Book Review: The Art of Moana 2
Hi everyone!
The book The Art of Moana 2 recently released, and I received a copy this past week to review. This is the latest in the long line of “The Art of” books from Chronicle Books that offer an insight into the creation of Disney animated films (including The Art of Inside Out 2).
The film Moana 2 has broken records, with the highest 5-day opening of all time and and the highest Thanksgiving opening weekend box office.
The Art of Moana 2 is by Kalikolehua Hurley, who is not only an author but also works at Walt Disney Animation Studios.
Read my review below!
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Jennifer Lee handles the preface. Lee was Walt Disney Animation Studios’ Chief Creative Officer until recently. She also was Executive Producer on Moana 2. Lee says that they asked themselves, “What if the future of Moana’s people depended upon reconnecting with the people of other islands long separated from one another?”
The foreword is by directors David Derrick, Jr., Jason Hand and Dana Ledoux Miller. They say that they set out to make “an epic series for Disney+” and they somehow ended up making a movie.
The introduction talks about the filmmaking process, including mentioning that it is the first time the Burbank studio partnered on a project with the new Vancouver based studio. The collaboration didn’t end with the studios, but extended out to cultural experts, leaders, creatives and more.
Chronicle Books says about The Art of Moana 2: Journey from Motunui across the vast Ocean with Moana and her crew in this installment of the beloved Art of Disney series that tells the story behind the art and making of Moana 2. Here is a stunning art book that highlights the beautiful development art and paintings from the film’s creation—including character designs, storyboards, color scripts, and much more—and features exclusive interviews from the creative team along with behind-the-scenes details.
The beautiful cover features Moana, Pua and Heihei in what resemblers a watercolor painting.
Various characters from the film are highlighted in the book. For example, Moana receives four pages talking about the changes she’s received since her debut (Moana 2 is set 3 years after the first movie). She has grown up more, and they created her to be more sculpted and muscular. The change in her costume was also well thought out, with intricate weaving and storytelling throughout.
Moana’s sister Simea is a scene stealer throughout Moana 2, and Head of Animation Kevin Webb also had a three-and-a-half year old daughter. He studied his daughter’s movement and speech – and she also shares with Simea her overbite, which he told the artists to celebrate in the film.
The book features many more characters and paragraphs that talk about the creation of the film by Moana 2 artists and filmmakers. This includes about the Kakamora and their barge, along with Blobfish (the film team calls him Blobby).
What I love about “The Art of” books is that they give great insight into into the making of a film. Reading The Art of Moana 2 gets me excited to see the movie again with better understanding.
We have been collecting this book series since well before I started receiving review books, for at least 15 years now. For example, I purchased The Art of Moana in 2016. There is a lot less text to read in most of “The Art of” books now and that includes The Art of Moana 2, but there is enough to move the book along and explain the story and artwork provided. There are about 160 pages of art to enjoy from the film.
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