Over Thanksgiving weekend, Moana 2 made historical past with the biggest-ever field workplace opening for an animated movie.
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Auliʻi Cravalho and Dwayne Johnson each returned to voice their iconic characters, however to any eagle-eyed viewers, there was a notable title lacking from the credit.
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Fans of the unique will keep in mind that Moana’s unforgettable songs had been penned by Lin-Manuel Miranda — who many know because the Broadway legend who gave the world Hamilton and In the Heights.
Lin-Manuel has been writing songs for Disney for some time — however he didn’t begin with Moana. Did that earlier than the 2016 hit, he really composed two songs for Star Wars: The Force Awakens?
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After Moana 2 was introduced in February of this yr, it was later revealed that Lin-Manuel would get replaced as songwriter by duo Barlow and Bear, who rose to fame in 2022 because the minds behind The Unofficial Bridgerton Musical.
On Monday evening, in an interview with People, Lin-Manuel defined why he hadn’t returned to the world of Moana to put in writing music, regardless of having been nominated for an Academy Award for his work on the unique.
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“There was by no means a chance to be on Moana 2,” Lin-Manuel mentioned. Explaining that this was as a result of film’s manufacturing course of, he added that the movie “already had their songwriters.”
In an interview with the Hollywood Reporter that additionally came about on Monday, Lin-Manuel clarified that he had gone straight from engaged on Encanto to receiving the script for Mufasa: The Lion King.
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“It didn’t line up that method,” he mentioned. “Moana 2 was already in course of as a TV sequence, with Emily [Bear] and Abigail [Barlow]. So when that call acquired made to show [it] right into a film, they had been already, . Already cookin’.”
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While Moana 2 has had unquestionable success on the field workplace, some viewers on-line have had divided opinions — with the sequel solely receiving 61% on Rotten Tomatoes versus the 2016 authentic’s 95%.
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And in an interview with Variety, Abigail of Barlow and Bear responded to a few of the criticism of the music, saying, “Give it a month, all the children can be singing it, and also you’ll be uninterested in it.”
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Her response sparked a LOT of discourse amongst viewers. Many had been fast to counsel that this mentality was the rationale why the sequel’s music might not have lived as much as the unique songs.
One viral publish on X learn, “this sentiment alone exhibits how the brand new songwriters miss the purpose. i believe most disney songwriters currently goal for one thing purely catchy leaning into fashionable pop sounds, slightly than a tune written and composed nicely sufficient to hold the proper feelings and deepen the story.”
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While they had been engaged on Moana 2, Barlow and Bear steadily heard from Lin-Manuel, who was solely a “FaceTime name away.”
“He gave me books from musical theater storytelling greats [that were] all about the best way to craft a lyric and the best way to inform tales by way of music in essentially the most succinct and pleasing method. He was like, ‘Don’t be afraid to lean into the stuff you wish to take heed to,’ and that was actually useful,” mentioned Abigail.
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And whereas talking to People, Lin-Manuel himself mentioned that he was “actually proud” that the duo had been engaged on the sequel alongside composers Opetaia Foa’i and Mark Mancina.
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You can catch Moana 2 in cinemas nationwide now. If you’ve seen it, LMK your ideas within the feedback.
