IW004 - Moana
“See the line where the sky meets the sea? It calls me
And no one knows, how far it goes
If the wind in my sail on the sea stays behind me
One day I'll know, if I go there's just no telling how far I'll go”
Moana sings to the sea from her home island - and the adventure begins.
To listen, click on the player below.
Photo by Louis Hansel. Licensed through Unsplash.
Every episode, we provide a show-themed picnic tailored especially for our listeners! Picnic while you watch the movie, picnic while you listen to our podcast, or picnic just because picnics are the best!
Island Watch Picnic Picks
for Moana
Here’s our customized Moana picnic. Pick and choose your edible adventure!
Set the scene: Even in a desperate hurry to start her quest, Moana provisions. Follow her lead: Gather a basketful of bananas, coconuts,and mangos, just like Moana takes on board for her journey. Oh, and later Maui feeds HeiHei nuts and seeds, so it’s best to throw in a can of macadamias! ( I mean, any excuse to eat macadamias, nom nom…)
Now, a choice of proteins:
Pork: Make it traditional.
And don’t eat it in front of your pet pig. One of Moana’s few faux pas.
Chicken: Though Moana’s pet chicken HeiHei (which means “chicken” in Maori) is considered snackable throughout the movie by hungry villagers and demi-gods, he survives. So out of respect, have some vegan chicken nuggets this time round.
Fish?: You’d expect fish on the menu, right? But as the islanders discover, there are no more fish. So no fish for you.
1,000-Year-Old Egg: Though not necessarily island related, this is a memorable way to acknowledge Maui’s millennium of exile.
Grilled Eel : Another Maui-related entrée. “I killed an eel,” he sings. “I buried its guts. Sprouted a tree, now you got coconuts”, combining Lin-Manual Miranda’s fantastic lyrics with Polynesian legend. (The actual legend isn’t even about Maui, but it’s a good tale.)
Photo by Teinesavaii. Public domain
Cake, people, cake! Moana faces a scary monster made of lava. All you have to do to conquer this chocolate lava cake is eat. it. up.
Option 2: a super on-trend chocolate island cake complete with jello sea ... it’s gotta be seen to be believed.
Coffee: Do not forget the caffeine! According to Maui, a real wayfinder never sleeps.
Sparkly, shiny somethings: Gold dusted meringues, perhaps? Or simple, delicious homemade spiced sugared cranberries.
Whatever lights you up.
Photo by Dave Hoefler. Licensed through Unsplash.
Island Hopping
We got curious. Did the actors from Moana go on to act in other island shows?
Moana: Auli’i Cravalho
Auli’i reprised the role of Moana in the Hawaiian-language version of Moana.
And in November 2019 she appeared as Ariel in The Wonderful World of Disney Presents The Little Mermaid Live!, an ABC musical TV special.
Maui: Dwayne Johnson
Oh, big news! The Rock will star in a new film from Robert Zemeckis (director of Cast Away, which we visited in Island Watch Episode 2). He’ll play King Kamehameha (1736-1819) fulfilling the prophecy of uniting the Hawaiian islands.
Tala: Rachel House
Rachel reprised her memorable grandmother role in the Maori-language version of Moana.
Aroha Bridge is another island animation she voiced from 2013-2019. It’s been described as "an honest, fresh, political take on contemporary Māori life."
Wrecked! is a crazy-looking action-comedy TV series that played out Lost/Gilligan’s Island-type scenarios on a deserted island. One season filmed on Puerto Rico, another on Fiji. Nice work if you can get it.
Tui: Temuera Morrison
Temuera reprised his role as Moana’s father in the Māori-language version of Moana.
In 2018, he played father again, this time to Jason Momoa’s Aquaman. The movie follows Aquaman as he leads the underwater kingdom of Atlantis to stop his half-brother from attacking the surface world.
Sina: Nicole Scherzinger
Nicole reprised her role as Moana’s mother in the Hawaiian-language version of Moana.
Tamatoa: Jemaine Clement
Jemaine reprised his role as the monster crab in the Māori-language version of Moana.
In 2017, he appeared in a few episodes of Wrecked! (see Rachel House, above)
And he’s made two shows with supernatural elements, both set on islands: What We Do in the Shadows, set on Staten Island, and Wellington Paranormal, set on New Zealand’s North Island.
**
None of the original actors voiced the Tahitian version of the film, but this clip features the voice actors who did appear, and reactions in Tahiti.
Photo by Abbie Bernet. Licensed through Unsplash.
Ratings
Because you asked... we now have ratings for all the shows and movies we watch.
To make sure you can find exactly the island show that's right for you, we answer two questions for each show:
Does this show make me feel like I’m actually on the island? That's our specialized Island Rating. No other show gives you that!
Do we recommend this show? Our Star Rating lets you know if we loved a show or not, regardless of the island.
***
Island Rating
Gemma: Splashing In The Surf (5 out of 5)
Disney gained a reputation for “creating magic” because they can make things look like this.
Dave: Splashing In The Surf (5 out of 5)
The animation, music, story and characterization all lend to a clear island atmosphere.
Star Rating:
Gemma: 5 out of 5
A quest movie that speaks kid’s language. Plus a great cast and all that beautiful, sing-a-longable, fun ear-worm music.
Dave: 4 out of 5
Disney came up with a highly entertaining tale.
Photo: YouTube/Disney
The Size Controversy
“Maui looking like after he fished up the Islands, he deep fried em and and ate em,” wrote Eliota Fuimanono Sapolu, a Samoan professional rugby player. Definitely Maui’s size in the movie doesn’t line up with the traditional view of him. Read more.
Photo: Walt Disney Records
Music, Music, Music
Opetaia Foa’i heads Te Vaka, the Polynesian group that performs most of the songs in Moana. If you like their sound, we recommend this album, available on their website.
Photo by Markus Winkler. Licensed through Unsplash.
Find The Island: This week’s puzzle features an island that’s home to one of the most dazzling optical illusions on earth.
Our next island: It’s our first mini-episode, and we’re off to Magnetic Island to see Izzy’s Koala World.
Messages in a Bottle: The best way to get in touch with us is by email. Send your questions and comments to us at islandwatchpodcast@gmail.com