The soundtrack received mostly mixed reception from critics who compared the show tunes unfavorably to the music from its predecessor due to the absence of Miranda's involvement, while the instrumental score was a critical and commercial success.
Development
"For two women to be part of that and trying to get to the heart of the story, which is a young woman finding her way, I couldn't think of a better duo than Barlow and Bear. ... This is a new part of my voice. ... This film digs into these low notes in these times of indecision when we don't know what we are supposed to do next. There's a lot of deeper layers to these songs."
— Cravalho on the involvement of Barlow and Bear, replacing Miranda, as the songwriters[1]
Mark Mancina and Opetaia Foaʻi returned to compose the film score.[1][2] In late 2021, Walt Disney Music president Tom MacDougall recruited Abigail Barlow and Emily Bear to replace Miranda as songwriters for what was then planned as a direct-to-streaming television series, after hearing the quality of their work on The Unofficial Bridgerton Musical.[3] In 2022, they began to work with the production team on writing songs.[3] Barlow and Bear are the youngest and the first all-female team to write the songs for a Disney film.[3]
Lin-Manuel Miranda said that he was not asked by Walt Disney Animation Studios to return for the sequel because of a timing issue.[4] As a longtime fan of The Lion King (1994), he was eager to work on Mufasa: The Lion King (2024).[5] Miranda was busy in the second half of 2021 finishing the songs for Encanto, editing his first feature film as a director and doing press interviews to promote In The Heights, Vivo and Encanto (all released in 2021).[5] He then needed to start working immediately on Mufasa at the beginning of 2022.[4] Miranda, however, assisted by providing Barlow with "a stack of books" on how to write lyrics for musical films.[3] According to Miranda, by the time Disney decided in January 2024 to turn the series into a feature-length sequel, Barlow and Bear were "already cooking", so it made more sense to continue with the songs they had already written.[4][6] After the premiere, he praised Barlow and Bear: "Those girls are so insanely talented, and I was really proud of them."[5]
Mancina and Foaʻi discussed with Barlow and Bear how to establish a new sonic landscape for Moana 2 with the already established themes, while also pushing Moana's voice to new places.[7][8] Foaʻi and Mancina also assisted Barlow and Bear in utilizing the musical landscape of the Pacific and Polynesian culture, and the music team at Disney sent a bulk Dropbox library of drums, skins, logs and vocal samples from the first film. The two also met with members of the Oceania Cultural Trust, and real-life wayfinders, who inspired full songs with some of their ideas.[9] Barlow recalled: "Working on this project taught me how to be a good collaborator", to tell stories through music and work with a "huge village of people" on the challenging task.[9] Bear added that working with a large group helped them get in touch with "a big cultural anchor of the Pacific."[9] Barlow further likened the songwriting process to a table tennis game, where "One of us will come to the table, or both of us will come to the table with ideas, and then it'll just be like ping pong, ping pong back and forth. You go through a million different rounds of notes, and the story goes through a million different lives before it's the movie you see on the screen."[9]
Just as Moana's character had aged, so had Cravalho, with her deepened and expanded vocals reflecting the maturation of her instrument.[1][9] This was used by the songwriters in "Beyond", a spiritual sequel to the first film's "How Far I'll Go", Moana's original "I Want" song.[10] Since the film was reaching for themes larger than the character's personal journey, and also because the team wanted to make her more vulnerable, they designed the song "Beyond" as slightly darker than the first film's anthem. Bear commented: "Because the stakes are suddenly so much higher. She's about to make a big decision that will affect the rest of her life. She knows more of the world and what's out there, so she knows what to expect — and that could be scary."[1]
The first song the duo wrote and composed is "We're Back", which uses the musical language from the first film to establish that the viewer is back in world of the first film, but to "show how the island has grown and thrived" and to introduce new characters.[9] On November 11, Johnson revealed his song "Can I Get a Chee Hoo?" as a female empowerment song for Moana's character, which follows up Maui's original "You're Welcome".[11] Johnson described the song as "vocally challenging" except for the rap portions.[12]
Release
On November 7, 2024, Disney revealed the full track list, along with the first single "Beyond" performed by Cravalho.[10][13] The 16-track album featuring original songs were released on November 22, five days before the film's theatrical release.[10][14] A deluxe edition soundtrack featuring Mancina and Foaʻi's original score and instrumental versions of the songs, were released on November 25.[15] The album will be distributed in CD and vinyl LP formats at the Disney Music Emporium on January 10, 2025.[16][17]
Critical reception
Louis Peitzman of Vulture wrote that each song, without Miranda's involvement, "feels as flimsy and disposable as the last" and that added "the music of Moana 2 is the biggest mark against it with derivative melodies and clunky lyrics that screech the action to a halt. When the songs occasionally interpolate a line or motif from the original Moana score, it has the water-drop-in-a-desert effect of reminding us how far we’ve fallen."[18] Dani Kessel Odom of Screen Rant commented: "Though the harmonies are enjoyable, the music in "What Could Be Better Than This?" is highly repetitive. The lyrics also feel surface-level, unlike those from songs in the first Moana movie. They aren’t interesting to listen to because the slant rhymes are simple."[19] Matt Patches of Polygon wrote, "In the end, Moana 2 is a vehicle for one banger, a feel-good throwback, and a few songs we’ll never talk about again, which doesn’t feel like enough for a brand-new Moana."[20] Tyler Nichols of JoBlo.com called the music "more forgettable".[21]
Owen Gleiberman of Variety said "The songs in “Moana 2,” by Abigail Barlow and Emily Bear, are perky and appealing, with that electrified island drum bounce, but most of them sound like the imitation-Lin-Manual knockoffs they are [...] none of the songs summon that indelible quality that sealed the story of “Moana” into our hearts."[22] Ben Wasserman of Comic Book Resources, wrote the film falls short in its soundtrack, compared to the predecessor, and stated that despite the songs "Get Lost" and "Can I Get A Chee Hoo?" being catchy, "these songs never reach the level of earworm that made "You're Welcome" and "How Far I'll Go" such memorable classics amongst Disney fans."[23] A dissenting voice was Sarah El-Mahmoud of Cinema Blend, who felt that Barlow and Bear "delivered on a memorable new Disney soundtrack packed with emotional callbacks and new melodies. ... I haven’t been able to get the soundtrack out of my head".[24]
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