Moana

[disneyprincess11]

MORE DETAILS ON THE CHARACTERS (Minor spoilers)

Moana being an animated film, and a Walt Disney Animation Studios animated film at that, many details will be tweaked during production, to the betterment of the storytelling. As far as I know, however, the chief of these tree spirits is called Mokemoke and he's incredibly chatty. Mokemoke means 'lonely' so I can see why he'd have a lot to talk about when he hooks up with other characters.
Casting for Mokemoke has yet to be announced but I think the role sounds perfect for Jemaine Clement. Maybe I should pop down to Ladbrokes and put a fiver on it; the film's script was co-written by Clement's friend and collaborator Taika Waititi, after all.

In lieu of being able to explain who this is, I will say that one of the key characters not presented in toy form is Te Po, the living island. She's certainly on a different scale to these toys. Once very lush, she's now rocky and fiery. She was revealed in concept art at the D23 presentation. What isn't widely known, just yet, is that she plays a very key part in the story. She's angry at mankind for the destruction wrought upon her body by settlers, and decides that the world would probably be better off without people.


Read more: http://www.denofgeek.com/uk/movies/moan ... z4DczCAXGa

[disneyprincess11]

MORE DETAILS ON THE CHARACTERS (Minor spoilers)

Moana being an animated film, and a Walt Disney Animation Studios animated film at that, many details will be tweaked during production, to the betterment of the storytelling. As far as I know, however, the chief of these tree spirits is called Mokemoke and he's incredibly chatty. Mokemoke means 'lonely' so I can see why he'd have a lot to talk about when he hooks up with other characters.
Casting for Mokemoke has yet to be announced but I think the role sounds perfect for Jemaine Clement. Maybe I should pop down to Ladbrokes and put a fiver on it; the film's script was co-written by Clement's friend and collaborator Taika Waititi, after all.

In lieu of being able to explain who this is, I will say that one of the key characters not presented in toy form is Te Po, the living island. She's certainly on a different scale to these toys. Once very lush, she's now rocky and fiery. She was revealed in concept art at the D23 presentation. What isn't widely known, just yet, is that she plays a very key part in the story. She's angry at mankind for the destruction wrought upon her body by settlers, and decides that the world would probably be better off without people.


Read more: http://www.denofgeek.com/uk/movies/moan ... z4DczCAXGa

ANOTHER villain with a tragic back story? Really? And I'm going to call that Alan Tudyk is Mokemoke.

[jazzflower92]

MORE DETAILS ON THE CHARACTERS (Minor spoilers)

Moana being an animated film, and a Walt Disney Animation Studios animated film at that, many details will be tweaked during production, to the betterment of the storytelling. As far as I know, however, the chief of these tree spirits is called Mokemoke and he's incredibly chatty. Mokemoke means 'lonely' so I can see why he'd have a lot to talk about when he hooks up with other characters.
Casting for Mokemoke has yet to be announced but I think the role sounds perfect for Jemaine Clement. Maybe I should pop down to Ladbrokes and put a fiver on it; the film's script was co-written by Clement's friend and collaborator Taika Waititi, after all.

In lieu of being able to explain who this is, I will say that one of the key characters not presented in toy form is Te Po, the living island. She's certainly on a different scale to these toys. Once very lush, she's now rocky and fiery. She was revealed in concept art at the D23 presentation. What isn't widely known, just yet, is that she plays a very key part in the story. She's angry at mankind for the destruction wrought upon her body by settlers, and decides that the world would probably be better off without people.


Read more: http://www.denofgeek.com/uk/movies/moan ... z4DczCAXGa

ANOTHER villain with a tragic back story? Really? And I'm going to call that Alan Tudyk is Mokemoke.

I don't think she will be a surprise villain, but instead an anti-villain like Long John Silver. Haven't people been clamoring for Disney to do more anti-villains.

[Disney's Divinity]

Is Te Po the lava goddess? It's been so long since we've heard about/seen anything of her, that I have no idea if it's the same character or not. They'd rather put the least interesting character in the spotlight (Maui).

[Sotiris]

There's going to be a Moana panel at SDCC.

