Disclosure: This post contains affiliate posts.<\/em><\/p>\n Moana, Disney’s latest animated film, has a lot of elements that appealed to both me and my daughter.<\/p>\n A strong female protagonist? Check!<\/p>\n New and beautiful setting for a Disney film? It’s set in Oceania, so check!<\/p>\n Adorable sidekicks? Check!<\/p>\n Appreciation of the environment? Check!<\/p>\n A story about the connection to the past while also looking toward the future? Check!<\/p>\n Music by Lin-Manuel Miranda, one of our favorites? Check!<\/p>\n Knowing what went on behind the scenes of the making of Moana made me appreciate\u00a0the film even more. Here are some fun facts about my favorite parts of Moana.<\/p>\n How the\u00a0Ocean becomes a true character<\/strong><\/p>\n The ocean is nonverbal, but it plays a huge role in Moana. It really is a character in its own right, displaying a great deal of personality.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n The rigging team built a rig with a curved wave-like shape that could be varied depending on the need of the story\u00a0in order to\u00a0bring\u00a0that personality, emotion, and spirit to the big screen.<\/p>\n Lin-Manuel Miranda\u00a0brought his musical talents (as well as his\u00a0dance skills)<\/strong><\/p>\n Moana isn’t a musical, but the soundtrack<\/a> is great. Lin-Manuel Miranda (of Hamilton<\/a> fame), Opetaia Foa\u2018i, and Mark Mancina composed the music. Miranda and\u00a0Foa\u2018i even perform “We Know the Way<\/a>.”<\/p>\n The powerhouse musical trio met in New Zealand at Pasifika, one of the biggest Polynesian cultural festivals. Miranda was quickly pulled onstage by the dancers to join dance. It turned out to be a competition with other audience members. Miranda won, and proved that he’s a man of many talents.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019d been there two days already,\u201d says Mancina. \u201cAnd I didn\u2019t even know where the restrooms were. Meanwhile, he hops up onstage and wins this contest. He\u2019s a very talented guy.\u201d<\/p>\n Miranda’s official\u00a0invite to join the\u201cMoana\u201d musical team\u00a0was not the biggest news he received that week – it was also when he learned that\u00a0his wife was expecting their first baby.<\/p>\n Learning about Oceania and Polynesian culture<\/strong><\/p>\n Moana\u00a0is inspired in part by oral histories of the people and cultures of Oceania, and filmmakers traveled there to learn as much as they could from direct sources.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n I loved that this was a new setting for Disney and that it helped educate me about Polynesian culture.<\/p>\n Filmmakers consulted a group of\u00a0advisors called the Oceanic Story Trust (OST). \u00a0Members of the trust span a wide variety of areas, including anthropologists, educators, linguists, master tattooists, choreographers, haka practitioners, master navigators, and cultural advisors who collaborated with Disney\u2019s creative team.<\/p>\n Maui\u2019s hook<\/a>, which is inspired by a real constellation known by the same name in\u00a0Oceania and Scorpio, is stylized to emulate the character\u2019s prized possession.<\/p>\n All the characters in \u201cMoana\u201d wear outfits made only from materials that would have been available to them 2,000 years ago.<\/p>\n Speaking of Maui, he’s awesome<\/strong><\/p>\n Dwayne Johnson (aka “The Rock”) does a tremendous job as the voice of Maui. He’s hilarious and endearing, but far from perfect. His voice fits the character perfectly.<\/p>\n Their appearances were originally going to match up more than they do now. Maui was originally drawn as bald. However, Oceanic Story Trust consultants from Tahiti advised filmmakers that Maui, the subject of many and varied legends, was typically imagined with a full head of hair.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n Nods to\u00a0Disney of the past<\/strong><\/p>\n I love that there are a few nods to some of our old Disney pals. Some fun characters make\u00a0a cameo early in the film. (Not to spoil anything, but their names rhyme with Flirt and Flush) But that’s not all.\u00a0Maui\u2019s tattoos feature \u201cMini Maui\u201d that act as his conscience, weighing in on his decisions whether he asks for their opinion or not.<\/p>\n Watching the film, I thought that Mini Maui was a throw back to old school Disney. Turns out that’s exactly what the animators intended. They\u00a0created him using traditional hand-drawn techniques by Walt Disney Animation Studios\u2019 animator Eric Goldberg and his team. Mini Maui is akin to Jiminy Cricket, the official conscience of Pinocchio<\/a>.<\/p>\n All facts are courtesy of Disney. Photos are\u00a0\u00a92016 Disney. All Rights Reserved.<\/p>\n You May Also Like:\u00a0<\/strong>The new Rogue One: A Star Wars Story trailer is here!<\/a><\/p>\n Prior Post:\u00a0<\/strong>5 fun facts about Anna Kendrick<\/a><\/p>\n Don\u2019t miss a post! Please subscribe to Between Us Parents\u2019 spam-free email list in the box in the top right corner of the page!<\/p>\n Please like Between Us Parents on\u00a0Facebook<\/a>. Also, you can find Between Us Parents on\u00a0Pinterest<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Twitter<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Disclosure: This post contains affiliate posts. Moana, Disney’s latest animated film, has a lot of elements that appealed to both me and my daughter. A strong female protagonist? Check! New and beautiful setting for a Disney film? It’s set in Oceania, so check! Adorable sidekicks? Check! Appreciation of the environment? Check! A story about the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":5955,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[4,5,12],"tags":[121,379],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/betweenusparents.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5944"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/betweenusparents.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/betweenusparents.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/betweenusparents.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/betweenusparents.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5944"}],"version-history":[{"count":12,"href":"http:\/\/betweenusparents.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5944\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5975,"href":"http:\/\/betweenusparents.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5944\/revisions\/5975"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/betweenusparents.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5955"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/betweenusparents.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5944"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/betweenusparents.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5944"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/betweenusparents.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5944"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"moana575f024d56a90\"](\"http:\/\/betweenusparents.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/Moana575f024d56a90.jpg\")
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<\/a><\/p>\n![\"MOANA](\"http:\/\/betweenusparents.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/Moana582ac0728ae76-1024x429.jpg\")
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