Moana 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. Moana returns in the sequel film Moana 2, which premiered in November 2024, again voiced by Cravalho, as well as a live-action remake film, in 2026, in which she is portrayed by Catherine Laga'aia.
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. When a blight strikes her island, Moana sets sail in search of Maui (Dwayne Johnson), a legendary demigod, in the hope of returning the relic to Te Fiti and saving her people. She then forms a crew and embarks on a voyage to recover the lost island of Motufetu and restore the channels that connected the people of the sea. It comes at the cost of her life, but she is revived as a demigoddess.
Moana received widespread critical acclaim for her independence as well as Cravalho for her vocal performance. By 2019, Moana was officially inducted into the Disney Princess line-up, becoming the twelfth member.
Development Conception and writing
After directing The Princess and the Frog (2009), Clements and Musker started working on an adaptation of Terry Pratchett's Mort, but problems with acquiring the necessary film rights prevented them from continuing with that project. To avoid a recurrence of that issue, they pitched three original ideas. The genesis of one of those ideas (the one that was ultimately green-lit) occurred in 2011, when Musker began reading up on Polynesian mythology and learned of the heroic exploits of the demigod Māui. Intrigued with the rich culture of Polynesia, he felt it would be a suitable subject for an animated film. Shortly thereafter, Musker and Clements wrote a treatment and pitched it to John Lasseter, who recommended that both of them should go on research trips. Accordingly, in 2012, Clements and Musker went on research trips to Fiji, Samoa, and Tahiti to meet the people of the South Pacific Ocean and learn about their culture. At first, they had planned to make the film entirely about Maui, but their initial research trips inspired Clements to pitch a new idea focused on the young daughter of a chief.
Clements and Musker were fascinated to learn during their research that the people of Polynesia abruptly stopped making long-distance voyages about three thousand years ago. Their navigational traditions predated those of European explorers, beginning around 300 CE. Native people of the Pacific possessed knowledge of the world and their place in it prior to the incursion of foreigners. For example, Kānaka Maoli (Native Hawaiians) were well aware of the existence of far away islands, had names for these places, and were interested in exploring them to benefit their societies. This voyaging heritage was made possible by a geographical knowledge system based on individual perspectives rather than the European cardinal direction system. The reasons for the halt of this voyaging tradition remain unknown, but scholars have offered climate change and resulting shifts in ocean currents and wind patterns as one possible explanation. Native peoples of the Pacific resumed voyaging again a thousand years later; Clements and Musker set the film at that point in time, about two thousand years ago. The setting on a fictional island in the central Pacific Ocean drew inspiration from elements of the real-life island nations of Fiji, Samoa, and Tonga.
Taika Waititi wrote the initial screenplay, but went home to New Zealand in 2012 to focus on his newborn first child and What We Do in the Shadows (2014). The first draft focused on Moana as the sole daughter in a family with "five or six brothers", in which gender played into the story. However, the brothers and gender-based themes were deleted from the story, as the directors thought Moana's journey should be about finding herself. A subsequent draft presented Moana's father as the one who wanted to resume voyage navigation, but it was rewritten to have him oppose navigation so he would not overshadow Moana. Instead, Pamela Ribon came up with the idea of a grandmother character for the film, who would serve as a mentor linking Moana to ancient traditions. Another version focused on Moana rescuing her father, who had been lost at sea. The film's story changed drastically during the development phase, and that idea ultimately survived only as a subtle element of the father's backstory.
Voice In late 2014, a global casting call for the role of Moana began. Cravalho did not consider auditioning for Moana as there had "already been so many great submissions over YouTube" and decided to focus on school instead as she was in her first year which was "confusing as it is". Cravalho was discovered at an audition to perform as entertainment at a non-profit event, without knowing that the agent who had attended those auditions was the same for Moana. Agent Rachel Sutton asked Cravalho if she wanted to audition for Moana; she was the last girl to be seen on the last day of casting. During her audition, Cravalho sang 30 seconds of her favorite Disney song—"I See the Light" from Tangled—as well as Hawaiian songs. Cravalho stated she was confused throughout the entire audition—especially the process of slating—but felt she "gave it [her] best in the audition and it worked really well." In October 2015, Cravalho was officially chosen as Moana's voice actress. Producer Osnat Shurer said: "We were looking for someone who could embody the character, with all the strength and commitment, humor, heart and compassion. When we met Auliʻi, she was just bringing Moana to life."
