This completely slipped off my radar, but Moana 2 is out in theaters this upcoming weekend. Dwayne Johnson and Auli’i Cravalho are returning as Maui and Moana, but Lin-Manuel Miranda didn’t come back to do the music. I love the first movie. I used to rock out to “How Far I’ll Go” while cooking, haha. Does anyone else have any songs they belt out to for designated tasks? I have shower songs, cooking songs, cleaning songs, workout songs, etc. Anyway, with all of the excitement about Wicked, which I’m seeing on Wednesday night, and Gladiator II, which I saw on Saturday, I totally forgot M2 was a thing this holiday season as well.
Last week, AMC Theaters issued a reminder to all of us theatre kids not to sing along to Wicked. I think most theatergoers understand the proper etiquette, but people still decided to argue about it on social media. This week, Dwayne decided to weigh in on the debate. He’s on #TeamSingAlong and urged anyone who’s planning on seeing Moana 2 to please, feel free to sing along!
Dwayne Johnson has said fans should feel free to sing in the cinema, as he attended the UK premiere of Moana 2.
“Especially if you love music, that’s the fun part,” the US star, aka The Rock, told BBC News on the red carpet.
Recently, there has been a debate on social media around whether people should sing along in cinemas, sparked by the release of Wicked a few days ago. Some have argued fans should be able to express their enjoyment as they like, while others say singing ruins other people’s experiences.
Johnson, however, made his views on cinema etiquette clear.
“Sing! You’ve paid your hard earned money for a ticket, and you’ve gone into a musical, and you’re into it. Sing,” he said.
The original film followed an adventurous Polynesian teenage girl who sets on a mission across the ocean to save her people. Moana 2 reunites Moana and Maui three years later for a new voyage alongside a crew of “unlikely seafarers”, Disney has said.
I think the obvious difference here is that Moana is a movie made for kids while Wicked is supposed to appeal to a broader, more mature audience. I don’t think anyone taking their kids to see a movie alongside dozens of other little kids expects a quiet setting. When we took our older son to see Cars 3 for his third birthday, it was crawling with kids who were standing up (but not running around), talking to one another and their parents, and just visibly having a great time. I kinda expect every movie geared towards kids under age 10 to be like that. That said, as an adult, I still would not sing out loud because…ya know, etiquette lol.
And while we’re talking about Dwayne, while at the Hawaii premiere of Moana 2 last week, he fulfilled five wishes from the Make-A-Wish Foundation. He arranged for transportation and a meet-and-greet with families and reportedly gave them gifts. His daughters, Jasmine, eight, and Tiana, six, were with him, which made it all the more special for Dwayne. I love this. It’s always really nice to hear these kinds of stories. I hope those five children had a blast at the premiere and sang out loud to their heart’s content.
Photos credit: Lounis Tiar/Avalon/Avalon, James Shaw/Avalon/Avalon, IMAGO/Steve Vas/Avalon/Avalon, Getty