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See a ‘super-fun and weird’ monster bird in exclusive ‘Moana 2’ scene

Portrait of Brian Truitt Brian Truitt

USA TODAY

“Moana 2” left a monster bird on the cutting room. At least the feathered menace is finding new life on home video.

Disney’s hit animated sequel reunites lively wayfarer Moana (voiced by Auli‘i Cravalho) and her demigod buddy Maui (Dwayne Johnson) for another adventurous voyage, plus gives her a new crew to help in her quest. They face various obstacles including the mysterious bat lady Matangi (Awhimai Fraser) and a ginormous clam that’s her headquarters with all sorts of weird creatures.

One of those, however, didn’t make the movie’s final cut but shows up in a deleted scene in the extra features of the “Moana 2” digital release (arriving Tuesday) and upcoming Blu-ray/DVD (out March 18).

USA TODAY has the exclusive debut of the clip, which features Moana’s group of rookie sailors including grumpy old farmer Kele (David Fane), inventive engineer Loto (Rose Matafeo) and fanboy storyteller Moni (Hualālai Chung). After getting separated from Moana when their boat crashes, they’re trying to get their bearings when they come face to face with a giant two-faced bird with peculiar eyeballs and a pair of fearsome beaks.

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Moana (left, voiced by Auli‘i Cravalho) sets sail with a new crew including Kele (David Fane), Moni (Hualālai Chung) and Loto (Rose Matafeo) in "Moana 2."

Help comes in an unexpected form. The bird starts making strange movements and sounds, and the crew realize that it’s doing a mating dance. Their resident rooster Heihei (Alan Tudyk), a Moana pal from the first film, begins to respond in kind, doing odd head gyrations and feather fanning. “Stop it, that’s disgusting,” Moni says.

Director David G. Derrick Jr. acknowledges that “super-fun and weird” scene “ended up not working within the story.”

“Moana 2,” which was released in theaters for Thanksgiving, turned out to be a surprise smash for Disney. Originally planned as a Disney+ series before being retooled into a film, the sequel made more than $1 billion worldwide and was one of three Disney projects (alongside “Inside Out 2” and “Deadpool & Wolverine”) to rank among the top five grossing movies of 2024.

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