If you're short on time, here's a quick answer to your question: Moana is considered both Polynesian and Hawaiian in different respects. She was created by Disney as an amalgamation of various Polynesian cultures and mythologies, but is set specifically on the Hawaiian island of Motunui.
Disney's Moana has depicted part of Polynesian history in its own way, with some aspects being somewhat factual while others were exaggerated. Disney's Moana is set on the fictional island of Motunui.
Although Moana is from the fictional island Motunui some 3,000 years ago, the story and culture of Moana is based on the very real heritage and history of Polynesian islands such as Hawaii, Samoa, Tonga, and Tahiti. In fact, once you start looking for ties to Polynesian culture in Moana, it's hard to stop!
The overarching message of Moana is, truly, that the worst thing to happen to you doesn't have to define you. Moana's father lives in fear due to a tragic past; Maui feels as though he is missing a critical part of himself without his hook; Te Fiti turns into a literal monster after she is attacked.
Moana as she appears in Moana (2016). Inspired by Polynesian mythology, Moana is depicted as the strong-willed daughter of a chief of a Polynesian village, who is chosen by the ocean itself to reunite a mystical relic with the goddess Te Fiti.
Some enjoy the movie but believe Maui should have been portrayed as a warrior. "As a proud Polynesian woman, it's not often that you see a film like Moana come out. It headlines our Pasifika culture, and it's lead by our Polynesian artists in the industry.
If you're short on time, here's a quick answer to your question: Moana is considered both Polynesian and Hawaiian in different respects. She was created by Disney as an amalgamation of various Polynesian cultures and mythologies, but is set specifically on the Hawaiian island of Motunui.
Maui (/maʊwiː/) is a fictional character from the animated film Moana. Created by directors Ron Clements and John Musker and voiced by Dwayne Johnson, Maui is loosely based on Māui from Hawaiian mythology. In the film, Maui is depicted as a demigod who was abandoned by his parents and eventually adopted by the gods.
Filmmakers charted out relative distances in the world they created. Te Fiti, another island in the film, was based on Tahiti, and the tattoos on Dwayne Johnson's character, Maui, are modeled on Marquesan tattoos. “Such specificity helped to keep things organized,” Gooding says.
Te Fiti does not exist in Polynesian mythology, but there is a goddess of fire, lightning, wind, and volcanoes called Pele. The spiral on Te Fiti's heart, Moana's necklace, and on the sail of her boat is called a koru. Te Fiti slightly resembles the Spring Sprite from the Firebird Suite segment in Fantasia 2000.
The arrival of fast food restaurants and other contemporary food items on the islands are one of the issues responsible for the obesity in Samoa. The earliest photographs of Samoans provide visual proof of the native population's natural physique before the introduction of processed foods by Western society.
Samoans refer to people from Samoa, a completely different country southwest to the Hawaiian islands - Samoan Americans live in American Samoa, an unincorporated territory of the US, which is located near Samoa but is on the opposite side of the International Date Line.
What's the difference between Polynesians and Samoans?
Samoans are mainly of Polynesian heritage, and about nine-tenths of the population are ethnic Samoans. Euronesians (people of mixed European and Polynesian ancestry) account for most of the rest of the population, and a tiny fraction are of wholly European heritage.
One of the largest issues critics have with “Moana,” they said, is that it perpetuates the stereotypical image of the Pacific as an exotic tropical getaway. They argue that it continues American colonialism of the region. “In Hawaii, the impact of the American occupation is something nobody wants to see," Kelly said.
Māui is a character from Māori and Polynesian mythology. Though the stories about him do sometimes differ, he is consistently depicted as a clever, talented trickster. He's a demi-god, and he has supernatural powers, but still looks human.
The chiefs even, as we very well know, were not always and every- where men; Polynesian history provides examples of women who became important chiefs (Gunson 1987).
Native peoples of the Pacific resumed voyaging again a thousand years later. Clements and Musker set the film at that point in time, about two thousand years ago, on a fictional island in the central Pacific Ocean, which drew inspiration from elements of the real-life island nations of Fiji, Samoa, and Tonga.
The fictional movie takes place 3,000 years ago in the islands of Polynesia, an area that includes Hawaii, Tonga and Tahiti. The star is 16-year-old Moana, voiced by Hawaiian actress Auli'i Cravalho, who goes on an ocean voyage with Maui, voiced by Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson.
In the Disney film Moana, the relationship between Moana and Maui is not romantic because Moana is a sixteen year old girl and Maui is thousands of years old. This is a step up from prior Disney movies.
Hawaiian, any of the aboriginal people of Hawaii, descendants of Polynesians who migrated to Hawaii in two waves: the first from the Marquesas Islands, probably about ad 400; the second from Tahiti in the 9th or 10th century.
It is a beautiful Hawaiian given name meaning "ocean, sea, or expanse of water." The name has been a firm favorite among Polynesian communities for years, gaining global popularity with the release of Disney's epic animated film in 2016.
Moana is also the Samoan word for ocean, which is…you got it… blue. Let's look at a few more colours in Samoan, and I'll add a thought (if I can) about how we may have come up with the word for each colour.
Although Disney creators used their creative license in the fictionalized story of Moana, with the character of Maui, they did highlight some actual Polynesian origin myths.
