“Can I get a Chee Hoo?”
It’s a query that the demigod Maui tunefully poses to the titular princess in “Moana 2.” However this seemingly easy request is steeped in cultural custom, notable in narrative context and, given its catchy hook, prone to grow to be Disney’s subsequent inescapable earworm.
The charismatic composition — carried out with gusto by Dwayne Johnson — is certainly price shouting about, particularly on the heels of the beloved numbers of the 2016 film, which had been written by Lin-Manuel Miranda, Mark Mancina and Opetaia Foa‘i. “The first one was great to introduce this culture to the world, and I’m very proud of what we achieved,” mentioned Foa‘i.
“The songs of a second movie have got to be either as good as the first movie or better,” said Mancina, who co-wrote the sequel‘s songs with Foa‘i, Abigail Barlow and Emily Bear. “If they don’t have integrity, youngsters can inform: That is only a cash seize.”
The animated journey picks up three years after the occasions of the primary film: Moana, now a seasoned “wayfinder,” revered group chief and an older sister, solutions a name from her ancestors to enterprise additional than ever earlier than, all to attempt to safe her island’s future well-being.
“This time, the story also is all about that aspect of growth of trying to plan where you’re going and wanting to stay the exact course, but really understanding that life will throw curve balls and challenges your way, and you can lean on your crew to help you through it,” mentioned returning actor Auli’i Cravalho, who voices Moana.
“Moana 2” picks up three years after the occasions of the primary film, with Moana now an older sister.
(Disney)
A standout tune, “Can I Get a Chee Hoo?” is carried out greater than midway into the film, when Moana is deeply discouraged about dealing with Nalo, the god of storms.
“In the first movie, Maui met Moana when he was at his lowest and most vulnerable, and she empowered him and helped him reach his full potential,” mentioned David Derrick Jr., one of many sequel’s three administrators. “We wanted Maui to return that favor to Moana, but in the most entertaining way possible.”
“Can I Get a Chee Hoo?” is an upbeat, percussion-driven observe with shades of a rock anthem that additionally affords a retro instrumental solo (a mix of a jazz flute and numerous synths, delivered by Maui by way of hearth conch). It was the final tune written for the film, changing one other quantity that didn’t fairly mirror the place Moana was in that second, or how a lot Maui cares for her.
“Everything we were doing was either too cheesy or abstract, or it sounded like a s— motivational speech that we were copying from YouTube,” mentioned Bear. “How do we make this cool and not cringy, and still authentic to this character and his friendship with Moana?
“When I’m at my lowest and I feel like nothing anyone will say to me will make me feel better, I don’t need a motivational speech, I need a dose of reality,” Bear continued. With this tune, “Maui essentially tells Moana, ‘Stop doubting yourself, because the enemy you’re up against doesn’t doubt you. He wouldn’t waste his time trying to stop you if they didn’t think you were capable of beating him.’”
Maui reminds Moana of who she is within the new tune “Can I Get a Chee Hoo?”
(Disney)
Maui musically lifts Moana up by reminding her of who she is, applauding her innate greatness after which difficult her to do the identical for herself. How? “With a rallying cry of epic proportions,” mentioned Barlow.
This particular phrase — already exclaimed typically by Maui all through the primary movie — is a fa’aumu or an expression of emotion in Samoan tradition, and it holds nice significance all through Pacific Island communities at massive.
“I think how it’s represented in the film reflects how it’s actually used today,” mentioned Grant Muāgututi’a, a Samoan linguist and dialect coach who labored on the film. “It’s like your heart’s showing. The most common contemporary use is to show support at a special occasion — a performance, a football game, a wedding or a funeral.”
“It’s such an important celebratory cheer, like our version of ‘hip hip hooray,’” added Cravalho. “As soon as fireworks go off on New Year’s Eve, you can hear Chee Hoos all across the island. It’s almost like a call-and-response. Any time there’s a graduation and there is a Pacific Islander who steps up onstage, you can bet we are Chee Hoo-ing the loudest.”
