Moana 2's Change From TV Show To Movie, Including Cut Songs, Detailed By Composer: "They Rewrote The Entire Thing"

Moana 2’s Change From TV Show To Movie, Including Cut Songs, Detailed By Composer: “They Rewrote The Entire Thing”


Disney’s Moana 2 underwent a significant transformation, initially being planned as a TV series instead of a blockbuster film sequel, and composer Mark Mancina sheds light on how it happened. Moana 2 just set a record for movie earnings during the weekend following Thanksgiving, grossing $52 million and bringing its domestic total to $300 million. This performance surpassed that of Frozen II, which earned $35.2 million during the same period in 2019. The plans for the continuation of the 2016 animated film always aimed to expand on Moana’s adventures and her connection to the Polynesian-inspired island of Motunui, but making a movie was not the first choice.




In a recent interview with Screen Rant‘s own Owen Danoff, Mancina opened up about the process of making Moana 2, revealing how the shift from a television series to a film impacted the storyline, music, and production schedule. When asked if the original story underwent a big transformation, Mancina explained that while core elements of the show made it into the movie, the change-up required a complete reimagining of the plot. Check out his full explanation below:

As a matter of fact, yes, we did. In fact, some of the music that we wrote for the TV series, which was intended for different kinds of things, morphed into the movie. It wasn’t like they just took the TV series story and made it into a movie.
They rewrote the entire thing.

Of the songs that we did early on, the only one that survived was “We’re Back”, the first song. We did two or three other songs, one called “Goat” and one called “Two Pieces of Me”, and they were really good, but
they didn’t fit the storyline anymore.
Even though we really almost finished them, they weren’t in. They’ll probably release them on something at some point.


Mancina also revealed that the film was initially envisioned as a 10-part TV series. When asked if Moana’s journey to Motufetū was always the plan, the composer said, “It had that in it, but not for those reasons.” He also revealed that production for the movie was under an incredibly tight schedule.

It had that in it, but not for those reasons. Because it was a 10-part series, or whatever it was,
they had so much time to spend on characters and fun or whatever.
They didn’t really have to get to the main part of the story, which I don’t really think they had anyway. We didn’t even have episodes. We only saw one or two and they cut, I think, number three together, but it was very rough.

When they decided to make it into a movie, a year ago, I thought in two or three weeks we would have a script and then we would start working. We didn’t get the movie until May.
We only had five months to do it.
It was really a tight schedule.



What This Means For Moana 2

From Series to Silver Screen

The shift from TV show to movie for Moana 2 posed a significant hurdle for the team, as they had to rework the story and soundtrack while also facing an accelerated timeline. Despite these challenges, the efforts of the creative team guaranteed that Moana 2 would stay true to the heart of the original story, demonstrating the talent and dedication of the crew. While the original idea for a series would have allowed for a more in-depth exploration of the characters and their worlds, the decision to make the movie guaranteed a bigger chance of presenting an impactful story to audiences.


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Additionally, the cut songs and restructured plot offer insight into the evolving nature of Disney’s animation and the challenges artists have to go through while reworking a project to fit a different format. However, their efforts were not in vain, as Moana 2 has already broken plenty of box office records, including the biggest Thanksgiving opening, and becoming the biggest five-day opening in history, grossing $225.2 million. It also broke into the top five highest-grossing releases of the year, earning a staggering $600 million worldwide and putting itself on the path of surpassing the lifetime gross of 2016’s Moana, which made $643 million.


Our Take On Moana 2’s Changes

A Smart Business Move

Actress Auli'i Cravalho as Moana in Moana 2.

Moana 2‘s quick transition from series to feature film is a testament to the flexibility and innovation required in filmmaking. While it could be disappointing that certain songs and storylines were cut from the final product, this shift signals Disney’s desire to deliver new stories in the most successful formats available to them. Marcina’s behind-the-scenes insights revealed the immense effort and passion that is put into these projects, no matter the format they’re meant to be delivered on. Although tedious for the artists, this strategic move was surely successful, which might signal a similar result for upcoming sequels and the anticipated live-action remake.


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