"I've grown up on an island all my life—so has she—and we're both deeply connected to our culture. I go to an all-Hawaiian school, so even the mythology and the folklore of Maui is something I grew up with. I love that Disney has taken the time and effort to do research about us and extensive research about our culture and find those wonderful stories about Maui. [...] Her journey is something I feel as well—that journey to find yourself. It's a recurring theme I think everyone can really take away [from]."—Auli'i Cravalho on her similarities with Moana Cravalho described Moana as being brave, beautiful, kind and strong, explaining she could list adjectives "all day". She called her a model for everyone, not just for girls. Furthermore, she stated that Moana recognises her desires and is eager to obtain them. The actress enjoyed viewing her development and her assistance to grow her culture. Cravalho stated Moana is "different" from other Disney characters since she was "truly described as a Disney heroine", being both "empowered and empowering" and not having a love interest. She compared her to Mulan since they were both "kick butt". Cravalho "thoroughly enjoyed and will always feel deeply connected to Moana and voicing her as the strong, independent, beautiful heroine that she is."
Since Cravalho had never done professional film work before, she was surprised about many things in the process. She recorded a line up to "30 or 40 times". She explained a different stress or emphasis on a particular word could create different emotions. 40 engineers would listen to her and listen to every grunt, voice change and volume change Cravalho made, listening for the exact emotion that they wanted to give in the film. Usually, the directors decided which take they would put in the final film. She also felt it was hard to be comfortable in the recording booth; usually, there were cameras for the animators to be able to add realistic facial expressions to the character. She was not sure how she should act while cameras were filming her recording her lines. When she sang, Cravalho needed the lights to be turned down. She asked for this since she did not want to feel like anybody was watching her since there were directors, animators, and writers watching her, sometimes sketching her and sometimes watching how she pronounced words. Cravalho was not used to the cameras and the "lights, camera, action" process and never recorded with co-stars Dwayne Johnson, Temuera Morrison, or Rachel House.
Cravalho reprised the role in 2017, dubbing the character again in the special Hawaiian-language dubbing of the movie. Cravalho reprised the role in Ralph Breaks the Internet where the character made a cameo appearance alongside the other Disney Princesses.
She reprised the role again by voicing Moana in Moana 2 in 2024. According to Cravalho, this was the first time "that a Disney princess has been allowed to age." Moana and Cravalho were both 16 when the first film came out, but within the sequel's narrative, only three years had elapsed, while the sequel was actually released eight years later. During those years, Cravalho had been asked to raise the pitch of her voice to sound like her former teenage self when recording lines for Disney fireworks shows, Disney on Ice, and Disney Lego Princess. She was delighted when the sequel's directors allowed her to record her lines using her natural voice as a woman in her early twenties.
International versions When the movie had its first theatrical release worldwide, it numbered 45 versions overall, including a special Tahitian-language dubbing created specifically for the movie. In June 2017, a Māori-language version of the movie, featuring four voice-actors from the original English cast, was announced. Three weeks later, New Zealander Jaedyn Randell was introduced as Moana's voice. The movie was released in September 2017. In the same year, Shruti Rane (Hindi) reprised her role in the Bengali-language version of the movie. In November 2017, a Hawaiian-language dubbing was announced to be underway, with Auliʻi Cravalho reprising her role as Moana. The movie premiered on June 10, 2018.
In many European countries, Moana's name was changed to "Vaiana" due to a trademark conflict. The film was released in those countries to bear the alternative name in the title.