Fans have waited almost a decade for the highly-anticipated ‘Moana 2‘ sequel, and with it comes a whole new soundtrack. Taking over the music this year is a team of talent in the form of Grammy winners Emily Bear and Abigail Barlow, who are now at the helm of the fresh tune catalogue for this Disney feature.
To chat more about the film, their relation to the story and its characters — the young songstresses are just a few years older than Moana in the film — both Barlow and Bear sat down to delve deeper into what guided their own Wayfinding journey for ‘Moana 2.’
Why sign on with this film?
Bear: First of all, it’s every songwriter’s dream to write music for a Disney movie. It’s like the end-all be-all. We are the Disney generation, so we grew up on all of the big ones and they shaped the way that we write everything. So to even be considered to be a part of the Disney legacy is crazy.
Barlow: Also when we talked to the filmmakers about Moana’s journey, we immediately connected with what she was going through. She’s evolved so much as a character and I feel like we learned so much through the process. We’re around the [same age] and even though we’re not fighting lava monsters, everybody’s got their version of a lava monster. So I felt like we could step into her shoes easily and write for a peer in an honoring way…because when you tell stories through music, that’s all you want to do—just honor a character’s perspective on the world.
Why is Disney the end-all be-all in your mind for songwriters?
Bear: I think it’s timeless music in a way that no one else has been able to achieve. These catalogs live forever, and there’s a reason when you go to the parks and you hear the mashup of all the Disney songs why everyone’s just crying. They’re a huge part of our lives in an irreplaceable way.
What were some of the characteristics from the first film that you wanted to come across in your music for the sequel?
Barlow: The music world [in the first film] was so flushed out and lush and epic, and definitely immersive. We wanted to still live in that world. And the cultural anchor that guided the first film was so strong, so we wanted to lean into that and know and consume everything we possibly could to inform the writing process. But I remember seeing it as a high schooler in the theaters—it was an overwhelming and incredible movie-going experience. So I think that’s what we wanted to bring to the music this time around.
What are the first steps you take when composing a movie like this?
Bear: The songs are a part of the story, and the story is in development for a long time before it actually kind of gets locked in, so it’s a lot of talking. We don’t have any visuals and we obviously don’t have a movie to watch at this point, because they can’t animate until we write and vice versa. So we read the script and started to talk with the directors. They have ideas of where they want songs, we have ideas of where we think the song should go, and we just start there.
You mentioned really immersing the music in that kind of cultural feel. So what does that exactly mean for it technically?
Bear: I listen to a lot of Polynesia music, a lot of Te Vaka music. I went down a Spotify rabbit hole when we first started, because as you listen to something more that you’re unfamiliar with, you can start to pick out patterns and what things they naturally gravitate towards. Then you can pick and choose where you want to inject that into your own music.
But I also asked the music team from ‘Moana’ to send me all the stuff they recorded from the first movie because they had a whole huge library of resources. That really helped our writing process and it inspired a lot of songs.
Barlow: They also gave us [access] to the Oceanic Cultural Trust, which was an amazing resource. We got to talk to real life Wayfinders… that was so cool.
What can you tease for fans about what to expect for Moana’s journey in the sequel?
Barlow: Well, she has a crew now on this journey, but she’s called by her Wayfinding ancestors to connect all of the people of the entire ocean.
Bear: And however badly you thought the first problem was—this is a lot worse. Also, all of the characters that we grew to love from the first one have evolved because this takes place three years after the first. It doesn’t usually happen a lot in animated universes where we get to see characters really evolve, so we get to reflect that in the music.
Barlow: I also just want to say Auliʻi (Cravalho), who was casted when she was 14 for the first film is singing in this film. And her instrument has evolved just like her character has. We hope we gave her fierce songs to sing and she loved to sing them. We did make her cry—
Bear:—Yeah, it’s great playing them for the producers and the writers, but when we play them for the actors who have lived this character before and to see their response being so positive… it’s like, oh God, we’ve done something right.
Are there any songs that stand out to you from this new film?
Bear: I love ‘Beyond’, but also ‘Chee Hoo’ has grown on me. I’m a big fan of Maui and he’s grown so much. I love it for him.
Barlow: I love the new song for our villainous character. She’s fabulous and a bit of a pop star, and I loved singing all of the demos of that song.
What do you hope people take away from the music of ‘Moana 2’?
Barlow: I hope it enhances the movie-going experience. I think for movie musicals you sing when words aren’t enough. So I hope that we made them sing when words weren’t enough.
Catch ‘Moana 2′ in theaters Nov. 27.
