Page 30 - ARUBA TODAY

A30 PEOPLE & ARTS
Thursday 1 december 2016
‘Moana’ a Disney hit but portrayal irks some in the Pacific

NICK PERRY egotistical, albeit with a
Associated Press good heart. That has been
WELLINGTON, New Zealand jarring for some in Polyne-
(AP) — Disney’s animated sia, where obesity rates are
movie “Moana” debuted among the highest in the
to critical acclaim and world and where Maui is a
box office success over the revered hero in oral tradi-
Thanksgiving weekend, but tions.
some people in the South Criticism from the Pacific
Pacific dislike how it depicts has likely stung Disney,
their culture. which went to extraordi-
Of particular concern is nary lengths to ensure the
the movie’s portrayal of movie was culturally appro-
the demigod Maui, who is priate after being accused
shown as enormous and of racism in previous movies

This image released by Disney shows tenacious teenager Moana, left, voiced by Aulii Cravalho,
recruits a demigod named Maui, voiced by Dwayne Johnson, to help her become a master way-
finder and sail out on a daring mission to save her people.
Associated Press
such as “Aladdin” (1992). found that different islands, ager.
For “Moana,” the filmmak- villages, and even house- “They wanted to get it right
ers traveled to the Pacific holds, had different impres- commercially without get-
and met with anthropolo- sions of him. ting it wrong culturally,”
gists, historians, fisherman In all the stories, she said, Teaiwa said. “But there
and linguists, part of what Maui was clearly larger are some things that they
they came to call the Oce- than life. At first, however, clearly didn’t mind getting
anic Story Trust. they envisioned him as a wrong.”
The fictional movie takes little smaller, and bald. But She said there seemed to
place 3,000 years ago in he just seemed to grow as be a U.S. stereotype of Pa-
the islands of Polynesia, an the movie progressed. She cific Island men as huge,
area that includes Hawaii, said animators try to find perhaps because the main
Tonga and Tahiti. The star is the essence of a charac- exposure to them seemed
16-year-old Moana, voiced ter and then exaggerate to be through activities like
by Hawaiian actress Auli’i those features. NFL football.
Cravalho, who goes on an “We knew we wanted him Teaiwa said she was ap-
ocean voyage with Maui, to be big and wanted him palled by the Maui cos-
voiced by Dwayne “The to be strong,” she said. “But tume, particularly because
Rock” Johnson. he also moves with an in- some ethnologists from
The movie made $82 million credible lightness.” early last century had man-
over the five-day weekend, She said she hopes Pacific aged to collect the pre-
placing it behind only “Fro- Islanders see the movie served, tattooed skin of Pa-
zen” (2013) for a Thanksgiv- with an open mind. cific people who had died.
ing debut. “I feel good about the “I thought it was maca-
Disney suffered an early movie we’ve created and bre. I thought it was really
embarrassment when it that it can withstand scru- creepy,” she said of the
decided to sell costumes tiny,” she said. “All I can say costume. “It gave me the
of Maui, which featured is we did it with love and re- shudders to see something
brown shirts and long pants spect.” like that produced so light-
with full-body tattoos. Dis- In New Zealand, the movie ly and in such a trivial way.”
ney put the costumes in does not debut until after New Zealand politician
stores in time for Halloween, Christmas. But Teresia Teai- Marama Fox, the co-lead-
but quickly pulled them af- wa, a senior lecturer in Pa- er of the indigenous Maori
ter critics compared them cific studies at Victoria Uni- Party, said most Disney
to blackface. versity of Wellington, said heroes tended to look far
Producer Osnat Shurer, she was concerned about more muscular than Maui.
speaking by phone from the portrayal of Maui. “I still don’t think that’s an
Berlin where she was pro- “Before Disney, I’ve seen accurate depiction of
moting the movie, said the a lot of other representa- what Maui would look like
moviemakers spent five tions, and Maui is a hero,” or should look like,” she
years working closely with she said. “I think it’s clear said. “And it’s a little bit of
people in the Pacific to from the trailers I’ve seen cultural misappropriation.”
create what they believe is that he’s a buffoon in Dis- But asked if she planned to
a beautiful representation. ney. It’s a dramatic shift. see the movie, Fox, a moth-
“The costume fell short of He was a trickster but not a er of nine, said she had little
that,” she said. “As differ- buffoon.” choice.
ent things grow around Teaiwa said if Disney re- “How am I going to keep
the movie, sometimes they ally wanted to be culturally my kids away from singing
don’t hit the same mark.” correct they would have Maori people and Polyne-
Shurer said that when it paired Maui with a female sians?” she said. “Of course
came to figuring out the deity, as he is in most leg- they’re going to want to
character of Maui, they ends, and not with a teen- go and see it.”q