1-on-1 with The Rock in front of Moana 2

On November 23, 2024By Littum

KO OLINA, Hawaii (KHON2) — How does the second Moana compare to the first for you personally as you create that circle?

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“The first Moana, we put it out there with great pride for our people, our culture, and a lot of people around the world embraced it, loved it,” Johnson said.

World Premiere of “Moana 2” held at Disney Aulani Resort

“And the other Moana, what I feel about the other Moana is, there is. I feel sometimes that at certain times in the world, the world needs certain things. You need certain things, right? So right now there A lot of noise out there in the world. There’s a lot of downward pressure, and there’s a lot of naming and shaming, and there’s a lot of good going on out there. And what I feel is what Moana represents the good things. And me feel that Moana 2, I told Bob Iger this, who is the chairman of Disney, yesterday, which is what we find and realize, is Moana the movie, does the movie need it? Of course, it depends on how you look at it the world. But the world anticipates it, and there is a real difference between needing something, wanting something, and anticipating it, and that’s what Moana represents. That’s what we feel, so it is a very special thing.”

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“So what I like to do when things get a little shaky, my anchor is really back to the family,” Johnson said.

“And it’s the simple core things like, I know it sounds silly and simple, but hanging out with the babies and having a conversation or talking about something stupid or grabbing them and saying, ‘let’s go, let’s do it here, let’s go and do that, let’s fish, let’s go for a walk, let’s go and do these things.’ It’s the kind of simple core thing. And then I can hardly remember how things used to be for me. But early in my life, when I was in elementary school, middle school and in high school, it got tough here on the island, so it represents struggle and resilience and things like that.”

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“And I will say because you mentioned depression and it’s such a big deal, but us as men, especially Polynesian men, our lead foot is usually not, we’re not raised to ‘hey, let’s talk about it.’” Talk about your feelings, it’s ok. The expression that is among us today about “vulnerability is our strength” and I love that expression because it’s true, but it’s not, it’s not in our nature and definitely not our forefoot. So I have realized through the years, man, it’s so important to ask for help and say, ‘I’m not ok right now.’ But I realized the moment you say, ‘Hey, I’m not ok. Can we talk? ‘ The universe, God, man, people come right in and they meet you halfway and they’re right there.”

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