EMPIRE - MOANA'S DIRECTORS ON HOW THEY CREATED DWAYNE JOHNSON'S MAUI
This article is where Empire talked to Moana's directors John Musker and Ron Clements about the elements that went into creating Maui. They break the character down into themes; the voice, the mythology, the tattoos, etc. Specifically, I looked into how they made the character hand-in-hand with an Oceanic trust to make sure they got the details down correctly.
"Very early on, probably in consultation with our Oceanic Story Trust, some of the feedback we got from them was that they recommended not to draw the movie in one specific culture. There were bits from different cultures that we wanted to wed together in this story. It took on its own life and grew differently. Obviously with the islands being separated at times by whatever, politics etc, the cultures evolved differently."
- John Musker
They also talk about how Maui's larger figure was decided upon in an attempt to make him more like a demi-god, who was able to accomplish the feats his myths claimed he could.
"He was short of stature because we'd read about that in some of the myths. When we designed him, we really felt that he was a demi-god. He's gotta pull up islands, he's gotta battle monsters. So we thought he was of superhero-like proportions, broad-shouldered and a big, solid man-mountain kind of a guy."
- John Musker
This article is an interview with character art director Bill Schwab, and goes more in depth on some details the directors only lightly went over.
One of his main points was about how important research was to make Maui, and the entire world of Moana, to seem right.
"What shells did they have, what would have been available? What ancient dyes did they use? And what of their wood and woven materials?"
- Bill Schwab
The article elaborates on this further, claiming Schwab and his team thoroughly looked into the tattoos of Samoan chiefs.
This article delved into how Maui's tattoos all have significant meaning to the Maori people, since they all come from the actual Maui mythology. The tattoos are shown off in the "You're Welcome" sequence from the film, where every tale Maui tells are all true.
("You're Welcome" from Moana - credit: Walt Disney Animation Studios)
This would be a good way to show off the dedicated research the character designers did on the mythology of Maui, and how they translated it into his actual character design. I followed this up with a look at the Genius analysis of the You're Welcome, and they went more in depth into the actual stories.
VANITY FAIR - HOW PACIFIC ISLANDERS HELPED "MOANA" FIND ITS WAY
This article goes more in depth about the Oceanic Trust the filmmakers and character designers worked with on Moana. This trust was made up of Polynesian anthropologists, cultural practitioners, historians, linguists and choreographers, who all chipped in whenever the team needed their expertise, or when the Trust found incorrect details.
This trust helped out on even the most minute details, from the clothes down to what the curtains would look like in Moana's house. Scenes involving Moana kicking coconuts were shot down by the trust, since it was seen as "absolutely offensive". The trust's biggest influence to Moana was in Maui's design.
The relationship between the Trust and the character designers was vital to Maui's final look, and should absolutely be cited in the presentation.
NEW YORK TIMES - HOW (AND WHY) MAUI GOT SO BIG IN "MOANA"
The final article I found was on the deliberate choices made on Maui's design; most notably, his larger size. When the character was first revealed, there was some upset from Polynesian communities about how the demigod was designed.
This article also gives us an exact quote used to justify Maui's larger size, straight from the film's producer Osnat Shurer.
VANITY FAIR - HOW PACIFIC ISLANDERS HELPED "MOANA" FIND ITS WAY
This article goes more in depth about the Oceanic Trust the filmmakers and character designers worked with on Moana. This trust was made up of Polynesian anthropologists, cultural practitioners, historians, linguists and choreographers, who all chipped in whenever the team needed their expertise, or when the Trust found incorrect details.
"Musker and Clements originally imagined that the scene would depict ancient sailors decked out in traditional Papua New Guinean face paint, ornamental headdresses, and jewelry—until the Trust shut that down, pointing out that those would be hilariously impractical outfits to wear to sea."
This trust helped out on even the most minute details, from the clothes down to what the curtains would look like in Moana's house. Scenes involving Moana kicking coconuts were shot down by the trust, since it was seen as "absolutely offensive". The trust's biggest influence to Moana was in Maui's design.
"We have to put more hair on Maui’s head, because it’s very important. The mana is in the hair, the power of the demigod. It looked just like he was naked. For us, it was really important."
- Hinano Murphy
The relationship between the Trust and the character designers was vital to Maui's final look, and should absolutely be cited in the presentation.
NEW YORK TIMES - HOW (AND WHY) MAUI GOT SO BIG IN "MOANA"
The final article I found was on the deliberate choices made on Maui's design; most notably, his larger size. When the character was first revealed, there was some upset from Polynesian communities about how the demigod was designed.
"I have seen the trailer to this film, and I was astonished that anyone would depict Maui like this..."
- Gavin Bishop, Maori artist
This article also gives us an exact quote used to justify Maui's larger size, straight from the film's producer Osnat Shurer.
"Even in the myths where he’s small, he’s larger than life. And in animation, we’re not literal. You’re trying to find the essence of the character. We always felt that the audience needed to know right away, visually, that this guy is stronger than anybody else."
- Osnat Shurer
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