moana 2 opens in theaters this week just in time for the time-honored tradition of watching movies on Thanksgiving. The sequel follows the most streamed movie on Disney+ with a new adventure starring Moana (Auli’i Cravalho) and Maui (Dwayne Johnson).
The first film introduced Moana as next in line to lead the people of Motunui, which in Western media has been interpreted as a princess of sorts; In the sequel, his adventures continue as he learns to be a leader. And yes, that’s very reminiscent of a royal in training, if by royal we mean the next boss and wayfinder in the making. Yes, Moana is officially listed as a canonical member of the Disney Princess lineup for that reason, but really her status is up for interpretation.
Moana voice actress Auli’i Cravalho spoke with Entertainment Weekly about the speech of the Disney Princesses in relation to their character. “Films are always representative of their time. For today’s time, we want to see a young woman being the heroine of her own story. So, yes, she is a princess, but she is also a hero. “I like that those two words are now interchangeable.”
It makes a little more sense than Disney Princesses and Frozen’The Royal Disney Queens (Anna and Elsa don’t count as princesses) are separate categories of Disney heroines, a classification that, let’s face it, is mostly about selling toys under different banners.
Fortunately, Moana’s appearance will always be thematically appropriate to her unique story; According to Cravalho, “You probably won’t see Moana in a ballgown. And that’s okay.”
moana 2 addresses the same “princess or not?” asks in a very meta way, with Moana stating that she is not a princess and Maui pointing out that many people think she is. And so Disney Princess Moana of Motunui will continue to be, head waiter and pathfinder.
moana 2 opens in theaters this week and moana now streaming on Disney+.
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