Moana: Art of Story
Thursday July 21, 2016
12:30pm - 1:30pm
Room 6A

Legendary directors Ron Clements (Little Mermaid, Aladdin, Hercules, Treasure Planet, Princess and the Frog) and John Musker (Little Mermaid, Aladdin, Hercules, Treasure Planet, Princess and the Frog) lead a panel of artists as they give a behind-the-scenes look at Walt Disney Animation Studios' upcoming animated comedy-adventure Moana, a sweeping, CG-animated feature film about an adventurous teenager who sails out on a daring mission to save her people. Once on her journey, Moana meets the once-mighty demigod Maui, who guides her in her quest to become a master wayfinder. Together, they sail across the open ocean on an action-packed voyage, and along the way, Moana fulfills the ancient quest of her ancestors and discovers the one thing she's always sought: her own identity.

Source: https://comiccon2016.sched.org/event/7ezi

[DisneyFan09]

Cool!

[D82]

Is Te Po the lava goddess? It's been so long since we've heard about/seen anything of her, that I have no idea if it's the same character or not. They'd rather put the least interesting character in the spotlight (Maui).

I was wondering the same while I was reading that article. I think it's the same character. Here's a description of the lava goddess from the last D23 Expo:

Moana hopes to find the long lost island she’s heard about in stories in order to connect with her heritage. On this journey she’ll have to battle bad monsters of the deep and confront a vengeful land spirit, who will be visualized with volcanic black skin and lava hair. A very brief proof of concept clip showed the lava oozing out of the land spirit, erupting with its emotions.

Source: http://www.slashfilm.com/moana-d23/

I don't think she will be a surprise villain, but instead an anti-villain like Long John Silver.

I think that too.

[Disney's Divinity]

^Thank you. For some reason I thought the villainess would be a lava character that could move around, not a character confined to one island… I think you’re both right about her being an anti-villain, too. So a great villain is also not going to happen...

All I'm I’m looking forward to at this point is, I guess, the ocean scenery and Moana (the character) and her relationship with her grandmother? Everything so far sounds like the typical Lasseter film with only touches of M&C--even moreso than with their last film. My interest/expectations are so much lower for this than they were for TP&TF right now. With that film, my interest started low and increased over time (even though knowing Randy Newman would be involved made me salty for a while), where it’s been the reverse with this one—sort of like what happened with Wreck-It Ralph.

[Disney Analysis]

I was at the Annecy Festival and saw the sneak peeks, including the introduction of the movie (with Disney and WDAS logos, opening on a Oceanian song (similar to the Frozen introduction)), and in the five first minutes we can see Maui and the lava godess named He Haka. The Mother Island is named Te Fiti and Moana's island is Motunui.

[D82]

I was at the Annecy Festival and saw the sneak peeks, including the introduction of the movie (with Disney and WDAS logos, opening on a Oceanian song (similar to the Frozen introduction)), and in the five first minutes we can see Maui and the lava godess named He Haka. The Mother Island is named Te Fiti and Moana's island is Motunui.

Thanks for the clarification! Then, I was wrong. The island and the lava goddess are two different characters after all.

If it isn't too much to ask, could you tell us more about the first five minutes of the film you saw?

[Disney Analysis]

Actually, Te Fiti Is the mother island who creates the other islands. Her form looks like a sleeping woman.

He Haka is the goddess of Earth and Fire.

Maui is the demi-God of Wind and Waters.

Tui is the chief of Motonui island, which is Moana's home island, and Moana's father.

Moana's grandmother is story teller.

And the Kakamoras are described as "Coconut Club of Pirates".

Hei Hei is very stupid, with a IQ near to 0.

No informations about Pua.

[Disney Analysis]

If it isn't too much to ask, could you tell us more about the first five minutes of the film you saw?

I made a description of each scenes we saw on the "Vaiana" topic on the French forum Disney Central Plaza (disneycentralplaza.com)

[disneyprincess11]

Oh crap, Moana will NOT join the lineup.

For the record, Princess Leia doesn’t count as a member of this group, at least in Disney’s eyes. And celebration over the introduction of a Pacific Islander princess in “Moana” has apparently been premature. Because the film barely mentions her lineage, the company will not be calling Moana a princess, according to a Disney spokesman.

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/07/11/busin ... .html?_r=0

[Sotiris]

And celebration over the introduction of a Pacific Islander princess in “Moana” has apparently been premature. Because the film barely mentions her lineage, the company will not be calling Moana a princess, according to a Disney spokesman.

