will need each other more than ever, facing off against Nalo, the god of storms. As an antagonist, Nalo is far more fearsome and powerful than anything Moana has encountered before — but he's meant to reflect the film's emphasis on community and connection. "Nalo realizes that there's nothing more dangerous than the power of humans," Lee teases. "When they're together, they can do anything. The world becomes theirs."

If Moana was about correcting an imbalance in nature caused by humans, Moana 2 is a tale of the necessity of community in the face of isolation — a core theme in Pacific Islander culture. Not only is Moana now going out into the world with the blessing of her people (and several of them at her side), but she is traveling with the express purpose of finding others to connect with.

"There's sometimes a misconception about the Pacific that we are all disconnected because we're these tiny islands across the sea,' says Miller, who is Samoan American. "But really we are connected by the ocean. We are community-focused, and that is the core foundation of who we are. It was such a natural progression to me because even in the first film, Moana is so a part of her community. It also feels very timely to talk about how important it is to rely on each other and come together."

The voice inside sings a different song

While Moana's wayfaring spirit remains the same, she's still finding her voice. To reflect that, the filmmakers brought on the composing team of Abigail Barlow and Emily Bear, Grammy Award winners for the viral sensation The Unofficial Bridgerton Musical. "Moana's in a different place in her story, and there's a freshness to the journey with the two of them," Lee says of asking the duo to join the returning team of Opetaia Foa'i and Mark Mancina, the songwriting duo takes the place of Lin-Manuel Miranda (Hamilton), who co-wrote many of the first film's hits.

At that time, it was still a TV show. So, as with everyone else, the songwriters had to return to the drawing board when it turned into a movie. "We supercharged Moana again," Bear says of the process. "She became the center of everything, and that showed itself in our music."

Barlow acknowledges that Miranda left "big shoes to fill," but Cravalho champions the importance of having two young women help voice Moana's biggest emotions, hopes, and dreams. "It's a passing of the baton to this younger generation," the actress says. "For two women to be part of that and trying to get to the heart of the story, which is a young woman finding her way, I couldn't think of a better duo than Barlow and Bear. To use some of Lin's words, they're young, scrappy, and hungry." Adds Barlow: "We felt like our story was mirroring the adventure that Moana goes on in this film."

Filmmakers gave Barlow and Bear a boatload of research and information about the sonic landscape of Moana's world and its already established musical themes. But their primary focus was pushing Moana's voice to new places.

"Moana has grown as a human, but also as a leader," Barlow explains. "And we wanted to allow that to be reflected in her melodies."

Just as Moana has aged, so has Cravalho — her voice deepening and expanding as she's developed her instrument. Barlow and Bear wanted to push Cravalho to bring that vocal evolution to Moana. "This is a new part of my voice," Cravalho notes. "I haven't explored this kind of depth with Moana before. This film digs into these low notes in these times of indecision when we don't know what we are supposed to do next. There's a lot of deeper layers to these songs."

That's particularly noticeable in the centerpiece number "Beyond" as well as "I Want," a song that is something of a spiritual successor to "How Far I'll Go" (the lyrics even name-drop the song). For Barlow and Bear, it was an opportunity to push the notion of how far Moana would go "beyond" the horizons of her previous journey, referencing the first musical number and building on top of its ideas. "It's bigger than just her personal journey now," says Barlow.

"We also wanted her to be more vulnerable," Bear adds. "'Beyond' is a little bit darker than 'How Far I'll Go' because the stakes are suddenly so much higher. She's about to make a big decision that will affect the rest of her life. She knows more of the world and what's out there, so she knows what to expect — and that could be scary."

The song expresses Moana's commitment to her people and promise to come home no matter how far she must venture. "That hit me square in my chest," admits Cravalho, who found the song very personal. "I feel most like myself when I'm at home, and yet I feel like I owe it to my community to go as far as I possibly can. There was a safety in 'How Far I'll Go,' but when you feel lost in the expanse of the beyond, that's when true character is born."

It's that push and pull between home and adventure, and how it shapes us as people, that defined the song and the entire score for the duo. "The very first day that we stepped into the story room at Disney, there was a quote on the wall that said, 'You never stop discovering who you are,'" Bear says. "That is the biggest message of this movie. We are all changing every day and growing and evolving as human beings, and learning to love ourselves through all the different stages of our life and the people that we continue to become."

Cravalho sees identity as more of a decision than a discovery. "We never stop choosing who we are," she says. "It's that choice time and time again of, 'I'm going to do what's right, even if that means giving up everything.' That in itself allows Moana and the crew to defeat this next monster."

That's also a lesson Cravalho's still learning herself, waking up and choosing who she is day after day. "It still feels like an uphill battle," she admits. "For both of us, Moana and I, it's hard to work toward our goals and keep at it time and time again, but it's worth it for the coming home. It's a big celebration of, 'You made it, you went that far, and then you came back.' And that's what I'll always remember — the importance of going far but also coming back home because that's what grounds me and makes it all worth it."

Sounds like another thing she shares with Moana.

—With reporting by Sydney Bucksbaum

Read the original article on Entertainment Weekly.