The “Moana 2” tune adopts this Pacific Islander greeting as a life ethos, much like how “Hakuna Matata” frames a Swahili translation as a private motto in “The Lion King.” “We wanted to make sure that nothing we do is too silly,” mentioned Mancina, who labored on each songs, “but that it’s still really fun.”
Adapting the culturally vital phrase for an anticipated Disney film initially made co-director Dana Ledoux Miller nervous.
“It’s something I take very seriously and have had a lot of conversations about, mostly because I wanted to make sure that, in using it, it was a celebration and used in a positive way,” she mentioned. “Knowing that it would mean a lot to a lot of people, we didn’t want to get it wrong. It was exciting to be able to move with that mindfulness through this collaboration and create something that’s so fun. I feel so proud of the care that we took in this.”
With a view to get all of it proper, “Moana 2” administrators Derrick and Ledoux Miller — each of whom are of Samoan descent — and Jason Hand created the movie with quite a few culturally genuine parts, due to the film’s Oceanic Cultural Belief, a gaggle of 13 consultants in anthropology, historical past, motion, canoes and navigation, linguistics and numerous cultural practices.
“I think that, by showing more moments where we lean into the specificity of culture, the audience leans in too, because it grounds our story in a real way,” mentioned Derrick. To him, a tune like “Can I Get a Chee Hoo?” is proof that “being specific with culture doesn’t have to be a weighty moment. It can be uplighting and fun and joyous.”
“It’s awesome to be part of all these brilliant minds, working together to make the movie as resonant and respectful as possible,” added Muāgututi’a, a member of the Oceanic Cultural Belief. “When things like ‘Chee Hoo’ are shared in a way that’s accurate and inclusive, it’s less appropriation and more appreciation. It’s all love.”
The belief consulted on many key moments that illustrate Moana’s tradition in addition to her character‘s growth: her participation in a kava ceremony for a new title, the further progression of her wayfinding abilities and her pivotal performance of a haka, a ceremonial dance and chant. “I’ve by no means performed a haka earlier than, so I used to be so into it,” mentioned Cravalho of filming the scene. “I put my whole chest into it and it felt so good!”
The “Moana 2” Oceanic Cultural Belief consulted on many facets of the movie, together with a enjoyable dance battle.
(Disney)
And in “Can I Get a Chee Hoo?,” Moana is proven performing siva afi, or fire-knife dancing. “It’s something that you only see men do,” mentioned animation reference choreographer Tiana Nonosina Liufau. “When I was physically doing it [as a model for the film’s animators], I really felt so empowered. So to think about Moana doing it in this moment when she’s feeling down, and especially that you don’t usually see women doing it, I think she leaves that song feeling a lot of power.”
“We were obsessed with getting that right,” mentioned Hand of replicating Liufau’s physicality for the fire-dancing sequence. “Those moves all mean something, so it’s really important to do it properly. Our animators really paid close attention to all that work that she did.”
Based on Hand, Johnson “got goosebumps when he first heard” “Can I Get a Chee Hoo?” Within the recording sales space, Bear inspired the actor to think about he was singing on to his daughter: “If you saw her in this position, how would you want to deliver this message to her? It’d be full of heart.”
With “Moana 2” now in theaters, “We’re probably going to see a lot of young kids shouting ‘Chee Hoo’ all over the place,” mentioned Foa‘i with a laugh. For Moana actor Cravalho, that’s an exhilarating thought.
“I’ve had a decade with this character, and the impact she continues to have is almost overwhelming for me,” she mentioned. “It’s truly so important to see a young woman be the hero of her own story, and I feel great pride that our specificities get shared with the masses because Disney puts them on a larger platform. So to people who are not of Pacific Island descent but still find themselves in this character or other characters in this film, I say thank you.”
Moana goees on an journey with a brand new crew in “Moana 2.”
(Disney)