When you look at some of the numbers, it91裸聊视频檚 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. That91裸聊视频檚 more than 91裸聊视频淚nside Out 2,91裸聊视频� more than 91裸聊视频淔rozen 2,91裸聊视频� more than any animated Disney movie before.

A veritable ocean91裸聊视频檚 worth of anticipation is awaiting the sequel to 201691裸聊视频檚 91裸聊视频淢oana,91裸聊视频� all proof that one of the more dramatic pivots in recent Walt Disney Co. history is paying off, big time. 91裸聊视频淢oana 291裸聊视频� was originally intended to be a streaming series. Now, it91裸聊视频檚 steering toward being . What can you say except you91裸聊视频檙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 studio91裸聊视频檚 most prized assets onto streaming. He wanted to put the focus back on the big screen 91裸聊视频� 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 91裸聊视频淢oana 2.91裸聊视频� The movie, which also added Dana Ledoux Miller as a director and co-writer, . It91裸聊视频檚 opening Nov. 27.

91裸聊视频淚t became all hands on board,91裸聊视频� Derrick says. 91裸聊视频淭here91裸聊视频檚 a saying in Samoa: 91裸聊视频楢ll together or not at all.91裸聊视频�91裸聊视频�

Derrick and Hand, both veteran storyboard artists at Disney, had effectively done their job too well. Their work convinced Disney executives to put the studio91裸聊视频檚 full weight behind a theatrical film, even though a live-action 91裸聊视频淢oana91裸聊视频� remained in development. (That movie, directed by Thomas Kail, is set to open in July 2026.)

91裸聊视频淲e developed the world, we developed the over-arching story that we91裸聊视频檙e still telling,91裸聊视频� says Derrick. 91裸聊视频淲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.91裸聊视频�

91裸聊视频淚t was always going to be big,91裸聊视频� adds Hand. 91裸聊视频淚t just kept on getting bigger.91裸聊视频�

91裸聊视频淢oana 291裸聊视频� 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 91裸聊视频淢oana 291裸聊视频� could make it three. But however well 91裸聊视频淢oana 291裸聊视频� does, it91裸聊视频檚 not likely to hurt its appeal once it begins streaming. The most popular film on Disney+ last year? 91裸聊视频淢oana.91裸聊视频�

91裸聊视频淲e always felt that it deserved to be on the big screen91裸聊视频� says Hand. 91裸聊视频淚t91裸聊视频檚 the best way to tell a story.91裸聊视频�

But the shift for 91裸聊视频淢oana 2,91裸聊视频� which returns Auli91裸聊视频檌 Cravalho as the voice of Moana and Dwayne Johnson as the voice of Maui, wasn91裸聊视频檛 easy. First of all, that meant living up to the standard of the first film 91裸聊视频� one that Miller, who is of Samoan heritage, considers groundbreaking for its Pacific Islander representation.

91裸聊视频淚 knew as a writer that movie was going to change what was possible,91裸聊视频� says Miller. 91裸聊视频淚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.91裸聊视频�

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 91裸聊视频淢oana.91裸聊视频� 91裸聊视频淢y world has become all Moana all the time,91裸聊视频� 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, 91裸聊视频淢oana 291裸聊视频� finds Moana again forced to head across the Pacific on an ocean adventure. But this time, she91裸聊视频檚 traveling with a crew, in a new canoe, and carrying new responsibilities. That includes her younger sister, Simea (Khaleesi Lambert-Tsuda).

91裸聊视频淭he way the first film connected her to her past, she91裸聊视频檚 now connecting everyone to the future,91裸聊视频� says Derrick. 91裸聊视频淪o we added and created all these new characters when it was in series and we got to know them in a deep way.91裸聊视频�

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

91裸聊视频淵es, it was a massive undertaking 91裸聊视频� probably more so than what we initially imagined,91裸聊视频� Hand says. 91裸聊视频淏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.91裸聊视频�

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.

91裸聊视频淲hat people don91裸聊视频檛 realize is that the people in the Pacific found the last discoverable land on Earth,91裸聊视频� says Derrick, who also has ancestral ties to Samoa. 91裸聊视频淭hey created the largest cultural ethnosphere in the world prior to westward expansion 91裸聊视频� one third of the Earth, all through the art and spirituality and science of wayfinding. So for me, it91裸聊视频檚 very important that each one of these crew members display that Indigenous genius that it took.91裸聊视频�

Honoring such things tends to resonate much differently in a movie theater than it does on a television. The makers of 91裸聊视频淢oana 291裸聊视频� 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.

91裸聊视频淲hen I watched the first film, I was pregnant with my first child,91裸聊视频� Miller says. 91裸聊视频淚 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.91裸聊视频