April 2025’s Newsletter: “Learning From Media: Moana 2 and Writing Sequels”
When “Moana 2” came out, it was met with frustrated audiences.
(Yes, I’m a little late on this one.)
While I haven’t seen the movie myself, I have watched enough video essays to notice a pattern in how the audience reacted to the sequel movie.
As we know from “Frozen 2,” Disney can– rarely– make a good sequel. So why did “Moana 2” fall short?
There are the obvious answers: Lin Manuel Miranda was working on “Mufasa,” so the music quality didn’t hold up. The creators clearly made the movie for profits and so didn’t place the heart and care into it that they have in previous movies.
But specifically, a large problem comes from the character writing.
“Moana” was a complete story. It finished Moana’s character arc, and left little room for further growth. The writers of “Moana 2” didn’t know what to do with her character for a sequel.
Comparisons to Successful Disney Sequels
“Frozen” had a complete and satisfying ending, but it still left a few unanswered questions. The obvious is: where did Elsa’s magic come from?
But less obvious is: will Elsa ever feel fully comfortable around the townsfolk? We can see her uncertain expression at the end of the first movie, when she’s creating an ice rink in the town. Also, in the following two shorts, Elsa and Anna seemed somewhat co-dependant.
So, “Frozen 2” not only answers where Elsa’s magic comes from, also explores Elsa finding the place she belongs, and the sisters learning they can remain close without being together twenty-four/seven.
“Tangled” didn’t get a second movie, but it did get a spin-off series. The movie ends with Rapunzel reunited with her parents and reinstated as her kingdom’s princess. Yet, we know Rapunzel grew up isolated. Now she’s expected to be royalty? The series follows her learning royal life and making new friends along the way. We also see how her and Eugene’s relationship develops as they grow and change in the outside world.
I could see the “Princess and the Frog” getting a similar series, in which Naveen adapts to commoner life. It could involve magical talking creatures coming to Tiana, Naveen, and their friends for help as they try to balance their supernatural connections and running their restaurant in a comedic, sit-com style show.
Notice how, in each of these scenarios, the characters have ongoing development that naturally stems from their growth in the first movie. Their character development looks something like this:
Of course, their development doesn’t have to continue on a steady path. It can take unexpected twists and turns, like any of these:
Back to “Moana 2”
The problem with “Moana 2” is that she forgets her lessons from the first movie. Moana already learned she can leave her family and explore new horizons. Yet, for some reason, “Moana 2” has her questioning that fact all over again!
We see this exemplified in her I Want song “Beyond.” Moana once again questions:
“What waits for me,
forever far from home,
from everything and everyone I’ve ever known?”
Sound familiar?
It should. This is awfully similar to “How Far I’ll Go” from “Moana.” The whole song is a reflection of the first movie’s I Want song– complete with Moana wandering her island’s shore and staring longingly at the ocean. She’s already questioned whether or not it’s okay to leave her family and explore. She’s already received her answer: yes. And yet, here we are, questioning it yet again.
She’s backtracked her development. Her graph would look like this:
When writing sequels, it’s not enough to have a new plot. Characters must learn and grow throughout their stories– you must continue that growth in a way that makes sense and feels true to their previous characterizations. When your character forgets everything she’s learned and goes through the same lesson all over again, it leaves your audience frustrated and unfulfilled.
What do you think? If you’ve watched “Moana 2,” would you agree with my assessment?
Thanks for reading!
-S. Labrecque
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