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<\/p>\nOne of the common questions posed in the comments section on the trailer for Disney’s live action Moana is why has it come so soon after Moana 2, which was released in 2024.<\/p>\n
It also comes a decade after the beloved original animated film, which was nominated for two Oscars.<\/p>\n
Ten years may sound like a long time, but in Disney terms it isn’t.<\/p>\n
Fans waited 34 years for a live action The Little Mermaid and 65 years for Cinderella.<\/p>\n
But the longest gap goes to Snow White, which took 88 years.<\/p>\n
In the film, Moana (Catherine Laga\u02bbaia) answers the ocean’s call and, for the first time, voyages beyond the reef of her island of Motunui with the infamous demigod Maui (Dwayne Johnson) on a journey to restore prosperity to her people.<\/p>\n
Social media users are bemoaning that Disney is leaning on popular intellectual property instead of coming up with new ideas.<\/p>\n
But Moana isn’t just another movie.<\/p>\n
At a special event held at Sydney’s ICC, members of the cast and crew walked the blue carpet including Johnson, who is also a producer of the movie, and Laga\u02bbaia, who is a Sydneysider.<\/p>\n
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Catherine Laga\u02bbaia poses with fans. (Supplied: Scott Ehler)<\/p>\n
Laga\u02bbaia told ABC News that now was the right time for this feature.<\/p>\n
“This is such an important time to kind of get new faces out there,” she said.<\/p>\n
“And I think with that comes embracing cultures that people maybe haven’t seen in depth.”<\/p>\n
Laga\u02bbaia says the live action Moana takes representation a step further.<\/p>\n
“Something amazing that the original animation did is that it kind of introduced people into the world of the Pacific Islander culture,” she says.<\/p>\n
“It gave people a touchstone on what it looks like to be a part of that culture.<\/p>\n
“And what our movie does is it kind of just extends what that movie first introduced.<\/p>\n
“So, we kind of bring people into a realised world with real flesh and real blood, which is a really kind of cool thing for people to get to see.<\/p>\n
“They get to see all the things that they loved and cherished, but with real people.”<\/p>\n
Johnson says there are reasons not to do it, but there are many more reasons why this re-imagining is relevant and meaningful.<\/p>\n
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Dwayne Johnson says there are many reasons why now is the time for this re-imagining. (ABC Pacific: Penina Momoisea)<\/p>\n
“I love the question,” Johnson told ABC News.<\/p>\n
“But to be honest with you, I didn’t want to just succumb to this idea that, well, you need 20 years before you make something into a live action.<\/p>\n
“There’s themes here that people can relate to.”<\/p>\n
Johnson, who has Black Nova Scotian, Irish and Samoan heritage, says there is honour in representing Pacific Island culture.<\/p>\n
“I’ve always felt that with our culture, with our Polynesian culture, is vibrant and it’s alive,” he said.<\/p>\n
“And there are so many aspects about our culture that when transformed from animation to live action, I think, if you do it right, you got a shot at creating something pretty good.<\/p>\n
“There’s a thousand reasons why not to do it but also there’s a hundred thousand reasons to do it.”<\/p>\n
This is a deeply personal project for Johnson who voiced Maui in the animated films.<\/p>\n
Maui is inspired by his grandfather, High Chief Peter Maivia, who he lost when he was 10 years old and who he describes as one of his heroes.<\/p>\n
The world has changed a lot in 10 years<\/p>\n
Director and executive producer Thomas Kail points to how much the world has changed in 10 years.<\/p>\n
“Moana 2 was going to be on television, on Disney+, and then was made into a film,” Kail told ABC News.<\/p>\n
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Thomas Kail says the world has changed a lot in the past decade. (ABC Pacific: Penina Momoisea)<\/p>\n
“So, we were already in production when Moana 2 became a movie.<\/p>\n
“And so, the way I think about it is, when the original came out in 2016, it was 10 years ago.<\/p>\n
“I was very different 10 years ago.<\/p>\n
“That 16-year-old who was six was quite different. And so it feels like it’s ready for a new generation.”<\/p>\n
At the event, held Thursday, there was a special live musical performance led by Opetaia Foa\u02bbi who wrote the original songs for Moana with Lin-Manuel Miranda and Mark Mancina.<\/p>\n
The event was a celebration of the Pacific peoples, cultures, and traditions that inspired Moana.<\/p>\n
It was warmly received by audience members, some of whom even showed their appreciation by singing the song Ua Faafetai, which recognises a person or people who’ve done the community proud.<\/p>\n