Moana borrows heavily from the histories and cultures of Polynesia. I think most people assume that her character and the movie generally are based on Hawai'i, but it turns out that's not exactly the case.
I created a series on Instagram for World Princess Week 2024 that looked to the different Disney princesses and their sources of inspiration. Some have been discussed before, some are ones that I've pieced together.
In particular with Moana, I looked to examples of important identity markers among the peoples of Samoa and Tonga that are connected to Moana. Bark cloth (tapa) in Polynesia and Moana are an important pairing in the movie!
Preparing to create the character of Moana
Disney animators and artists visited seven different chains of islands in the Pacific region we call Polynesia today. For Moana’s clothing, they seem to have adapted cloth like the Tonga siapo and the ‘Ie tōga of Samoa. Both of these are a type of bark cloth common to the islands, historically and now!
Back cloth (tapa) in Polynesia and Moana
Bark cloth is called tapa and you can find it throughout the Pacific islands. Different island cultures had their own names for the different types of bark cloth. All tapa tells stories and records different types of information or histories.
The tapa in Moana doesn't adapt any one specific type or form, but creatively uses from multiple sources.
Fun Fact: You can spot other types of tapa in the movie beyond clothing too.
*Important Note:
With Moana, there are photographs of Pacific Islander peoples that Disney animators and artists looked at for inspiration. I didn't want to use those, however, given how some were made during colonial or imperial expeditions, and I've have to find better ways than social media to make not only that clear but also the familial connections that these ancestors have still today.
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