On November 27th Moana 2 starring Auli’i Cravalho and Dwayne Johnson was released in theaters. 8 years ago, Moana, a movie based on Polynesian culture was released. Moana, the daughter of the village chief, destined to explore the ocean, bring back the way of her people, and save not only her island but the entire ocean. Along the way meeting Maui and together they are destined to restore the heart of Te Fiti. Now 8 years later the duo is called back to bring the islands of the Pacific back together as one.
The rave of the new movie flourishes around the world, opinions flying everywhere. Nella Toeaina (10) expressed that the designs in this movie were definitely more detailed and appealing than the ones from the first movie. Toeaina felt that Disney had done a great job including other islands within the movie. However, she feels that the soundtrack could have been a little better but overall feels this was a nice way to continue the movie.
“I would say I really liked the designs. It was definitely more detailed in this movie. And there was more inclusion, like with the Melanesian of course as well but I will say the soundtrack which carries a lot was better in the last movie,” said Toeaina.
Because this movie is based off the cultures of the Pacific Islanders, a lot of the opinions and excitement stem from people of those cultures. Representation is a big part in the Pasifika Community so being able to see those types of things on a big screen is always an amazing feeling. Kaira Ponce (10) is filled with happiness seeing her culture on the big screen. To see it portrayed on a big screen and shown to the world was heartwarming to her.
“It’s really cool to see it because there aren’t a lot of ways to really understand our culture, there are dances and stories and things like that, but being able to see it on a big screen and know that there are people from my culture and like me in the studios voicing the characters and producing the stories and making these characters and putting their history and culture into them, it feels more meaningful to me,” said Ponce.
Moana is not only a role model for those of her culture but to others outside the community as well. People love Moana for her pride in culture, her drive, her anticipation. So, what were people’s expectations for her comeback? Anaya Pierre (10) expressed that she would have liked to see more of the other islanders and see their perspective of life just as Moana had wondered searching for them.
“I wanted to see the end. I wanted to bring it a little bit closer, to see everyone together and see what they were doing and how they were living. I just feel like they could’ve put more people in it, and had more people from the other islands in it,” said Pierre.
Moana 2 had big shoes to fill after the success of the first film. Although public reactions have been mixed, the family-friendly sequel grossed over $1 billion worldwide.
