Is Moana based on Maori culture?

No. While Moana is also a Maori name and not an uncommon female name in NZ, the Disney movie Moana is set in a “ pan-pacific island” backdrop with generic elements of Pasifika. read more

While Moana is also a Maori name and not an uncommon female name in NZ, the Disney movie Moana is set in a “ pan-pacific island” backdrop with generic elements of Pasifika. The easy confusion of the OP probably stemmed from the commonality Maori share with other Pacific island culture, as they have the same root. read more

Auli’i Cravalho, the charming newcomer who plays Moana, is native Hawaiian. Johnson, who spent stretches of his youth in New Zealand and Hawaii, is half Samoan. Temuera Morrison, who plays Moana’s father, Chief Tui, is the dashing part-Maori actor who starred in Once Were Warriors. read more