By 2019, Moana was inducted into the Disney Princess line-up, becoming the twelfth member of the media franchise, and toyline featuring female protagonists from various Disney animated films.
The Hawaiian-language version of Moana is being produced by the University of Hawaiʻi Academy for Creative Media (ACM) System in collaboration with Walt Disney Character Voices International.
The original animated “Lilo & Stitch” follows the relationship between Lilo, a lonely young Hawaiian girl, and an alien she names Stitch, who was engineered for destruction.
Nobody's saying Maui, that most rascally of Polynesian demigods, isn't strong. He once beat the Sun into submission with a jawbone and yanked the Hawaiian Islands out from the bottom of the ocean. So yes, Maui's strong.
Kawānanakoa held no formal title but was considered a princess because her lineage included the royal family that once ruled the Hawaiian islands. She was a reminder of Hawaii's monarchy and a symbol of its national identity that endured after the kingdom was overthrown by American businessmen in 1893.
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.
Raya is a fictional character in Walt Disney Animation Studios' animated film Raya and the Last Dragon (2021). Created by screenwriter Adele Lim, she is voiced by American actress Kelly Marie Tran. The daughter of the chief of the Heart tribe, Raya is a warrior princess who is appointed the guardian of the Dragon Gem.
Created by author Robert D. San Souci, Mulan is based on the legendary Chinese warrior Hua Mulan from the poem the Ballad of Mulan, making her the first Disney Princess not to be based on a fairytale or folktale but rather a legend.
A little Hawaiian orphan girl named Lilo(Daveigh Chase)adopts a precocious "pet" that is actually an extra-terrestrial experiment known as 626 and soon to be named Stitch.
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!
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.
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.
In Anastasia's case, this means she technically just became a Disney princess. Anastasia tells the fictionalized story of the Tsar Nicholas II of Russia's daughter who was the only family member rumored to have survived the Romanov's execution.
Raya means “celebration” in Bahasa Melayu and the name of Disney's first Southeast Asian princess could not be more apt. After all, there is so much to celebrate about Raya And The Last Dragon, a film of many firsts.
Disney is finally coming up with an Indian Princess. The Disney franchise is collaborating with filmmaker Gurinder Chadha and screenwriter Paul Mayeda Berges for an original musical feature. The film will reportedly be about a 'dynamic princess' from the pages of Indian history.
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.
Meaning:Trickster god. Maui is a boy's name of Hawaiian and Maori origin. This name belongs to a trickster god in Polynesian mythology, and was also given to one of the Hawaiian islands. The 2016 Disney film Moana brought the name Maui into popular culture with Dwayne Johnson's playful portrayal of the god.
