When you look at some of the numbers, itsa国际传媒檚 hard to believe was ever going to be anything but a movie.

When the dropped in May, it was watched 178 million times in 24 hours. Thatsa国际传媒檚 more than sa国际传媒淚nside Out 2,sa国际传媒� more than sa国际传媒淔rozen 2,sa国际传媒� more than any animated Disney movie before.

A veritable oceansa国际传媒檚 worth of anticipation is awaiting the sequel to 2016sa国际传媒檚 sa国际传媒淢oana,sa国际传媒� all proof that one of the more dramatic pivots in recent Walt Disney Co. history is paying off, big time. sa国际传媒淢oana 2sa国际传媒� was originally intended to be a streaming series. Now, itsa国际传媒檚 steering toward being . What can you say except yousa国际传媒檙e welcome?

When Bob Iger returned as chief executive of Disney in late 2022, one of his top priorities was shifting away from putting the studiosa国际传媒檚 most prized assets onto streaming. He wanted to put the focus back on the big screen sa国际传媒� and all the ancillary benefits (including merchandizing and streaming) that follow after.

The series that directors David Derrick Jr. and Jason Hand had worked on for more than a year would become sa国际传媒淢oana 2.sa国际传媒� The movie, which also added Dana Ledoux Miller as a director and co-writer, . Itsa国际传媒檚 opening Nov. 27.

sa国际传媒淚t became all hands on board,sa国际传媒� Derrick says. sa国际传媒淭heresa国际传媒檚 a saying in Samoa: sa国际传媒楢ll together or not at all.sa国际传媒檚a国际传媒�

Derrick and Hand, both veteran storyboard artists at Disney, had effectively done their job too well. Their work convinced Disney executives to put the studiosa国际传媒檚 full weight behind a theatrical film, even though a live-action sa国际传媒淢oanasa国际传媒� remained in development. (That movie, directed by Thomas Kail, is set to open in July 2026.)

sa国际传媒淲e developed the world, we developed the over-arching story that wesa国际传媒檙e still telling,sa国际传媒� says Derrick. sa国际传媒淲e would screen it in our big theater the way we watch all of us our projects here. There was a groundswelling, unanimous concert of everyone saying this needs to be on the big screen.sa国际传媒�

sa国际传媒淚t was always going to be big,sa国际传媒� adds Hand. sa国际传媒淚t just kept on getting bigger.sa国际传媒�

sa国际传媒淢oana 2sa国际传媒� was at the nexus of a major shift for Disney and for Hollywood in calculating how to weigh theatrical and streaming. Different studios have different strategies and those are still evolving. But after rushing to throw as much content as possible on streaming services, companies like Disney began to rethink their approach.

This year, Disney has regained its box-office swagger, led by a pair of $1 billion films in and sa国际传媒淢oana 2sa国际传媒� could make it three. But however well sa国际传媒淢oana 2sa国际传媒� does, itsa国际传媒檚 not likely to hurt its appeal once it begins streaming. The most popular film on Disney+ last year? sa国际传媒淢oana.sa国际传媒�

sa国际传媒淲e always felt that it deserved to be on the big screensa国际传媒� says Hand. sa国际传媒淚tsa国际传媒檚 the best way to tell a story.sa国际传媒�

But the shift for sa国际传媒淢oana 2,sa国际传媒� which returns Aulisa国际传媒檌 Cravalho as the voice of Moana and Dwayne Johnson as the voice of Maui, wasnsa国际传媒檛 easy. First of all, that meant living up to the standard of the first film sa国际传媒� one that Miller, who is of Samoan heritage, considers groundbreaking for its Pacific Islander representation.

sa国际传媒淚 knew as a writer that movie was going to change what was possible,sa国际传媒� says Miller. sa国际传媒淚t was going to change the way when I walk into a room I was going to be able to pitch a story because people had a new understanding of what it meant to be of the Pacific.sa国际传媒�

Miller, who founded the organization PEAK (Pasifika Entertainment Advancement Komiti) as a way for Pasifika people to find community in Hollywood, is also a writer on the live-action sa国际传媒淢oana.sa国际传媒� sa国际传媒淢y world has become all Moana all the time,sa国际传媒� she says, laughing.

Both films, the directors say, developed alongside each other, with many connections and shared cultural consultants.

Set three years after the original film, sa国际传媒淢oana 2sa国际传媒� finds Moana again forced to head across the Pacific on an ocean adventure. But this time, shesa国际传媒檚 traveling with a crew, in a new canoe, and carrying new responsibilities. That includes her younger sister, Simea (Khaleesi Lambert-Tsuda).

sa国际传媒淭he way the first film connected her to her past, shesa国际传媒檚 now connecting everyone to the future,sa国际传媒� says Derrick. sa国际传媒淪o we added and created all these new characters when it was in series and we got to know them in a deep way.sa国际传媒�

Hand compares the series development to a workshop for the new characters.

sa国际传媒淵es, it was a massive undertaking sa国际传媒� probably more so than what we initially imagined,sa国际传媒� Hand says. sa国际传媒淏ut ultimately we were telling that same story. A lot of stuff that went by the wayside just naturally helped the story be its proper fighting weight.sa国际传媒�

Now, Moana is joined by a wayfinding crew that includes the characters Loto (Rose Matafeo), an engineer; Kele (David Fane), a grumpy farmer; and Moni (Hual膩lai Chung), a historian and storyteller.

sa国际传媒淲hat people donsa国际传媒檛 realize is that the people in the Pacific found the last discoverable land on Earth,sa国际传媒� says Derrick, who also has ancestral ties to Samoa. sa国际传媒淭hey created the largest cultural ethnosphere in the world prior to westward expansion sa国际传媒� one third of the Earth, all through the art and spirituality and science of wayfinding. So for me, itsa国际传媒檚 very important that each one of these crew members display that Indigenous genius that it took.sa国际传媒�

Honoring such things tends to resonate much differently in a movie theater than it does on a television. The makers of sa国际传媒淢oana 2sa国际传媒� are still rushing to get their film ready for cinemas, with all the spectacle and music they can fit into it. But they know their young Polynesian protagonist will be seen big.

sa国际传媒淲hen I watched the first film, I was pregnant with my first child,sa国际传媒� Miller says. sa国际传媒淚 thought to myself as I was watching it: The world will be forever different because of this movie. My child will never not know a world where they are not seen on the biggest stage.sa国际传媒