Despite being set in a (mythical) Pacific island and inspired by stories from the region, New Zealand audiences will have noticed most of the characters speak with an American accent in the film.
American director Thomas Kail (Hamilton) told the Herald they considered multiple accent options for the characters, but ultimately the decision to go with an American accent came down to the fact that Motunui, where the story is set, is not a real place.
The NZ Herald talks to Catherine Laga’aia and Thomas Kail in Sydney. Photo / Disney
“We are creating an island that is fictional and can draw from different places.
“There’s certainly other islands that people are going back and forth from. So we tried to build that story, both choreographically and also with sound.”
But one actor who kept something resembling their own accent was Owen, who plays Gramma Tala. Kail explains that decision was due to the character’s back story.
“We know that Gramma Tala now lives here, but she also came from somewhere,” he says.
Owen says that, much like fellow New Zealand actor Rachel House, who voiced Gramma Tala in the animated version of the film, the way she felt when embodying the character dictated the accent she used.
“Gramma Tala came to each of us, rather than me or Rachel [House] imposing ourselves on to who Gramma Tala is.
“I just had to organically follow the character. Grandma Tala is first and foremost a spiritual, a wairua character.”
Owen says they rehearsed different voices, but the final accent was rooted in her childhood memories from Moerewa in the Bay of Islands.
“It’s an older voice, and I thought of my grandmother and my aunties – their generations – how they spoke. The Whina Cooper generation is a very different voice to how contemporary Kiwis would speak.”
Owen played Cooper in the biopic of the Māori leader, released in 2022.
John Tui and Rena Owen as Chief Tui and Gramma Tala. Photo / Disney
Meanwhile, Tui, who plays Moana’s father Chief Tui, says he came in with a clear idea of his character’s accent, loosely based on how it was voiced in the animated films by Owen’s Once Were Warriors co-star Temuera Morrison.
But Tui says he quickly realised Disney had other ideas for the live-action version.
“I came in with a Kiwi accent; I felt, because he was more of a chief, to make him more royal, maybe a bit Shakespeare.
“I’d already had a preconceived idea of how I was going to play him, so I showed up wanting to Shakespeare the socks off everybody, right? But when we got into the room, they were like, ‘Yeah, we’re gonna try it this way’.”
Tui says over his career, he’s learned that, as an actor, you’ve got to be able to take direction and push aside your personal vision for a character.
“So it wasn’t a choice I made; it was a direction that I had to take, and I did my best as an actor to fulfil that.
“You go with what the employer wants, and if they want it like this and are signing the invoice, I’m going to give them what they want,” he says with a laugh.
Tui, who is from South Auckland, says he wanted his performance to inspire others from the South Pacific to strive for greatness.
“I’m seeing my face up there, and it inspires other Polynesians from other areas in Auckland and all around the South Pacific; it’s our faces up there. We’re doing these accents.”
Catherine Laga’aia and Frankie Adams attend the Moana World Premiere in LA. Photo / Getty Images
Adams, however, says she relished the opportunity to take on an American accent as Moana’s mother Sina.
“I enjoy doing accents – I always have, so it doesn’t take me away from the character. I think it helps me become the character more.
“Of course, Katie’s [Catherine Laga’aia] doing an accent, so we had to find a middle ground there where we felt like a family, and each generation had their own sort of sound.”
Kail, the director, says he was excited to make both visual and audio changes to the film from the animated version, ultimately knowing that if the audience want the original look and sound of Moana, it’s still there.
“I think what you want to do is try to be brave, and know that the original movie exists and will always exist. So that will always be there.
“We wanted to make something that can stand on its own, that can be a companion to that.”