Moana Waialiki of Motunui is the title character of the 2016 Walt Disney Animation Studios film Moana. Created by directors Ron Clements and John Musker, Moana is voiced by Hawaiian actress and singer Auliʻi Cravalho. As a toddler, she is voiced by Louise Bush.
The reasons behind the change of name are not completely clear, but a tweet from Disney España gives an important clue: 'Moana' is registered as a trademark in Spain, and in a number of other European countries, hence the change to Vaiana in Europe.
Moana (also known as Vaiana or Oceania in some markets) is a 2016 American animated musical fantasy action-adventure film produced by Walt Disney Animation Studios and released by Walt Disney Pictures.
Tempera Morrison plays Chief Tui, Moana's father, a leader that's cherished by the people of Moroni Island. Nicole Scherzinger plays Moana's mom Sina, who has a playful personality but still wants to protect her daughter from the dangers of the world.
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.
Merida and Pocahontas are the only Princesses to not be seen married, or have wedding dresses in the franchise. Belle and a few others were featured in Disney's Beautiful Brides book.
Though Moana and Te Fiti aren't related by blood like Anna and Elsa, the sacrifice underscores the large role nature plays in the film. “The idea that what we perceive as the villain of the film is actually 'nature wronged' was always an idea that we had, and wanted to build toward,” Shurer said.
But depending on where in the world people saw Moana, they might know the great animated movie by another name. Disney retitled Moana in different countries, with most European countries using Vaiana. This change was reflected in the movie too, as Moana's name was changed to Vaiana due to copyright issues.
5) In the film's novelization, Moana's age is given as 16. This makes her the only Disney princess to be voiced by an actress younger than herself. Moana was released on Cravalho's 16th birthday.
In Moana, Disney creators employed some creative license, but they did highlight some actual Polynesian origin myths. In “The Maui Myths,” Maori natives of Tolago (today called Tolaga) Bay, North Island, New Zealand recount Maui's mytho-history which aided in the creation of Moana.
Earlier drafts of Moana actually did feature Pua setting out on the adventure but screenwriter Jared Bush (Zootopia) felt it would be more stressful if Moana's best friend and source of comfort didn't come along. This made her journey more powerful when she succeeded.
The idea of having a pig character came from the filmmakers' research trips to the South Pacific islands, where they learned that pigs and roosters regularly joined the voyages of wayfinders. Pua and Moana's rooster friend Heihei were created as the comic relief sidekicks as a result.
On February 8, 2023, Disney CEO Bob Iger confirmed that Frozen 3 is in the works, along with Toy Story 5 and Zootopia 2. While news of a third Frozen film was a welcome one, we have yet to hear more details about the movie or see a trailer. Here's everything we know about Frozen 3.
Dwayne Johnson was “humbled (and excited)” to share the release date for Disney's upcoming live-action remake of Moana on Tuesday. The film will hit theaters on June 27, 2025, nine years after the original.
However, the filmmakers were willing to say one thing definitively: "Elsa's not going to have a romantic relationship in this," writer-director Jennifer Lee told a group of journalists gathered at Walt Disney Animation Studios.
Ariel appears as an adult in Return to the Sea and gives birth to a daughter named Melody, becoming the first, and currently, only, Disney princess to become a mother.
Nope. It turns out Moana just doesn't have one in the movie. "It's a film about the heroine finding herself," Musker and Clements revealed to EW about whether or not Moana was going to have a romance.
As for whether Elsa and Anna are white … the Northuldra are modeled on the Sami, an indigenous people scattered across northern Scandinavia and northwestern Russia who have faced a great deal of discrimination, but there's a lot of disagreement about the genetic and linguistic origins of Sami to this day.
