Weren't all or most of the native Hawaiian characters in Lilo and Stich voiced by actors of native Hawaiian ancestry? (I don't know this one for sure.) Would they have cast a white actor to voice Tiana?
If Moana is set off the mainland, there will/should be a regional accent.
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Thank you Lizzie for, as always, putting across the point so eloquently.
I am a firm believer in serendipity- all the random pieces coming together in one wonderful moment, when suddenly you see what their purpose was all along.
Weren't all or most of the native Hawaiian characters in Lilo and Stich voiced by actors of native Hawaiian ancestry? (I don't know this one for sure.) Would they have cast a white actor to voice Tiana?
The VA for the titular character, Lilo, is very white. The others seem to "match" more closely, especially the older sister.
If Moana is set off the mainland, there will/should be a regional accent.
I can agree with that. An authentic accent is more important, IMO.
I can't believe this is even up for debate. Imagine the uproar if Elsa and Anna were voiced by black actresses or Tiana was voiced by a Latina actress. It's only common sense for the characters in Moana to be voiced by Polynesian actors. It doesn't matter if we can see the actors' faces or not.
Also, "PC" was the wrong choice of words. It isn't PC. It's what's right.
Dwayne Johnson isn't known as a singer, but his alter ego The Rock's whole career began as a result of singing. Back in his wrestling days, The Rock's gimmick (playing on both rock music and the long line of wrestlers named Rocky in his family tree) would call out his opponents by singing mocking songs to psych them out.
Well I'm also hoping Ciara Renée somehow auditions for the role. She can easily pass for being Polynesian and when I heard her sing "God Help the Outcasts" as Esmeralda in "The Hunchback of Notre Dame" I personally felt in that particular song she sounded like Sierra Boggess as Ariel because of the youthful quality that it had.
I also think Courtney Reed would be a great Moana! Not only does she has the experience of playing an actual Disney Princess, but also I think her voice sounds young enough for a 14 yr old (Jodi was her late 20s when she voiced Ariel, so why not?)
I'd also love to see James MI be casted in the movie, as well.
Updated On: 12/29/14 at 04:45 PM
I actually like the title. Very appropriate for an adventure in the South Seas. Simple and poetic. In fact, I often stay at "the Moana" when I go to Hawai'i. As for Reed, I saw her in Aladdin, and my friend and I both thought she wasn't terribly enthralling in the role of Jasmine. She had a nice enough voice, but there are a lot of young women who have equally nice (if not better) voices out there.
I wouldn't doubt it. It'd be a good move for Disney, and she'll be 18 when the movie releases so she's in the age range they were looking for. Much luck to her! Although I'm not a huge fan of their music, I do give the young girls at 5th Harmony credit for working their tail ends off these past few years.