A strange world/to visit with Maui's old friends.
So far, every film has featured a moment where the journey takes you to a strange world and you're confronted with an old acquaintance of Maui's.
In the first adventure, Maui and Moana had to travel to the realm of monsters/the underworld, Lalotai, to meet the monster crab Tamatoa.
Lalotai is a colorful underwater world, full of bizarre creatures and plants.
In this world lives a giant coconut crab named Tamatoa, who, according to Maui, is a real slob.
He lives in a large snail shell and has amassed many treasures, including Maui's hoes.Through a timid remark from Maui, we learn that he used to get along well with Tamatoa until he kicked out one of his legs for unknown reasons.
An attempt is made to get hold of Moana's heel by distracting her... but in the end, Moana is forced to use a deception to save Maui. Tamatoa provides insight into Maui's past and motives, showing that there was once a great deal of trust between the two.
In an earlier version, Lalotai was replaced by the eight-eyed bat. I believe this exchange was the reason for Tamatoa's great popularity; he has one of the relatively few speaking roles in this film, and he also has his own song. He seems like the film's true villain, with typical villain charm.
Aside from regaining his heel, what's important is that Moana really impressed Maui and made him come out of his shell more.
On the way to Motufitu, however, Moana and her crew involuntarily end up in the giant clam.
Compared to Lalotai, it seems empty and rather colorless. The demigod Matangi and her bats live in the shell, and only an elongated monster can be seen.
The shell was actually supposed to be densely populated with various monsters, but these were cut to make Matangi stand out more.
It's a shame that so much of the shell, Kolise, was changed for Matangi. There was supposed to be a scene where the crew had to deal with a monster bird, but managed to escape on their own. This would have been really beneficial for the new character.
A scene featuring Moana and the monsters living there was also changed to the Simea nightmare scenes, but the change to the reunion between Maui and Moana was particularly sad. Maui was originally supposed to fight several giant monsters, save the others, and then run into Moana... Why did they change that? 😢
But there's no question that Matangi is a truly interesting character, with significantly more depth than Tamatoa. She acts out of her own interests and doesn't reveal much about herself. She was able to capture Maui, who was in full possession of his powers, and seemed to anticipate the events to come. Instead of stopping Moana or harming her, as Maui feared, she helps her get out of the shell and back to Motufitu.
She is a neutral character, neither good nor evil, and can still go in any direction.
In the end, Moana, her crew, and Maui escape through the Portal of the Gods that Matangi showed them. It's amazing, though, that Moana, as a mortal, was able to open the Portal of the GODS...
What I especially love about Matangi is that in the books, she seems like a true Maui/Moana shipper, saying things like, "You've turned her into a Wayfinder, now your lives are forever intertwined." or "I think you need her as much as she needs you."
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