Opinion: Disney embraces culturally aware and diverse casting in "Moana"
ByMichael Cavna, Washington Post, adapted by Newsela staff
08.31.16
Grade Level7Word Count717
When Disney's "Moana" hits theaters this November, it will feel different to many moviegoers for an unusual reason. The animated film casts voice actors of color to match the background of the characters in the story.
"Moana" is about a young woman looking for an imaginary Pacific island. The character of Princess Moana is voiced by young Hawaiian native Auli'i Cravalho. Moana also has a sidekick named Maui, voiced by American actor Dwayne Johnson, whose mother is of Samoan descent.
The voice cast also features several actors with different backgrounds. Actors Jemaine Clement, Temuera Morrison and Rachel House are part Maori, which is a native group of New Zealand.In addition, actress Nicole Scherzinger has Hawaiian and Filipino roots.
Movie Set In Japan Should Have More Japanese Actors
Not all animated movies are casting nonwhite voice actors in leading roles like "Moana." The animated movie "Kubo and the Two Strings" made by Laika/Focus Features recently opened. The movie is set in ancient Japan, and critics say there are too many white voice actors in its lead roles. The cast includes white actors Matthew McConaughey and Charlize Theron, plus Rooney Mara, Ralph Fiennes and Art Parkinson, who voices the title role.
Japanese actors are on cast but hold secondary roles, even though the story is set in their home country. They include George Takei, Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa, Minae Noji, Alpha Takahashi and Ken Takemoto.
Critics have documented their frustration with casting white voice actors in traditionally nonwhite roles on Twitter. They call it "whitewashing" and use "#CartoonsSoWhite."
MANAA Says White Casting Doesn't Make Sense
The Media Action Network for Asian Americans (MANAA) is an advocacy group that criticized Laika for casting only white actors in leading roles. MANAA founding president Guy Aoki says this doesn't make sense. "Why are white actors playing an entire extended Japanese family?" Aoki asks.
Others agree. Gene Luen Yang is a Chinese-American cartoonist who is unhappy with the "Kubo" casting. "There are so many Asian-American actors these days. It makes me wonder why they didn't just go with one of them," Yang says.
The nonanimated movies of Hollywood have also been criticized for hiring white actors in traditionally nonwhite roles. In Sony's movie, "Aloha," white actress Emma Stone played a character who is part Asian and part Hawaiian. A Marvel movie that hasn't been released yet, called "Doctor Strange," casts white actress Tilda Swinton as a character from Tibet. And, the 2010 movie "The Last Airbender" was set in the tribal South Pole, yet featured white actors.
"Kubo" director Travis Knight said that Laika supports people of color. He cited the company's employees, who come from a variety of backgrounds and cultures, as an example. In response to the movie, Knight said, "The critical conversation around diversity is one that Laika cares very deeply about."
Lalo Alcaraz is a well-known cartoonist, cultural commentator and TV show writer and producer. He has criticized Hollywood's lack of diversity in high-profile and decision-making positions.
"I have seen plenty of animated films in the last 10 years where the cast is almost always 100-percent Anglo [white] actors," says Alcaraz.
Disney Paves The Way For Change With "Moana"
"Moana" shows just how Disney has changed its hiring practices on animated films. The company has focused on making sure the voice actors fit the movie's culture.
In 1992, veteran Disney directors John Musker and Ron Clements released "Aladdin." While the movie featured mostly white voice actors in the lead roles, Asian-American actress Lea Salonga (of "Mulan") was also included. In addition, Musker and Clements directed Disney's 2009 film "The Princess and the Frog." The movie cast actors of color, including Oprah Winfrey and Terrence Howard.
Now, with "Moana," Disney has changed the way mainstream American animated movies are cast. It appears that other movies are inspired by Disney. Judging by early signs, the animated movie "Coco," which is in production, features a Day of the Dead theme and promises to be as culturally aware as "Moana." The Day of the Dead is a holiday celebrated in Mexico.
