As a fan who has witnessed the incredible journey of Dana Ledoux Miller, I can’t help but feel a profound sense of admiration and awe. Her life story, much like Moana’s voyage across the ocean, is filled with challenges, triumphs, and a deep connection to her roots.
As Moana 2‘s screenwriter-director, Dana Ledoux Miller, watched her movie shatter box office records with a staggering $225.2 million earnings within five days and claim the title of the biggest Thanksgiving opening ever, she found herself in a Target store instead.
Amidst the cozy comfort of my sweatpants, I was out with my kids, decorating our Christmas tree. There’s this stark contrast between the happenings at the box office and the genuine essence of life, I found myself musing, chuckling a bit,” shares Miller, who mentions that her little four-year-old dozed off during the film’s premiere. “We invest so much time and effort into creating something, only for it to be seen by so many. It’s quite overwhelming!
In 2016, when the movie “Moana” premiered, Miller was employed as a writer for various television shows such as “The Newsroom”, “Narcos”, and “Designated Survivor”. Born with Samoan heritage and having studied at the University of Hawaii before moving to Los Angeles, Miller went to the cinema knowing very little about the Disney animated film other than it featured a Polynesian princess. As she recalls, “I was six months pregnant with my first child, and I remember the lights going out, and the first words spoken in Samoan made me burst into tears immediately.
Reflecting on my journey, I recall my days at a film school nestled in the heart of Hawaii. While I wasn’t a stranger to the indigenous film scene, witnessing Disney’s grandeur, using the language of my ancestors to captivate global audiences on the silver screen, I instantly realized that my child was stepping into a world far removed from the one I had known growing up.
The movie seemed to be a breakthrough point in the entertainment industry for Pacific Islanders, as Miller explains, “I’d been talking to people, saying, ‘I’m Samoan, there are so many stories waiting to be shared!’ But I was often met with uncomprehending looks. If I wasn’t proposing ideas for Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson or Jason Momoa, there seemed to be no reference point for understanding the potential of such stories.” With the release of Moana, she now had a reference, a benchmark, something to refer back to.
A few years past, she had a discussion at Disney, where they mentioned their plans to create an animated TV series centered on the heroine. However, Miller had recently sold a show to Netflix – a Thai cave rescue drama produced by Jon M. Chu – and was unable to engage with this project. Unsurprisingly, she felt disappointed about this near-opportunity. “I recall thinking, ‘Oh my goodness, this is exactly what I’ve always wished to do, and I can’t! My manager said, ‘These opportunities often return.’ I thought, ‘You don’t understand anything! What do you know!'” she laughed, remembering the moment.
However, in 2022, things took a turn when the writer-director of Moana, Jared Bush, and Disney started planning a live-action version of the film. Miller was then tasked with this project, leading to his involvement in the animated series as well. Eventually, Bush managed to persuade the studio to transform the series into another theatrical film. Thus, Miller ended up writing not one but two Moana movies, the first of which is set to premiere during the Thanksgiving holiday season.
In “Moana 2,” we find Moana several years later, who receives a summons from her ancestors to embark on a voyage into the sea to break a spell that has been dividing the people of Oceania. According to Miller, “If she connected with her past in the first film, what is she connecting with in this one? We find it intriguing to explore the concept of her looking ahead.
In the making of the initial film, a diverse group of advisors, each specializing in various fields such as history, agriculture, folklore, were assembled from the Pacific Islands to create the Oceanic Cultural Trust. This trust served as a valuable resource for Miller and the other filmmakers during the development of Moana 2. As a result, characters like Kele (a farmer), Loto (the engineers), and Moni (a historian) are part of Moana’s crew on her voyage in the final production.
According to Miller, the new characters in Moana 2 are a great representation of the intellectual prowess of indigenous navigators who sailed across the ocean long ago. For instance, one character is a farmer on a canoe, which mirrors how people traveled across the Pacific centuries ago. By examining the plants they carried, we can trace their journey. Moreover, these sailors demonstrated exceptional scientific knowledge in building their canoes. Also, before colonization, they didn’t have a written language; instead, they were skilled oral storytellers.
On her end, Miller founded the non-profit organization, PEAK, with the aim of providing entertainment opportunities for Pacific Islanders. She hopes to capitalize on the momentum generated by the “Moana” movies within the industry.
Over its second weekend in cinemas, it’s anticipated that Moana 2 will maintain its dominance. A mid-credits scene at the end of Moana 2 hinted at a potential third movie by introducing a new conflict. Although Disney hasn’t confirmed a follow-up yet, actress Auli’i Cravalho (who plays Moana) expressed her hope that the saga continues, stating, “The initial film is deeply rooted in Polynesian culture, but the Pacific Ocean encompasses numerous diverse cultures and peoples, which suggests there are plenty of exciting opportunities to explore more of this vast ocean.
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2024-12-07 20:25