However, some doubts were still raised about the film’s cultural accuracy and political correctness. The soundtrack features some Tokelauan language (as well as Lin-Minuel Miranda of Hamilton and Jermaine Clement of Flight of the Conchords ). Dwayne Johnson has Samoan ancestry as well. The voice actor they chose to play Moana is Auli’i Cravalho, the sixteen-year-old from Kohala, Hawaii. They created the Oceanic Story Trust specifically for this task, and checked the details-the patterns of Moana’s skirts, the persona of a demigod in legends, or the uses of coconut fiber-against the knowledge of historians, artists and elders in Polynesian communities. Attempting to discontinue this trend, the directors of Moana conducted research trips to South Pacific islands where they listened to firsthand experiences and perspectives of Polynesian people. There are questionably racialized characters in the Jungle Book, Lady and the Tramp, Fantasia, and many more films by Disney. The opening theme from Aladdin called the Middle East “barbaric”. Native American characters are referred to as “red” in Peter Pan, and “savages” in Pocahontas. In the past, the company has been called out for racist depictions of characters of Color. The main character isn’t the only thing that deviates from traditional Disney. When we look at the cast of recent Disney Pixar princesses, Moana stands alone amongst thin, white characters. While the ultra-thin waist of Disney princess cannon remains the same, Moana’s arms, legs, shoulders, neck, hands and even feet are proportioned much closer to that of the average human. Moana also made major strides in the representation of the human body. There is a complete lack of romantic love interest. Not only is she the first Polynesian Disney princess, her movie is the first in history to not mention marriage or a romantic relationship for the main character. There are two significant differences between Moana and most other Disney princess films. Both movies were directed by John Musker and Ron Clements. Like Frozen, Moana focuses on the relationship of the heroine to her family, her community, and her role in the world. Moana is the daughter of a chief instead, and that’s not the only way she breaks the boundaries of a Disney leading lady. “If you wear a dress, and you have an animal sidekick, you’re a princess,” quips Dwayne Johnson’s voice as Maui, the movie’s demigod antihero.
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