# Moana 2 to be released

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moana-2-to-be-released/997306>\
**Category:** Cafe Society\
**Tags:** movies\
**Created:** [February 8, 2024, 1:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moana-2-to-be-released/997306 "2024-02-08T13:35:42Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 20\
**Page:** 1

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Love\_Rhombus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/love_rhombus/32/10694_2.png) [@Love\_Rhombus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Love_Rhombus)\
**Post date:** [February 8, 2024, 1:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moana-2-to-be-released/997306/1 "2024-02-08T13:35:42Z")

</div>

It won’t have Lin-Manuel Miranda doing the music, which is a mark against it, but I’ll wait for the trailer. And “Moana 2” is a pretty weak title. Give me something catchier.

> **[Moana: Disney's hit animation to get surprise cinema sequel this year](https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-68238826)**
>
> Disney's unexpected announcement sets up a box office battle with the first Wicked film.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\
**Post date:** [February 8, 2024, 1:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moana-2-to-be-released/997306/2 "2024-02-08T13:42:24Z")

</div>

Disney has been making direct-to-video sequels to its animated hits for decades; it’s releasing one of them in the theaters because business has been bad and it needs a hit. I don’t expect this one to be better than any of the others.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Cervaise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cervaise/32/16693_2.png) [@Cervaise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cervaise)\
**Post date:** [February 8, 2024, 2:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moana-2-to-be-released/997306/3 "2024-02-08T14:13:53Z")

</div>

It’s actually weirder than that. It’s not a DTV sequel being redirected to cinemas, it started out as a TV series which is being radically rethought for big-screen release with a shockingly fast turnaround.

Disney is such a mess right now. Five years ago they were on top of the world, but the wheels have suddenly come off. The Star Wars franchise is a dumpster fire, Marvel has driven off a cliff, their 100th-anniversary animated film was a bomb and wasn’t even nominated in its Oscar category.

I adore the original _Moana_ (or _Vaiana_ as it’s known here), but this kind of last-minute massive reconstructive surgery on a TV show to make it workable as a movie is a pure desperation move.

(And don’t forget they _also_ have the live-action adaptation of the first movie in parallel development. Crimony, what a cluster.)

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/q.q.switcheroo/32/5713_2.png) [@Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.Q.Switcheroo)\
**Post date:** [February 8, 2024, 2:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moana-2-to-be-released/997306/4 "2024-02-08T14:19:03Z")

</div>

They’ll have a hard time topping _Aladdin IV: Jafar May Need Glasses_.

[![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/FLXmyau8Tmc/maxresdefault.jpg "Jafar May Need Glasses HD") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FLXmyau8Tmc)

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![AlsoNamedBort](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alsonamedbort/32/3213_2.png) [@AlsoNamedBort](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AlsoNamedBort)\
**Post date:** [February 8, 2024, 2:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moana-2-to-be-released/997306/5 "2024-02-08T14:22:04Z")

</div>

> [@Cervaise](#):
>
> It’s actually weirder than that. It’s not a DTV sequel being redirected to cinemas, it started out as a TV series which is being radically rethought for big-screen release with a shockingly fast turnaround

That’s basically what they did with Aladdin: Return of Jafar. They took what was supposed to be the first few episodes of the TV show and made them one movie.

Tale as old as time.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Babale](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/babale/32/15666_2.png) [@Babale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Babale)\
**Post date:** [February 8, 2024, 2:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moana-2-to-be-released/997306/6 "2024-02-08T14:40:48Z")

</div>

> [@AlsoNamedBort](#):
>
> Tale as old as time.

Is a _Beauty and the Beast_ song; that movie also got a sequel, which was three episodes from a potential TV show stiched together as three unrelated stories set at some point after Belle and the Beast start having feelings for each other but before the curse is lifted.

I think it’s a different phenomenon with Tarzan, especially since the Tarzan TV show was set post-movie, with Jane staying in the jungle and Europeans or natives showing up every other week (where were they the whole time Tarzan was growing up\*, I wonder??). Tarzan 2 is set when Tarzan was still a kid. My theory: they did all this character work on young Tarzan, Terk, Tantor, etc; but Tarzan is a baby for the opening sequence and only appears as a child briefly before growing up during the _Son of Man_ montage. And he becomes competent at jungle life _during_ the montage, so aside from a couple shots of him training before growing up, we never see Young Tarzan as a badass jungle survivor.

\*I did read the books, where Tarzan is kind of an asshole in a whole lot of ways, one of which is the fact that he regilarly sees native people and even fights and kills them, but it never occurs to him that they are people like him until Europeans show up.

Also, I do remember other sequels hitting theaters. Jungle Book 2 did, and it was pushed heavily at the time (this was right before we moved to the States, but if we had it in theaters and we had the McDonald’s toys too, so did you guys!)

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\
**Post date:** [February 8, 2024, 5:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moana-2-to-be-released/997306/7 "2024-02-08T17:00:22Z")

</div>

Should have been produced by Spike Lee and called _Moana Blues_.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![sciurophobic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/cab0a1/32.png) [@sciurophobic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sciurophobic)\
**Post date:** [February 8, 2024, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moana-2-to-be-released/997306/8 "2024-02-08T18:22:09Z")

</div>

> [@Alessan](#):
>
> Disney has been making direct-to-video sequels to its animated hits for decades

They only [made them](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Disney_feature-length_home_entertainment_releases) from 1994 (_Return of Jafar_) to 2008 (_The Little Mermaid: Ariel’s Beginning_.) When John Lasseter became Disney’s Chief Creative Officer he [ended the practice](https://screenrant.com/disney-movie-sequels-not-straight-video-change-reason/) and after that sequels have been released in the theater.

