Moana 2 opens in theaters on Wednesday, eight years after original release

Moana 2 officially opens Wednesday, with several showtimes at Big Island movie theaters.

It’s been eight years since the original release, and movie goers have been eager to see what new adventures abound beyond the reef for the wayfinder and her voyaging friends.

Moana (voiced by Auliʻ Cravalho) set sail in 2016 as the first Disney “princess” of Polynesian descent. But in Moana 2, Moana says she is not a princess, only to be corrected by Maui (voiced by Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson) who replies: “Well, a lot of people think that you are.”

With self discovery the focus of the first movie, Moana emerges with confidence and determination in the 2024 sequel, as she is tasked with ensuring a future for her people.

“If I could only choose one thing that I’m excited for people to see in Moana 2 is the real sense of Polynesian pride and community that this film really embodies,” Cravalho said during an interview with Disney Animation during the premiere on Oʻahu.

“If our last film was about connecting with the past, this one was about connecting with the future and Moana’s going even further beyond the reef to connect everyone across the entire Pacific. I’m so grateful that we have more story to tell.”

The new film, set three years after the first, reunites Moana with Maui for a new curse-breaking journey to reconnect the people throughout the ocean by finding Motufetu, an ancient island where channels of different islands are known to converge.

“What makes Maui larger than life in Moana 2 is he thinks of others before himself,” said Johnson during the premiere. He also traveled to Maui on Friday for a private screening at the Maui Arts & Cultural Center before jetting off to London to continue the film tour.

The larger-than-life, shape-shifting demigod helps Moana to “level up” and go after her destiny. On the way, Moana is advised that there’s always another way to get where you need to go, “even if you have to get lost to find it.”

Before departing, Moana takes part in an awa ceremony, where she is bestowed with a title previously held by her respected ancestor, Tautai Vasa. It’s a special detail that co-director David Derrick Jr. told Island City TV was intentional in specificity, allowing Polynesian people to be seen as who they are.

More details surface that celebrate the diverse cultures of Polynesia, including the honor of earning a tattoo and utilizing ancestral knowledge to guide decisions.

“I have to say, I do not own Moana — we own Moana,” Cravalho said during the Hawaiʻi premiere. “Moana is a celebration for all of us — from Tonga to Tahiti to Hawaiʻi to Aotearoa to Samoa, from the Pacific islands to being Polynesian to Micronesian to Melanesian. This is for us.”

Johnson addressed the premiere attendees, and thanked Disney “for the belief in us and in our people and in our culture. dIn knowing that when we put a film like Moana 2 out, it brings joy to the world and this idea … looking beyond the reef and how important that is. Dream big. Work hard.”

On the Big Island, the movie is playing Wednesday at Regal Keauhou in Keauhou-Kona, Waikōloa Luxury Cinemas in Waikōloa and Regal Prince Kuhio in Hilo.