Was Disney Justified In Creating The Polynesian Culture

Disney was justified in creating the Moana film and was not culturally insensitive to the Polynesian people because Disney worked very hard (for five years!) to learn about the Polynesian culture, they hired Polynesian songwriters to make the music sound authentic, and they created beautiful settings and characters that accurately represent Polynesian culture.

To begin, Disney paid much attention to detail while making this film. They wanted to make sure that they represented the wonderful Polynesian culture correctly on screen. In Article 1, this quote states, "Filmmakers Ron Clements and John Musker made sure that everything in their new film, 'Moana,' was as perfect as possible." This quote shows that the directors paid attention to detail

to flawlessly represent the Polynesian character as true to her ethnicity. It shows that Disney did not generalize or stereotype anything about the Polynesian culture, they simply accurately represented it. This quote also shows that the directors went to great lengths to protect and accurately represent the Polynesian people. In Article 3, this quote states, "For the past five years, Clements and Musker have been making trips to the Pacific Islands including Samoa, Tahiti, Mo’orea, and Fiji." This quote shows that the directors took great custody to study the Polynesian society before they included it into an animated film. They learned this by traveling to many different Polynesian islands and talking to the people there about their customs. All in all, the directors were very careful while making this movie. They ensured that nothing was stereotyped or racist.
Next, Disney was also careful in choosing the music for this film.

They made sure to hire Hawaiian and Polynesian songwriters to make the music authentic and true. This quote from Article 1 states, "[Lin-Manuel] Miranda worked with Hawaiian songwriter and musician Opetaia Foa’i, so the music would sound authentic." In this quote, it is shown that Disney does not just see this movie's soundtrack as a money maker; they want it to be a legitimate representation of the Polynesian sound and music. In fact, it seems as if this movie and soundtrack can be a great tool to learn more about ancient Polynesian culture. In Article 3, there is another quote that shows the authenticity and intricacy of the music incorporated in this film. The quote states,"The music's catchiness is partly owed to 'Hamilton' star and creator Lin-Manuel Miranda, who wrote and composed the music alongside Samoan musician Opetaia Foa'i and Disney veteran Mark Mancina ('The Lion King' and 'Tarzan')." This quote shows that Disney wanted the music to sound very authentic...and very good. First of all, they hired an authentic Polynesian songwriter to ensure the songs were beautiful and had the correct instruments. They also hired Broadway superstar Lin-Manuel Miranda, a lyrical genius, to write the lyrics to all of the songs. Finally, they hired Disney legend Mark Mancina who is responsible for some of the best classic Disney songs, to ensure that all of the music in the movie would give off the magical Disney

vibe. As one can see, Disney went very far to guarantee that the music in this animated movie would be 100% genuine to the oceanic islander sound and had that nostalgic Disney tone.
Finally, the directors of this film can assure one that all of the characters and background scenery are in accordance with the facts of how the Polynesian people and islands behave. For example, this quote found in Article 3 states, "The cast of 'Moana' also reflects the extra efforts of Disney to include actors from within the Polynesian cultural sphere." Disney did not only want their characters be Polynesian, they also hired voice actors that were Polynesian! This goes to show that Disney was not racist and worked hard to promise that this would be a film that accurately depicted the culture of Polynesians. Another quote that shows the great lengths that Disney went through is established in Article 3. It states, "The ocean waves and lush island landscapes are beautifully rendered, and the art of drawing realistic hair...was carried over to Moana and Maui's character designs." This shows the how precise and ornate the details were when Disney was creating this film. It also shows more of the research Disney integrated into the setting of the film and the physical features and overall likeability of the characters.To sum up, Disney was mindful while getting the detail of the Polynesian culture and landscape right.