The first Moana movie was a giant hit for Disney and became part of the cultural lexicon. Now, as the second film approaches, there were some pretty big shoes to fill.
Luckily, Dana Ledoux Miller, the first Pasifika woman to co-write and direct a Disney animated feature, was up to the task.
Miller brings a unique and powerful perspective to the film, drawing on her deep reverence for her Samoan heritage and her experiences growing up in Hawaii.
I was incredibly excited to sit down with her to talk about the movie, which comes out on Nov. 27.
Let’s dive into the interview.
Our Interview With ‘Moana 2’ Filmmaker Dana Ledoux Miller
No Film School: What were your favorite movies growing up? How Did they inspire you to become a filmmaker?
Dana Ledoux Miller: My first love was theater. That’s where I first experienced the rush of exploring my own emotions through a character’s lens. There was something so liberating about experiencing the full range of emotions in a safe space—as someone else—when feeling those same emotions in real life seemed terrifying. I lived for that kind of escapism and creative freedom, but by high school I always instinctively knew that life as an actor wasn’t for me. Thankfully my friends started introducing me to films like Requiem for A Dream, Memento, and Rushmore, and I fell instantly in love with the idea that I could shape and craft and feel from the safety of the page or behind a camera.
NFS: Can you talk about how the power of representation at this scale is so integral to confidence?
Miller: The first Moana changed my life. I remember sitting in the theatre weeping when I first saw it, because I’d never seen a Polynesian heroine of the people of the Pacific celebrated on screen in this way before. And I knew immediately that because of Disney Animation’s global reach that this film would change the world’s perception of what it means to be of the Pacific. It would help create empathy and understanding that didn’t exist before. And it would change the way I would be able to talk about myself, as a Samoan person. For the first time there would be a female Polynesian, badass hero that could serve as a touch point. Never met a Pacific Islander? Well, have you seen Moana? Yes. Boom. Conversation shifts. New understanding, new connections, new possibilities.
That’s the power of celebrating culture on the biggest screens possible. I couldn’t have imagined back then though, that I would get to be a part of telling Moana’s continued story… and so, having co-written both the live action adaptation and Moana 2 and directed the sequel—I’m starting to understand the power of this scale of representation in new ways. It’s a tremendous responsibility to be one of the few Pacific Islanders in key creative positions across both films. It’s one I take very seriously. Not just as a steward and protector of the integrity of the storytelling, but hopefully as an example to other Pacific Islanders out there that their big dreams are possible too.
I hope kids out there see me standing on the red carpet or in interviews like this and understand that they could be standing where I am today. Because representation isn’t just about seeing yourself on the big screen, it’s about creating new pathways for the generations that come after you. And I’m hopeful that by doing what I’m doing now, the door is open for other islanders to come after me.
NFS: What was your experience working on Moana 2?
Miller: This was my first animated project and my first time directing a feature. So saying I had a lot to learn is the understatement of the my life. But I was incredibly fortunate that Jared Bush (co-writer and Executive Producer) was incredibly generous both as a mentor and as a collaborator. He not only helped walk me through all the things that are different about animation than live action, he challenged me creatively and as a leader to trust my instincts. He really helped me gain confidence rather than drown in all the unknowns. And I’m incredibly grateful for that support because without it, I’m not sure I would have discovered a profound new love for animation.
Building an animated film from script through the many layers of vocal performance, camera, editorial, animation, visual effects, lighting, music, and beyond is a truly collaborative process that relies on every department contributing new layers and depths to the storytelling in ways that I found deeply fulfilling. As a detail obsessed person, I loved that we could control the nuance of every blink and every strand of hair and every movement of the water and every color of the light in order to highlight the emotional significance of every moment. Animation is a control freak’s dream. But even more than that, the most incredible part of working on this film was working with our Oceanic Cultural Trust, led by Kalikolehua Hurley.
The Oceanic Trust, which began on the first Moana film, is comprised of experts from across the Pacific in areas like dance, navigating, language, botany, tataus, etc. These experts were a fundamental part of our storytelling process—not only because they shared their wisdom and generational knowledge but because we were able to be in conversation with them throughout the filmmaking process.
I can’t compute the number of ways being in community with these experts helped shape and inspire the direction that this story went in. This movie is the movie it is because of them.
NFS: What do you hope audiences will take away from Moana 2?
Miller: I remember driving home from matinees of The Lion King and Beauty and the Beast as a kid and still being so caught up in the joy and the emotion and the music that the world around me fell away. I hope audiences for Moana 2 have that same experience—that they are entertained and moved and walk away still humming. But, more than anything, I hope the lingering thought is one about the power of connection.
In this film, Moana goes off on a new adventure in hopes of connecting her island to the people of the entire ocean in order to create a better future for her family and her community. And it’s my hope that people walk away remembering that we are all better when we are connected.
NFS: What advice do you have for aspiring writers and directors?
Miller: Trust yourself. As creatives in such competitive fields it can be easy to question your instincts or to try to mold your work into something you think other people want to see. But the truth is, nobody will ever see the world in exactly the same way you do. That’s your superpower. By telling stories through your own distinct lens you bring inherent authenticity to everything you make, and that specificity is what will break through the noise and resonate the most with audiences.
Author: Jason Hellerman
This article comes from No Film School and can be read on the original site.
