There are many islands that are considered Polynesian, including (but not limited to): Hawaii, Samoa, Fiji, Tahiti, New Zealand, Easter Island and Tonga. In response to these previous criticisms, the corporation admitted that their research for Aladdin consisted of a sole visit to a Saudi Arabian exposition at the Convention Center in Los Angeles– hardly what you could call groundbreaking cultural research. Moana and Maui said goodbye. Their journey together was complete. Maui transformed into a hawk and flew away. It was time for Moana to return to her people. The young girl from Motunui Island now knew exactly who she was meant to be. She was a daughter, a leader, and a way-finder. She was Moana. You may also like to read, Princess Aurora.

Could this all be a very long drawn out and clever marketing ploy to in fact promote this new Hawaiian resort alongside the movie? If we place our criticisms about the movie to one side just for a moment, this then says to me that there are two key morals that the movie helped to showcase: So when it came to Moana, and this new storyline, the giant corporation was passionate about dispelling any thoughts of them not being sympathetic towards Pacific Island cultures, beliefs and values.This is why I’ve chosen to do some research on whether Disney did get the story of Moana right, whether Moana is based on a true story or not, (i.e. what is the “real” story of Moana) and whether the outcome of this should alter our perceptions of the movie. What is the story of Moana? Crossing the barrier reef has long since been a taboo within her hometown, but she‘ s a traveller and a wayfinder through and through. The TV was still on, but now they were watching Moana. The princesses had definitely gotten more badass since she was a little girl.” Thus, trying to include so many of these cultures within just one short Disney movie has not really done them justice.

If you’ve been keeping up with the news over the past year or so, you’ll know that the internet has been awash with many different views on the concept of Moana and whether it has been authentic and sympathetic to those cultures it was hoping to promote. I’ve always been in awe of cultures that centre around faith and a deep respect for human life and nature. That‘ s just one of the reasons why I’ve always been fascinated by the Japanese culture, (and hope to visit one day), and why Hawaii stole my heart. It’s very clear to anyone watching the movie that these core values have been tied closely to the narrative.

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Since watching Moana, those questions spinning around my brain on whether it’s sympathetic to the true Pacific Island cultures (albeit complex and varying) have continued to come into focus within my mind. Clements himself has said: “We took a trip to Fiji, Samoa and Tahiti, which really was the basis of the movie in terms of the connection to navigation, to people’s connection to their ancestry, and respect for nature – a lot of those ideas came from that first research trip, and the movie was heavily inspired by that.” However, coconuts have been previously attributed to describe Polynesian individuals (in a very negative way). Moana • Maui • Gramma Tala • Chief Tui • Sina • Heihei • Pua • Mini Maui • Tamatoa • Kakamora • Te Fiti/Te Kā • Ocean • Eight-Eyed Bats • Matai Vasa • Motunui Villagers

Thus, the idea behind coconuts should have probably been avoided in the movie. 5. Polynesian cultures differ far too much to be included in just one movie. Some say Te Fiti is a personalisa tion of the island of Tahiti, which is also pan Polynesian for “a faraway place”. This to me seems like a fair analysis. This means that children’s costumes associated with Maui have been thought to belittle and trivialise Polynesian beliefs and cultures because the costumes involve tattoos all over the body (as per the character in the movie). 3. Many are confused by the omittance of the Goddess Hina. Video games: Moana: Island Life • Moana: Rhythm Run • Disney Emoji Blitz • Disney Heroes: Battle Mode • Disney Magic Kingdoms • Disney Sorcerer's Arena

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At the end of the day, Moana is a children’s movie (and a popular one at that). Should any of this really matter? Thus, any attempt at showcasing different cultures and beliefs will help to dispel any confusion or misunderstanding of other people in the world, right? This is something I search for when travelling: to understand other people and their cultures better. media translations. Respect to Sutherland for so effectively "translating" the movie into written word. Now, I don’ t wish to go into too much more detail on the plot as I’m not interested in producing any spoilers. If you have yet to watch Moana and want to know more, well then, you’ll just have to watch it.

Definitely for fans of Disney in general! According to H, who loaned it to me: "It's pretty much exactly the movie without the music, but with the extra stuff from the past, which really helped me understand the story better." This is so cute ahh!! I'm gonna give this book to my cousins! Can be used as a bedtime story, vocab lesson, and comprehension/cross-media analysis tool for kiddos in ELAR classes.Tulou Tagaloa • An Innocent Warrior • Where You Are • How Far I'll Go • We Know the Way • You're Welcome • Shiny • Logo Te Pate • I Am Moana (Song of the Ancestors) • Know Who You Are This was Disney’s attempt at countering any racist perceptions of the corporation, so surely it should have been an important project to get right? I believe it’s important to understand other people’s cultures. I love reading travel blogs, watching movies and documentaries about a place and scanning news articles to help me better understand all of the incredible cultures found in every corner of the globe. And just thinking of this actually, Cravalho herself declared that she‘ d been attending an all Hawaiian school at the time of filming, which had been teaching about Hawaiian myths (including that of Maui).