Moana, Curiosities About the Live-Action Movie

Moana, the Movie's Plot

Moana is the upcoming adventure movie. The plot follows that of the animated movie from which it is adapted, Moana (2016): here 3000 years ago, the all-powerful goddess Te Fiti created life only to fall into a deep sleep, becoming an island. Her heart was transformed into a small pounamu sculpture, and the demigod Maui stole the goddess's heart. Since sea monsters also craved the heart, the island's balance was broken. Now it is Moana, a 16-year-old young woman, the only daughter of the chief - and who wants to revive her people's ancestral customs - who begins her journey alongside Maui to recover the goddess's heart and save her island and her people from disappearing.

Moana, Cast Interviews from the Movie

Dwayne Johnson, who reprised the role of demigod Maui, stated: "I had never experienced anything like this before, and I've had the privilege of playing many characters in the past, but the reason this time was different is, first of all, that this is our culture in the flesh."

"I finally saw the movie, the definitive version of Moana, only two weeks ago. It really moved me. I know people will say: 'Oh, you seem biased, DJ', but it really moved me, and that's not a word I often use to describe movies I've made, with the exception of The Smashing Machine. This is a beautiful movie, it captures you completely, and I thought that maybe the audience wouldn't expect to be so involved, because they already know the story. But there are also some scenes that weren't present in the animated version."

Moana, the Movie's Cast

Dwayne Johnson has the role of Maui, which he already played with his voice in the 2016 movie: John Tui is the chief of the Polynesian village on the island of Motunui, Moana's wise and overprotective father; Frankie Adams plays Moana's mother; Rena Owen is Moana's elderly paternal grandmother. Moana has the face of Catherine Laga'aia, who is making her debut: actress Rena Owen is Gramma Tala. The direction is by Thomas Kail, who has already directed Hamilton and episodes of Fosse/Verdon.

Auli'i Cravalho, voice of Moana in the 2016 animated movie and in the 2024 sequel, is executive producer. Among the executive producers are also director Thomas Kail, Scott Sheldon, Charles Newirth, and Johnson himself. A team of nine writers worked on the screenplay, including the writers of the original movie, Ron Clements, John Musker and Chris Williams. The original movie grossed $687.2 million.

Moana, Streaming and On Demand

Moana (2016) is available streaming on Disney+. It is on-demand on Google Play, iTunes, Rakuten, Microsoft Store, Amazon Prime Video.