SEATTLE — One of Disney’s most beloved heroines is setting sail again. "Moana 2" debuts in theaters November 27.
The sequel opens three years after her first journey, as she sets sail on a new voyage across the ocean with some new crewmates.
In the movie, Moana answers a call from her ancestors in search of a lost island that will bring the people of the ocean together. It's something that's not only meaningful for the film's characters, but today's Polynesian and Pacific Islanders.
Evening reporter Saint Bryan sat down with "Moana 2" producer Christina Chen and newcomer Hualālai Chung, who voices the character Moni.
BRYAN: “The first 'Moana' was such a big movie both in scale and in popularity. How does it feel to be part of 'Moana 2'?”
CHUNG: "Aside from how popular 'Moana' was as a movie across the masses, you know, especially being Pacific Islander and being Hawaiian and Polynesia, it was such a milestone for our people that being part of the franchise, being part of the entire story, is something that I think a lot of us feel so prideful in, in seeing ourselves represented in such a big stage, such a big screen."
BRYAN: “I think people would be interested in hearing about the cultural experts you have advising on the film.”
CHEN: “For us, it's really about making sure that the film has to be authentic, because without it, 'Moana' just doesn't exist.”
CHUNG: “I think one of the beautiful characteristics of how the Polynesian community and the Pacific Islander community as a whole thinks now is that we're all a collective. You know, it's an underlying theme that the ocean doesn't separate us, it connects us."
CHEN: “That was really what this sequel is about. It's about connection. It's about that search for community. And really seeing that as you grow up, the stakes are higher, and when you search for that community becomes that much more important."
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