This is incredibly odd. I really I'm befuddled by Disney's decision. There must be some other reason they're not including her in the line-up because the excuse they gave makes no sense. Pocahontas is not referred to as a princess in her film at all (though she is in the sequel) and Mulan isn't even a princess but both of them were included in the franchise. Maybe they think princesses of color don't sell well?

One thing's for sure. The fans are going to eat them alive. There's definitely going to be an uproar over the racist implications of not including her in the line-up.

[Warm Regards]

And celebration over the introduction of a Pacific Islander princess in “Moana” has apparently been premature. Because the film barely mentions her lineage, the company will not be calling Moana a princess, according to a Disney spokesman.

This is incredibly odd. I really I'm befuddled by Disney's decision. There must be some other reason they're not including her in the line-up because the excuse they gave makes no sense. Pocahontas is not referred to as a princess in her film at all (though she is in the sequel) and Mulan isn't even a princess but they were still included in the franchise. Maybe they think princesses of color don't sell well?

One thing's for sure. The fans are going to eat them alive. There's definitely going to be an uproar over the racist implications of not including her in the line-up.

My guess is that Disney is predicting/ assuming Moana will be the next Frozen. If Anna and Elsa become official Disney Princesses, suddenly the Frozen line plummets in value. The same theoretically could apply for Moana. They don't want to waste a possible new franchise to support an old one.

I feel maybe they're expecting too much though... this reminds me of the 90s, where Disney executives thought Lion King was a one off thing and Pocahontas was gonna be the money maker .

I think they think Moana is gonna be more lucrative than, say, Frozen or Zootopia when really it's up in the air on how well original ideas will perform.

[DisneyFan09]

And celebration over the introduction of a Pacific Islander princess in “Moana” has apparently been premature. Because the film barely mentions her lineage, the company will not be calling Moana a princess, according to a Disney spokesman.

The irony is that Disney has labeled her movie as a Princess movie, as they've done with all of the "Princess"-movies post 2009 (mostly due to the success of the Princess franchise). And they'll definitively will continue to do so. The reason to not claim Moana as a Princess is somewhat understandable. But it's still lame overall.

Pocahontas is not referred to as a princess in her film at all (though she is in the sequel

Correct me if I'm wrong, but remember that (fortunately) the 90's were an era where the Princess lineup wasn't as prominant as it is today. Though Disney heroines could've been labeled as Princesses, they weren't as much as they are today. So therefore the havoc about Pocahontas' chieftan blood were minor. And fortunately the late 90's were an era where Disney strayed away from making the heroines a Princess (remember that even Megara from Hercules was made a commoner, despite being an actual Princess in the myths).

I made a description of each scenes we saw on the "Vaiana" topic on the French forum Disney Central Plaza (disneycentralplaza.com)

What's your username there? The last post made on the "Vaiana" board was made July 3rd.

[Sotiris]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but remember that (fortunately) the 90's were an era where the Princess lineup wasn't as prominant as it is today.

That's because the Disney Princess brand didn't exist until 2000.

What's your username there? The last post made on the "Vaiana" board was made July 3rd.

They have the same username there too. This is the post in question.

[D82]

Actually, Te Fiti Is the mother island who creates the other islands. Her form looks like a sleeping woman.

He Haka is the goddess of Earth and Fire.

Maui is the demi-God of Wind and Waters.

Tui is the chief of Motonui island, which is Moana's home island, and Moana's father.

Moana's grandmother is story teller.

And the Kakamoras are described as "Coconut Club of Pirates".

Hei Hei is very stupid, with a IQ near to 0.

No informations about Pua.

Many thanks for all the info, Disney Analysis! Your description of the scenes on the Disney Central Plaza forum was very detailed and very interesting. I liked many things from those scenes. The film looks great so far.

[DisneyFan09]

That's because the Disney Princess brand didn't exist until 2000.

I'm not trying to quarrel, but in some ways it existed priorly. Remember the Princess Magazines and the Princess toys? https://www.google.no/search?q=disney+m ... kQ_AUIBigB Perhaps the Franchise wasn't the same as it is today, but still.

They have the same username there too. This is the post in question.

Thanks

[Sotiris]

I'm not trying to quarrel, but in some ways it existed priory.

Some merch of the Disney princesses together existed but those were few and far between. And they weren't under a specific brand across various platforms like today.