Moana 2 and the Adventures of a Wayfinder (that Wayfinder Is Me)
Embark on a heartfelt journey with Moana 2, where the spirit of wayfinding meets emotional connection, classroom inspiration, and a soundtrack destined to chart your course into 2025.
I’m just going to say this upfront: It isn’t fair to compare anyone with a legend. Unfortunately, my opinion won’t stop anyone from doing just that, as some critics pit the original Moana, with Lin-Manuel Miranda’s score, to Moana 2, with a score by Abigail Barlow and Emily Bear. If you let that critique get in the way of enjoying Moana 2, it will be your loss. Luckily, the duo of Barlow and Bear aren’t really concerned, and are quoted in this Cinemablend article, explaining in an interview with Vogue, “Give it a month, all the kids will be singing it, and you’ll be tired of it.” Given the incredible reception by audiences, I don’t doubt that is true!
I ended up going to see Moana 2 by myself this past weekend. I never mind that, and I always relate to Ponyboy Curtis in TheOutsiders saying, “When I see a movie with someone it’s kind of uncomfortable, like having someone read your book over your shoulder.” As families filed in, the constant conversation that is the hallmark of having toddlers and littles, made me nostalgic. As the lights went down, to my surprise, a young woman in her late teens or early 20s in a polka-dot raincoat found her seat next to mine, and asked if she could use the cupholder. We had a moment when we both realized she was there alone, and I was too. Just two random women watching Moana 2 on a Saturday afternoon. I hope she didn’t notice, but let me tell you, I was definitely the “someone reading a book over your shoulder” as I was intrigued by why she was there and what she was thinking, and I kept stealing glances. Before I sound too creepy, I am always this curious about people!
I was there, of course, because I love to write about movies and how they can be used in education, specifically for social and emotional learning. My book Movie Magic in the Classroom, explores ways to incorporate movies like Zootopia, and I’ve written quite a bit for Share My Lesson about Cruella, Barbie and, most recently, Wicked. It is easy to find lots of ways to incorporate Moana 2 into your classrooms, particularly elementary school. Young Minds Inspired, a Share My Lesson partner, provides an incredible collection of multidisciplinary resources. I love that the movie is a reinvention or retelling of real myths and Polynesian events, albeit a Disney rendition. But again, it isn’t a good idea to compare anything with an entire cultural mythology! MovieWeb discusses this in “The Real Myths Behind Moana 2, Explained” without spoilers, if you are interested.
Wayfinding is about going to the edges of what you know and then going further, always further, because the adventure and the camaraderie of the journey is what lights up and serves the world.
As I envied my “elbow partner’s” popcorn, I just couldn’t stop myself from comparing her with my own daughter, Zoey, who is 19 and away at college. It is hard for me to process just how much I miss her while simultaneously being ecstatic for her about where she is in life right now. Remembering the feeling of adventure and freedom, mixed with a tad (but not enough!) fear of the unknown, is a distinct late-teenager stage that is breathtaking. Writer that I am, I imagined that the girl in the polka-dot raincoat was feeling all those emotions as she listened to “Beyond,” a quintessentially existential song. Moana, as she experiences being a “wayfinder” sings, “What lies beyond/ Under skies I’ve never seen?/ Will I lose myself between/ My home and what’s unknown” and “There is destiny in motion/ And it’s only just begun/ Now will this life I’ve worked so hard for come undone?”
A wayfinder, incidentally, is a word I’ve read about in terms of spirituality. Martha Beck, author of The Wayfinder’s Destiny, says, “Wayfinding is about going to the edges of what you know and then going further, always further, because the adventure and the camaraderie of the journey is what lights up and serves the world.” I’m not sure what brought the girl in the polka-dot raincoat to Moana 2, but when she offered me her bucket of popcorn (probably because I was staring too much), I took a handful. I mean, what other way is there to find human connection than in shared experiences, and at that moment, we were enjoying the “camaraderie of the journey.”
Did I end up feeling silly, sniffling my way through Moana 2 eating a stranger's popcorn? Did I get up before the credits began because I definitely didn’t want to make it weird? Yep. Yep to both. However, what struck me about why the whole audience seemed to love the movie is that Moana and Moana 2 are both about wayfinding—a task that has seemed insurmountable for so many people in 2024. If you are looking for the soundtrack to set your course for 2025, might I suggest, “What Could Be Better Than This” to ring in the new year: “Technically speaking, perfection’s a myth,/ Even though the journey’s epic, something better can exist.”
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Amber Chandler is a National Board Certified middle school ELA teacher in Hamburg, New York with a Master’s Degree in Literature, as well as a School Building Leader certification. She is the 2018 Association for Middle Level Educators’ “Educator of the Year.” Amber has enjoyed a wide variety of... See More
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