Moana 2looks to be fixing Disney Animation’s recent villain problem. Set a few years after the events of the firstMoana, the new film will bring back the titular wayfinder as she embarks on a new quest across the ocean. This is a great chance for the film to expand her universe, bringing back fan-favorites while setting upMoana 2’s cast of charactersto grow in exciting ways. One of the most intriguing of these new characters is Matangi, one of the film’s antagonists.
Played by Awhimai Fraser, Matangi is set to be one of Disney’s only overt villains since 2010’sTangled. For the last fourteen years, Disney villains have gone through an interesting (and sometimes very compelling) direction that has also had the unfortunate side-effect of making them less memorable. EvenWish’s attempt to course-correct with Chris Pine’s King Magnifico ultimately didn’t work. Here’s the key elements that Matangi seems to be bringing tothe new Disney sequelthat could make her Disney’s best villain in over a decade.
Moana 2’s Matangi Is Already More Exciting Than Wish’s King Magnifico
Matangi Was Designed As A Direct Contrast To Moana
Moana 2’s Matangi is a more structurally compelling villain, unlike other recent Disney antagonists likeWish’s King Magnifico. As described byMoana 2’s directors Jason Hand, Dana Ledoux Miller, and David Derrick Jr, Matangi is poised to serve as a major antagonist of the film. Trailers for the movie have shown her confronting Maui and finding ways to combat him. Promotional images released including the character show her as a surprisingly expressive figure, with a somewhat familiar appearance comparable to Moana. This seems to be intentional, asMatangi is described by the film’s directors as a direct contrast to Moana.
As described byMiller during an interview with Screen Rant, Matangi is a dark contrast to Moana’s commitment to exploring the world and connecting people. “We started thinking about what is the opposite of connection? It’s disconnection. What does it mean to be isolated? It was from there that we really started to think about who the foe would be.“This gives Matangi a direct emotional contrast to the heroes, something that should motivate genuine drama as she seeks to halt their mission. It’s a great foundation for a villain, and something missing from other recent Disney antagonists.
Walt Disney Animation has been taking an interesting approach to villains over the last two decades. While it’s brought complexity to the antagonistic characters,it’s also meant a lack of memorable outright villains for the franchise. Four movies in a row (Wreck-it-Ralph,Frozen,Big Hero 6andZootopia) featured twist villains who only revealed themselves late in the story. This also meant they didn’t get much space to be memorably vile or villainous.MoanaandRaya and the Last Dragonhad antagonists, but specifically sought to give them more complexity. This cost the natural bombastic theatricality of more overt Disney villains.
Every God & Demigod In The Moana Movies
Moana introduced some gods and demigods inspired by Polynesian mythology and history, and now Moana 2 introduces even more of these deities.
Ralph Breaks the Internet,Frozen 2,EncantoandStrange Worlddidn’t have villains at all, deriving conflict from the main characters.Wishwas therefore a welcome return to the villain archetype, the first Disney animated movie sinceTangledto have an outright villainous character. However, despite a solid performance from Chris Pine, King Magnifico doesn’t get the memorable darkness of characters like Maleficent or Scar. There’s an attempt to give him some depth, but it makes his villainous transformation more abrupt and out of character.Magnifico doesn’t feel evil enough to be memorable, and was one ofWish’s biggest let-downs.
What Moana 2’s Villain Has That Wish Didn’t
Matangi Is An Overt Villain, Which Is An Exciting Development
There were some cool ideas behind Magnifico inWish, but his corruption was too abrupt and his connection to Asha too thematically weak to be compelling. A great antagonist, especially in Disney Animated films, has to be a direct contrast to the hero while retaining a unqiue sense of personal style and personality. The best Disney villains, like Maleficent and Gaston, benefit from being somewhat one-note. This crystallized focus on character gave the creatives room to make sure that one note worked, creating deeply memorable antagonists. By contrast,Magnifico wants to be simultaneously complex and straightforward, and fails at both.
This isn’t Awhimai Fraser’s first experience with Disney Animation. Before playing Matangi inMoana 2, Fraser previously played Elsa and Dolores Madrigal in the Māori dubs ofFrozenandEncanto, respectively.
That’s what makes Matangi such an exciting prospect as a villain inMoana 2. She’s designed as a direct foil to the lead character, with no attempt to hide her dark side. This should allow the filmmakers more room to showcase her instead of explaining her, giving her space to make her memorable.Her direct antagonism with Moana will likely set up compelling drama, and gives her (and the audience) someone to root against. Sometimes, having a straight forward villain is a good thing, andMoana 2seems to be heading in that direction.
Moana 2
Cast
Moana 2 is the sequel to the 2016 animated film Moana. Directed by David G. Derrick Jr., Jason Hand, and Dana Ledoux Miller, the film continues the journey of Moana as she embarks on new adventures, exploring the vast Pacific Ocean while encountering new characters and challenges along the way.
