When Monica met Moana and Maui
Add Moana to your watchlist I’ve been living and cooking in the UK for about 26 years now and people would always ask, “Oh, where are you from?” If I said Samoa, they looked confused. But 10 years ago, the Disney animation Moana came out. Now, I’ll say, “OK, have you seen Moana?” They say “Yes.” I say, “Well, think of that side of the world, and I’m Samoan.” So, it is very important. My daughter Anais must have been about nine or 10 when the animation first came out, and all of a sudden she had something to relate to about her culture. Moana is a story about a young girl, a chief’s daughter from the Pacific Islands, who’s drawn to the water, to the oceans. One day the Pacific Islands start dying, because the trickster demigod Maui stole the heart of Te Fiti, an Earth goddess. Moana takes on the great task of returning Te Fiti’s heart, with Maui’s help. If that heart wasn’t returned, then her people would perish. Moana and Maui …
