Moana 2” reunites Moana and Maui three years later for an expansive new voyage alongside a crew of unlikely seafarers. After receiving an unexpected call from her wayfinding ancestors, Moana must journey to the far seas of Oceania and into dangerous, long-lost waters for an adventure unlike anything she’s ever faced. Directed by David Derrick Jr., Jason Hand and Dana Ledoux Miller, and produced by Christina Chen and Yvett Merino, “Moana 2” features music by Grammy® winners Abigail Barlow and Emily Bear, Grammy nominee Opetaia Foaʻi, and three-time Grammy winner Mark Mancina.
Moana 2[b] is a 2024 American animated musical adventure film produced by Walt Disney Animation Studios. The second film in the Moana franchise and the sequel to Moana (2016), it was directed by David Derrick Jr., Jason Hand, and Dana Ledoux Miller from a screenplay by Miller and executive producer Jared Bush. Auliʻi Cravalho and Dwayne Johnson reprise their roles from the original film. Set three years later, it follows Moana reuniting with the demigod Maui and assembling a wayfinding crew to find the lost island of Motufetu, break its curse, and reconnect the people of the ocean.
The follow-up to Moana was originally developed as a miniseries for Disney+, but by February 2024 it had been reworked into a theatrical sequel. Mark Mancina and Opetaia Foaʻi, the composers and co-songwriters of the first film, returned to score and write the songs, while Abigail Barlow and Emily Bear replace Lin-Manuel Miranda as additional songwriters.
Moana 2 premiered at the Lanikuhonua Cultural Institute in Kapolei, Hawaii, on November 21, 2024, and was released by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures in the United States on November 27. The film grossed $1.06 billion worldwide, outgrossing its predecessor and becoming the third highest-grossing film of 2024. It was nominated for Best Animated Feature Film at the 82nd Golden Globe Awards.
Plot
Three years after her adventure with the demigod Maui and the island goddess Te Fiti,[c] Moana spends her days exploring other islands near her home island of Motunui in the hope of finding people connected to the ocean.
In a vision, her ancestor, Tautai Vasa, reveals why none of those people are connected anymore: the malicious storm god Nalo wanted power over the mortals, so he sunk a legendary island called Motufetu—which connected all islands—down to the depths of the ocean. Tautai further warns that the people of Motunui will go extinct in the future if Moana cannot find a way to raise Motufetu. She assembles a crew of people from Motunui—craftswoman Loto, historian Moni, and grumpy elderly farmer Kele, alongside her pet pig and rooster, Pua and Heihei—to follow the path of a comet across the ocean towards Motufetu.
Meanwhile, Maui is seeking Motufetu himself since he had a previous quarrel with Nalo, but he is captured by Nalo’s enforcer, Matangi. Maui is reluctant to contact Moana, as he fears she may not survive if she comes to help. Moana and her crew are captured by the Kakamora, a tribe of savage coconut-like pirates previously encountered by Moana, who reveal that Nalo’s actions against Motufetu had caused them to be disconnected from their home island. One member of the Kakamora, Kotu, helps the crew paralyze a gargantuan monster clam inside of which is Matangi’s lair. While the crew finds Maui, Moana meets Matangi and learns that she is not happy serving Nalo. Matangi helps Moana escape and reunite with Maui and her friends, before sending them to where Nalo is.
Maui warns that Nalo’s realm is deadlier compared to the mortal realm and that fighting him will spell certain death for mere mortals. Nalo’s monsters ambush the group, damaging their raft and washing them ashore on an isolated island. Moana begins to despair, but Maui encourages her to keep on going. With Moana revitalized, the group plans to have Maui raise the island so that Moana can touch it, as that is the only way to restore Motufetu and stop Nalo. Her crew repairs her raft, but when the group ventures forth to confront Nalo, they encounter a gigantic storm.
Moana, realizing that Nalo is trying to stop the humans from breaking the curse, asks Maui to lift the island enough for her to touch it. As Maui begins to pull up the island with his giant hook, Nalo strips Maui of his demigod powers with a lightning bolt. Moana, in a moment of desperation, dives into the ocean to touch the island underwater. Just as Moana succeeds, Nalo’s lightning bolt kills her. Maui jumps in after her body, and with a magical chant, summons the spirits of Tautai Vasa and Moana’s ancestors (including her grandmother Tala) who help revive her as a demigoddess, with Moana gaining a wayfinder’s tattoo. Maui, having also regained his powers as a demigod, finally raises Motufetu and helps Moana reconnect the people with the ocean.
The crew returns home to Motunui, leading a flotilla of the peoples of the ocean, and a celebration is held in Moana’s honor. In a mid-credits scene, Nalo plans his revenge and is about to punish Matangi for helping Moana, when the giant crab Tamatoa arrives to join his cause.
