Elle Gutierrez

As a Hawaiian, it gave me great pride to see a Disney film with a strong Pasifika influence and flavor. It showcased Pasifika in general to the world as it wasn’t focused on a specific Pasifika country and its peoples, but it displayed and incorporated different Pasifika cultural dress, dance, and songs of several Pasifika islands. I liked how Moana was portrayed as a strong character who was family-orientated, as many of our Pasifika women are, with leadership skills and critical thinking. She showed bravery, compassion, and resilience. But Gramma Tala as the 'village crazy' lady of the village was kinda offensive. Why was she "crazy", she told the stories and legends of their people. And Maui, Maui was not a big, grumpy, very large character. In fact, he was quite the opposite. Maui is shown as humble, strong and noble. In Maori culture, Maui was always a trickster. Slender and sneaky. In the movie, he was made to look completely different. Anyways considering the animation, it was beautiful