Moana 2 - Blog Posts

This Is Personally My Opinion, But...

WARNING : Moana 2 Spoilers ahead

Who agrees that Moana is starting to become a LOT like Percy jackson?

First quest, removes the negativity from a bad god and makes them good(ish) Te Ka -> Te Fiti Ares / Hades -> Knocks down Ares' ego by a decent bit / Removes Hades from suspicion

And by the time the first movie is over, Moana's 'got all the gods talking', in Matangi's words. Percy Jackson did pretty much the same.

Zeus, the King of the Gods, god of skies and thunder, hates Percy. Nalo, the god of storms and lightning, hates Moana. See any similarities?

Artemis, a fierce huntress and daughter of Zeus, dislikes Zeus' ways, takes a liking to Percy. Matangi, a powerful bat demigoddess who's a subordinate of Nalo, wishes to overthrow Nalo, takes a liking to Moana. Tamatoa, a crab who talks with the gods themselves, was humiliated and hates Moana. ...everyone knows Percy's humiliated more than enough minor gods and is on the top of every monster's bucket list of 'Demigods I Wish To Devour'.

Percy has a bestie named Frank Zhang, a big strong guy who can turn into animals. Moana has Maui, who needs no description.

Percy has Leo, a crazy tinkerer who's the best mechanic to be found and fights with a hammer. Moana has Loto, who's just the same.

And thus, I rest my case that Moana is 100% a daughter or descendant of Poseidon, and that she and Percy should be siblings with a knack for gathering the undivided hate of all the gods. (I would die to see that AU made canon)

And, as a final point?

They both have adorable little sisters.

EXACTLY! this is what people are not getting. I am not afraid to say moana 2 was great, if not even better than the first one.

MILD MOANA 2 SPOILERS AHEAD

I saw Moana 2 as a Polynesian person. I thought it was INCREDIBLE. I know many people already don't really like it, but I think it's because THIS specific movie, they went harder on the Polynesian culture.

The music is even more Polynesian, and written pretty much solely by Polynesian people. The culture is even more included in it's narrative and in the details, they show more tattoos, the Kava ceremony, speaking more of the Pacific Islander native languages, even some the humor is very Polynesian humor.

I personally really enjoyed the storyline, and I liked that it introduced a "morally gray" character to help guide Moana into realizing that you have to just embrace what's given to you. It's a great representation of what the ocean is. It's sometimes not as reliable and friendly as Moana expects it to be, and has grown accustomed to. So when she asks for the ocean's help and receives no answer, she's better prepared to face it as it comes, and adapt, and embrace it.

Not only that, but in terms of Polynesian deities, there isn't just one "good" or "bad". There are complicated morally gray deities. Pele, for instance, is a goddess known for volcanoes and destruction, but she is also known as creation and rebirth. The Earth is scorched by the flames and lava to make way for new land and healthier vegetation.

The songs aren't as "memorable" to those who aren't fully embracing the culture. For me, I got chills hearing the music. It felt authentic and from the heart and soul of the Polynesian people who sang it. Sure, many outside of the culture can't "sing along" to it, but that doesn't make it inherently bad, just because it's not marketable TO YOU.

For someone who's waited forever to have representation, and grew up with Lilo and Stitch being the only one (which wasn't that much in terms of representation.) To then seeing Moana come out when I was 16, and cried then. For then Moana 2 to come out tonight, and I cried AGAIN at 24 years old. My inner child was so excited to hear and FEEL what that representation sounds like, looks like, and means.

The original Moana was tippy-toeing into Polynesian culture, where it could still be marketable so everyone could enjoy it. Because they didn't want it to flop. It feels the same as a Polynesian person having to cater to tourists who only see the Polynesian culture as something they can exploit and be entertained by.

That doesn't mean that it was bad, it was moving tides in that time, and I would take that representation over the crumbs we've had before.

But this movie? Moana 2? This was for US. This was for the Polynesian cultures. This felt like a love letter to us, as a culture, to unite and know that we have community, and to feel seen, in all of our glory, and not a watered-down version to be "marketable" to others outside of our culture.

So, I expect people to not like it. But I also expect it to be because it's coming from a place where they don't understand how it feels to experience, love, embrace, learn, and educate others about Polynesian culture.

I love my culture, and I love my Polynesian siblings as a Kanaka Hawaiian. I love my Maori, Samoan, Tahitian, Tongan, etc. siblings. I love seeing a mix of all of our cultures come together and be represented.

For those who aren't a part of our culture, truly listen to our history and our struggles and successes. Educate yourself on how to be a better ally and find cultural appreciation (not appropriation) for our culture. We are real people with real stories. Not some fictional character (or Halloween costume/party favor/etc.) you can write off and only look at as "entertainment" and can only hold value when we're catering to you. That includes our music, our language, our dances, and our stories.

That's all for now. ❤️ I'll be willing to have adult, civil, conversations with others about differences in why you didn't enjoy it as much, but hate will be deleted and blocked. ❤️

If someone had told me Helen Richardson had a cameo in Moana 2, I would've watched that movie in theater

The designers didn’t even try to hide it

Putting that spiral there was definitely a tma reference

Moana 2 spoilers without context

[ID: Helen Richardson’s amazing fanart by @eyeball-jam Second image: a scene from Sharknado. Third image: a blobfish. Last image: a panel from the Lore Olympus webcomic. End ID]

today is the best day ever im gonna wear my grogu pjs to school, im making gingerbread houses, and i get to go see moana 2 !!