Moana’s live-action adaptation comes at a time when the idea of aspirational female characters has transformed.
Catherine Lagaʻaia plays Moana in Disney’s live-action adaptation of the animated hit.
‘Not a princess, but a warrior’
Moana sees Dwayne Johnson reprise his role as the demigod Maui. The action star famously voiced the character in the 2016 animated version, which grossed over $687 million worldwide. In the live-action version, he plays the character again and also serves as a producer. What Moana did differently, much like Brave, was to present a warrior as a heroine.
Summing up the character at CinemaCon, Dwayne said, “The hero of our story is not a princess, she’s a warrior.” At another juncture, while talking about the resonance of the story, he added, “Our values of Polynesian culture and community are not just specific to us; they’re universal. Everyone can relate to the young girl or young boy who wants more out of life.”
Moana for the Gen Alpha
The era of Gen Z is passing too, and rather quickly, it seems. Today, the chief consumers of Disney content are Gen Alpha, those born after the advent of smartphones and social media. This no-nonsense generation has grown up in times with shorter attention spans, and to engage them, one needs to be smart, genuine, and most importantly, authentic. That is where casting matters. The live-action Moana introduces 19-year-old Catherine Lagaʻaia in the titular role. An Australian actor of Samoan heritage, Catherine is authentic for the part. She made her way to the role by winning an audition that saw more than 32,000 hopefuls. Reflecting on the experience, she said, “I feel like I’ve learned as much about myself as Moana did herself on her journey.”
Beyond the adventure, Catherine says it is Moana’s compassion that has stayed with her the most. During a recent red-carpet appearance, she shared, “I think something I learnt from Moana is being compassionate and empathetic when times are hard for you. I think something that Moana does beautifully is that when she’s really struggling, and things are getting difficult for her, she doesn’t go to anger or aggression; she goes straight to her compassion and empathy, from which she really works herself. That’s such an incredible skill to have. I am trying to learn them.”
Disney’s live-action Moana releases in India in English and Hindi on 10 July.
Abhimanyu Mathur is Deputy Editor, Entertainment at Hindustan Times. With almost 15 years of experience in writing about everything from films and TV shows to cricket matches and elections, he inhales and exhales pop culture and news. Currently, he watches movies and TV shows and talks to celebrities for a living, while occasionally writing about them as well. A journalism graduate of Delhi College of Arts and Commerce, Delhi University, Abhimanyu began his career with Hindustan Times at the age of 20, swapping classrooms for newsrooms at an early age. He began his journey in the early days of digital journalism, later switching to the madness of print journalism. Work has led him to far off places like Japan and Jordan, as well as to the interiors of Haryana and the Indo-Pak border. He dabbled in city reporting in places like Meerut, Gurgaon, and Delhi, covered the Olympics and Cricket World Cups, before finding his calling in entertainment and lifestyle during the pandemic. A Rotten Tomatoes Certified Film Critic, he is equally at home covering stories on ground as he is interviewing celebrities and studios, and sometimes prefers to shepherd teams in delivering traffic through the day. Even as his role has evolved from reporter to supervisor over the years, his first love remains writing (and of late, talking on camera). With a good understanding of cinema and its trends, and a keen eye for detail, he continues to spark conversations around showbiz for readers around the world.Read More
