How Moana 2 was Animated ? - Shot Progression Breakdown

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Published on March 30, 2025 5:00:30 PM ● Video Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c9GKXRo3ZyM

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Here’s a fun run of shots I was lucky enough to work on for Moana 2. If you’ve spent any time with me, you know I love animating musical moments. This was a really energetic moment and I loved finding ways to keep Moana bouncing to the beat and staying positive in her posture (especially in contrast to Kele who has no interest in this).
I started the process by drawing out my ideas. I never regret doing that as my first pass and often regret not doing it if I skip that step. In that version, I was moving shot lengths to play with different ideas before locking it down in the computer. This is a great thing to show the directors and get their thoughts quickly before beginning the CG animation process.
The next step is my rough blocking of those ideas. The notes I got were to make it generally more energetic, especially with Kele bouncing around in the bottom of the ship.
This next pass is my final animation with all the polish. I don’t often get to animate big fast things like this and had fun putting in all the fine details.
I love how the Lighting / Technical Animation / Effects add so much to these films. You can see it in the final render, which is so joyful to look at.
I worked on these shots under different circumstances than the rest of the film. For a few weeks, I was in Florida helping my mom recover from a shoulder injury surgery (she healed and is great now). These shots were animated at my dad’s computer desk, where he used to spend a ton of time managing the house. He loved watching these films when they came out and it was nice to be able to make the next one at his space. All while my brother’s dog Camper tempted me to stop working for just a minute.
I love that the film is finally out on Disney+ so everyone can appreciate all the beautiful work that went into it!
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Contact with Michael Woodside
Animator at Walt Disney Animation Studios and doodler of corgis
linktr.ee/Animwoodsy
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✨MOANA Shot Progression playlist: 👉   • Moana | Shark Head Shot Progression |...  
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