> [@Alessan](#):
>
> it’s releasing one of them in the theaters

Which one? I know they’re releasing COVID era Pixar films that went straight to Disney+

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![De\_La\_Rue](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d07c76/32.png) [@De\_La\_Rue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/De_La_Rue)\
**Post date:** [February 8, 2024, 6:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moana-2-to-be-released/997306/9 "2024-02-08T18:52:51Z")

</div>

> [@Love\_Rhombus](#):
>
> Give me something catchier.

_Moana Returns_  
_2 Fast 2 Moana_  
_Moana Into Darkness_  
_Moana II: Your Sister is a Werewolf_

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Happy\_Lendervedder](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/happy_lendervedder/32/8488_2.png) [@Happy\_Lendervedder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Happy_Lendervedder)\
**Post date:** [February 8, 2024, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moana-2-to-be-released/997306/10 "2024-02-08T19:07:14Z")

</div>

Moana 2: Electric Hei Hei

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Love\_Rhombus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/love_rhombus/32/10694_2.png) [@Love\_Rhombus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Love_Rhombus)\
**Post date:** [February 8, 2024, 7:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moana-2-to-be-released/997306/11 "2024-02-08T19:12:52Z")

</div>

_Moana 2: Waterworld_

Between this and his wrestling moves The Rock is really putting himself in the spotlight again.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/q.q.switcheroo/32/5713_2.png) [@Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.Q.Switcheroo)\
**Post date:** [February 8, 2024, 8:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moana-2-to-be-released/997306/12 "2024-02-08T20:30:29Z")

</div>

_Moana 2: The Legend of Tamatoa’s Gold_

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\
**Post date:** [February 8, 2024, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moana-2-to-be-released/997306/13 "2024-02-08T20:42:44Z")

</div>

> [@Cervaise](#):
>
> It’s actually weirder than that. It’s not a DTV sequel being redirected to cinemas, it started out as a TV series which is being radically rethought for big-screen release with a shockingly fast turnaround.

That’s not all that weird. That was how many of the sequels were created. And not just like Aladdin where the sequels were the start and end of a TV series. Scrapped animated TV series would be repurposed all the time I to home movie releases. It avoids wasting all that work.

The weird part is that they’re doing that and releasing it theatrically. And that they are calling it Moana 2, making it seem like a mainstream release rather than some side movie. Do they really think what they have is that good, or are they, as you say, desperate to get something in the theaters?

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Cervaise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cervaise/32/16693_2.png) [@Cervaise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cervaise)\
**Post date:** [February 8, 2024, 10:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moana-2-to-be-released/997306/14 "2024-02-08T22:21:01Z")

</div>

> [@BigT](#):
>
> The weird part is that they’re doing that and releasing it theatrically.

Yes, that is the important part. They need _something_ in cinemas they can count on because too much else is falling flat. And they need it in a hurry.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\
**Post date:** [February 8, 2024, 10:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moana-2-to-be-released/997306/15 "2024-02-08T22:24:16Z")

</div>

_Mo Ana Mo Problems._

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Chingon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chingon/32/17645_2.png) [@Chingon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chingon)\
**Post date:** [February 8, 2024, 11:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moana-2-to-be-released/997306/16 "2024-02-08T23:16:05Z")

</div>

Ah a Frozen crossover!

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/q.q.switcheroo/32/5713_2.png) [@Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.Q.Switcheroo)\
**Post date:** [February 9, 2024, 12:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moana-2-to-be-released/997306/17 "2024-02-09T00:06:12Z")

</div>

_For a Few Sand Dollars More_

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![DSeid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dseid/32/20194_2.png) [@DSeid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSeid)\
**Post date:** [February 9, 2024, 3:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moana-2-to-be-released/997306/18 "2024-02-09T15:31:26Z")

</div>

> [@Cervaise](#):
>
> Yes, that is the important part. They need _something_ in cinemas they can count on because too much else is falling flat. And they need it in a hurry.

And given they already have much of it done as a streaming show, for relatively cheap.

Part of their problem isn’t that their movies have done so poorly, but that they cost so much that the bar for doing well is absurdly high.

This is much more likely to have a positive ROI. They need that more than a big hit. They have swung for the fences, this one will be fine if it just gets on base.

Plus it ramps back up all the Moana merchandise sales.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Babale](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/babale/32/15666_2.png) [@Babale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Babale)\
**Post date:** [February 9, 2024, 4:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moana-2-to-be-released/997306/19 "2024-02-09T16:02:58Z")

</div>

> [@Cervaise](#):
>
> their 100th-anniversary animated film was a bomb and wasn’t even nominated in its Oscar category.

What film was that? I haven’t heard of this at all (which maybe is part of their problem?)

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/q.q.switcheroo/32/5713_2.png) [@Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.Q.Switcheroo)\
**Post date:** [February 9, 2024, 4:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moana-2-to-be-released/997306/20 "2024-02-09T16:27:17Z")

</div>

> **[Wish (film)](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wish_(film))**
>
> Wish is a 2023 American animated musical fantasy film produced by Walt Disney Animation Studios and distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures. It was directed by Chris Buck and Fawn Veerasunthorn (in her feature directorial debut) from a screenplay by Jennifer Lee and Allison Moore, based on a story conceived by Lee, Buck, Veerasunthorn, and Moore, and produced by Peter Del Vecho and Juan Pablo Reyes Lancaster-Jones, with Lee and Don Hall serving as executive producers. The art style ...

[Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moana-2-to-be-released/997306.md?page=2)
