Summary
Moana 2is the next film coming out of Walt Disney Animation Studios, and it is the start of a worrying trend forDisney’s slate of animated filmsafter a disappointment that received 48% on Rotten Tomatoes.Moana 2will be a follow-up to the smash hit from 2016Moana, with the release of this upcoming film signaling a change in the company’s release plans. This change is most likely a response to their previous movie’s failure, and whileMoana 2could be good, it creates a worrying path forward for Disney’s animated movies.
For decades,Walt Disney Animation Studios rarely ever made sequels, withThe Rescuers Down Underbeing the only sequel to come out of the studio until 2018’sRalph Breaks the Internetand 2019’sFrozen II. After experimenting with these two sequels, the studio went back to making original films, with 2023’sWishbeing the most recent entry from the studio. However,Wishwas a big disappointment,with it only getting 48% on Rotten Tomatoes, with this likely being one of the reasons that Disney has decided to shift their release plans in a big way.
Why Moana Looks So Different in Moana 2
The recent Moana 2 teaser trailer offers a glimpse at the franchise’s leading character, Moana, who looks much different after the first film.
Walt Disney Animation’s Next 3 Movies Are All Sequels, Including Moana 2
And There Are More On The Way
The next few movies to come out of Walt Disney Animation Studios have already been announced, and the next three are sequels. The next three films that have beenannounced areMoana 2,Zootopia 2, andFrozen III, with all three of these movies being follow-ups to immensely successful original properties that the studio released in the 2010s. It is possible that more original films could be released after these, but since nothing has been announced, it seems as if sequels are the way forward for Walt Disney Animation Studios.
These aren’t the only sequels in development, as one more has already been announced. Ahead of the release ofFrozen III,Walt Disney Animation Studios has already announced that they are developingFrozen IV, with a release date for the film not yet set. This proves that the studio is interested in turning its most popular films into major franchises that have multiple movies in the works at a time, borrowing a strategy from other film divisions that Disney owns, such as Pixar and Marvel Studios. So, it wouldn’t be surprising to see more sequels announced soon.
Moana 2: Everything You Need To Know
Managing to outdo the extremely popular first film, Disney’s Moana 2 is already one of the studio’s most successful sequels of all time.
Walt Disney Animation’s Sequel Focus Makes Sense After Frozen 2
Due To The Film’s Massive Success
It isn’t a shock thatWalt Disney Animation Studios is leaning into making sequels, as this makes a lot of sense afterFrozen II. WhileRalph Breaks the Internetwas a success for the company,Frozen IIwas the film that showed how much potential Disney sequels truly have. On a budget of $150 million,Frozen II’s box office finished at a whopping $1.453 billion, surpassing the $1.28 billion that the originalFrozenmade.Frozen IIthen became even bigger upon its release on Disney+, showing the studio that sequels could be surefire successes.
Meanwhile, the studio’s original movies that were released around the same time tended to flounder in comparison toFrozen II’s overwhelming critical and commercial success. In betweenFrozen IIandMoanaII,Walt Disney Animation Studios releasedRaya and the Last Dragon,Encanto,Strange World, andWish.Encantowas the only film that managed to be popular and a critical success, withRaya and the Last Dragon,Strange World, andWishall receiving mixed to poor reception and not being as popular as many of Walt Disney Animation Studios' other films.
However, the failure of some of these films could be due to a major outside force: COVID-19. Because of the COVID-19 Pandemic,Raya and the Last Dragonwas released in theaters and on Disney+ simultaneously, contributing to the film’s financial failure. WhenStrange Worldwas released in 2022, the movie theater industry still hadn’t fully recovered, which was a partial cause ofStrange Worldbeing a box office bomb.Wish, on the other hand, was simply hurt by poor word of mouth, although it did make $255 million on a budget of around $200 million.
Moana 2 Risks Repeating A Criticism From Disney’s 3-Year-Old Movie With 93% On Rotten Tomatoes
The premise of Moana 2 risks repeating a three-year-old Disney film’s biggest point of criticism on Rotten Tomatoes which contradicts its 93% score.
Disney Changing Moana 2’s Original Release Plan Proves The Sequel Trend Is Not An Accident
It Shows Disney Has More Confidence In Theatrical Sequels
While some have speculated that Walt Disney Animation Studios just so happens to have three sequels releasing in a row, the company’s handling ofMoana 2’s original release plan proves that this sequel trend is not an accident. When theMoanafollow-up project was first announced,it was initially revealed to be a Disney+ show. While details remained slim on the series throughout its life, it was revealed that it would be a multi-part musical series that followed up on the story of the original film, with it almost seeming like a televised sequel.
However, Disney quickly changed course, presumably after seeing the success ofFrozen IIand the failure of several prominent Disney+ shows. This caused Disney to announce that they wererestructuring theMoanaDisney+ show into a movie, leading to the birth ofMoana 2. It isn’t known how similarMoana 2will be to the planned Disney+ series, but it does highlight that Disney is more confident in theatrically released sequels than streaming shows, proving that sequels may continue to be the future for Walt Disney Animation Studios for a while.
Why Moana 2 & Disney’s Animated Sequels Are So Worrying For The Future
It Means There Will Be Less Original Properties
While it is nice to see some of Disney’s biggest animated franchises continue, Walt Disney Animation Studios' sequel trend is worrying for the future. The strategy of releasing original films has been what has caused Disney to remain so successful and timeless for decades, and this change of course could end up being a bad move in the long run. There is only so much that can be milked out of these franchises, and announcing multiple sequels at a time (as is the case withFrozen IIandFrozen III) is a worrying sign that Disney might be overdoing things.
Disney’s investment in sequels means that there will have to be fewer original franchises, which could really hurt the magic of the studio.One of the big appeals of Disney is that each generation of kids throughout the company’s history has had their own original characters, with new IPs being released for children who are the age of Disney’s target demographic.
For example, although it will presumably still target children,Frozen IVmay not be released until the late 2020sor early 2030s. This means that children who were born in 2013 when the originalFrozencame out would be in their late teens whenFrozen IVcomes out, with the actual kids who sawFrozenin theaters most likely being in their mid-20s. This could create a generational problem with Disney’s fans, withMoana 2only being a warning sign of the problems that could come in the future.
Moana 2
Cast
Moana 2 is the sequel to the 2016 animated film Moana. Directed by David G. Derrick Jr., Jason Hand, and Dana Ledoux Miller, the film continues the journey of Moana as she embarks on new adventures, exploring the vast Pacific Ocean while encountering new characters and challenges along the way.