After all, if animated films can't find actors of color to voice their characters, what chance does the rest of Hollywood have when the film characters are real people?
Some say Disney's Maui got too much brawn and too little brains
ByWesley Yiin, Washington Post, adapted by Newsela staff
07.01.16
Grade Level8Word Count699
The trailer for "Moana," the latest princess movie from Walt Disney Animation Studios, was shown during the Tony Awards.With several voice actors, a screenwriter and a composer of Polynesian descent, the film appeared to be in tune with the evening's progressiveness.
Still, several prominent Polynesians, including politicians, media experts and artists, have voiced discontent with one element of the film: the depiction of Maui, a Polynesian demigod. In the film, Maui accompanies Moana on her journey to help her family. Maui is also prominently featured in the film's trailer. The movie will come out in November.
Marie Alohalani Brown is a professor at the University of Hawaii at Manoa's department of religion who is part Hawaiian. She said that in Hawaiian mythology Maui isn't seen as a "god" like Jews and Christians view God. Instead, as a "demigod," he has both godly and human characteristics, and is viewed as an ancestor to the ruling class of Hawaii. In one of Hawaii's most prominent creation myths, Maui is known for passing on the secret of fire to humans, creating the Hawaiian islands and catching the sun so that it moves more slowly. He's a cultural hero and a trickster.
Critic Cites "Negative Stereotype"
Most critics of the movie say that the character is not shown as being strong or serious, and most complaints center on Maui's physical appearance. On June 22, Jenny Salesa, a member of New Zealand's parliament, posted a meme to her Facebook page. It compared the attractiveness of three Polynesian actors to the "half pig half hippo" caricature of Maui in "Moana."
"When we look at photos of Polynesian men & women from the last 100-200 years, most of our people were not overweight," Salesa wrote. "This negative stereotype of Maui is just not acceptable."
That same day, Samoan rugby player Eliota Fuimaono-Sapolu posted a similar meme to his Facebook page. Another critic was Will Ilolahia, from the Pacific Media Association, who described the obese-looking Maui to the Waatea News as "typical American stereotyping."
Others See Maui's Size As Strength
Others, however, read Maui's size in the film not as obesity, but as strength. Samoan artist Michel Mulipola posted an image to Twitter and Facebook that had a different interpretation of Maui and the film's other characters. "Thick build represents power and strength," he wrote in an annotation.
Leah Damm had a similar opinion and wrote a piece about the movie for The Spinoff, a New Zealand online magazine. She argued that calling Disney's portrayal of Maui obese actually continues the stereotype.
"The controversy about Maui's size only reinforces a very modern European concept of health and beauty," she writes. Damm also notes that the stereotype of the obese Polynesian is rooted in their "overrepresentation in poor health and mortality statistics; diabetes, heart disease, obesity." She added, though, that these are largely the result of social issues and inequality, not poor decision-making.
Maui Seen As Lacking Intelligence
In addition to the obesity issue, several Polynesians were more generally unhappy with the way Disney's Maui could be seen as a frivolous character, or comic relief. In contrast, Ilolahia said, in Polynesian folklore Maui is "a person of strength, a person of magnitude and a person of a godly nature."
While Brown acknowledged that different Polynesian cultures have different views on Maui's characteristics, she identified one common tradition in his depiction: his intelligence. In the movie, though, what he lacks in brains, he makes up in brawn and humor. And that is likely what bothers many Polynesians, she said.
"He's not a comic figure," she said. "He's a really important political and cultural figure."
From Cultural Figure To Cartoon
So important, in fact, that in Tongan culture, there are no images of Maui because he is so sacred.
Brown didn't want to comment on the film because she hadn't seen it. However, she expressed concerns that Disney films, and animated films more generally, have historically used and spread stereotypes. She found it "regrettable" that Disney decided to transform a significant cultural figure into a cartoon.
She said we need to be very careful about how we treat minority cultures. "At what point is entertainment free from ethics?" she said.