Can you feel the love for te reo?
Te K¯ıngi Raiona is not just a translation of The Lion King, it is directly connected to te ao Ma¯ori and celebrates its diversity. Eda Tang reports.
When The Lion King film first came out in 1994, actor Ma¯ tai Rae (Nga¯ puhi, Waikato) did not speak te reo Ma¯ ori. ‘‘I had no reo Ma¯ ori at all and actually, it was that year that I started my journey in te reo,’’ he said.
Now he has voiced Pumbaa, the iconic, endearing warthog in Kı¯ngi Raiona, the reo Ma¯ ori version of The Lion King which premiered at the Civic Theatre in Auckland on Tuesday night, ahead of yesterday’s general release .
Of the 45 different language versions of the Lion King produced since 1994, Kı¯ngi Raiona is the first to get permission to include a nonEnglish version of the title track Can You Feel The Love Tonight? by Elton John. The track was recorded in te reo by Stan Walker.
Mataara Stokes (Nga¯ puhi, Nga¯ ti Porou), who voiced Simba Nui, said the little boy in him was so proud of the film’s te reo reboot.
‘‘Even if I wasn’t part of it, I would be so overwhelmed knowing that this was coming out.
‘‘If I was a little kid watching this, I would just be so stoked for a cartoon from Disney to be in te reo Ma¯ ori.’’
Stokes said he hoped the film would broaden the meaning of te reo Ma¯ ori for all New Zealanders.
‘‘The revitalisation and the oranga [life] of our reo is within all of us, not just in te ao Ma¯ ori or te iwi Ma¯ ori.’’
Many of the cast learnt new mita (dialects). Stokes learnt the mita of Tainui and Te Taitokerau and was proud to showcase the richness of Ma¯ ori culture through its linguistic diversity.
Producer Chelsea Winstanley (Nga¯ ti Ranginui, Ngai te Rangi) said that because The Lion King naturally lent itself to different characters with different animals, their vision was to celebrate five different mita in te reo Ma¯ ori: te reo o Te Taitokerau, Tainui, Tu¯ hoe, Taranaki and Nga¯ ti Kahungunu.
Each mita had its own reo expert and translator. Tu¯ hoe reo expert Kararaina Rangihau said she wanted Ma¯ ori communities to feel that their language ‘‘was part and parcel of the modern world’’.
‘‘I think it will really lift the wairua – emotion and spirit – of Ma¯ ori people,’’ she said.
Musical director Rob Ruha said there were ‘‘little haka parts’’ in Kı¯ngi Raiona that were not in the original film ‘‘that made it uniquely us, that made it uniquely Ma¯ ori’’.
‘‘I just hope that everyone sees the beauty [and] diversity of our language,’’ Ruha said.
‘‘I hope everyone understands that we are not all the same but that diversity should be celebrated and should be acknowledged.
‘‘I hope also that everyone in the country acknowledges the special place and character of te reo Ma¯ ori in our national fabric.’’
Musical co-director and composer Pere Wihongi said he hoped the impact of the production would be ‘‘everlasting’’.
Wihongi would like to ‘‘see this kaupapa, in itself, create longevity and become a resource’’.
Te Kı¯ngi Raiona celebrates and recognises many aspects of te ao Ma¯ ori.
Piripi Taylor (Nga¯ ti Awa, Te Arawa), who voiced Mufasa, said the film was a ‘‘celebration of our language and the diversity of te reo Ma¯ ori but also a celebration of the Kı¯ngitanga movement, which was instrumental in creating a platform for the community among Ma¯ ori people’’.
Kı¯ngi Tu¯ heitia Po¯ tatau Te Wherowhero VII attended the premiere.
Taylor also voiced Ma¯ ui in the 2020 version of Moana in reo Ma¯ ori, the first Disney film in te reo.
‘‘Like The Lion King, which is an iconic movie, the Kı¯ngitanga is such an iconic movement to Ma¯ oridom and so to be able to celebrate that and recognise that is hugely important.’’
Director and producer Tweedie Waititi
(Te Wha¯ nau a Apanui, Rongowhakaata) said the film did not just translate the words of reo Ma¯ ori.
‘‘We are making it so that it is directly connected to te ao Ma¯ ori,’’ she said.
‘‘In Ma¯ oridom, [for example], it is not up to the iwi to pick who the king is, so we are having to change the language to make it so you might be the next king.’’
Whatanui Flavell (Te Arawa, Taranaki), who voiced Zazu, said: ‘‘The way we address the Ma¯ ori king in this film is very similar to the way that we address our King in everyday life as Ma¯ ori’’.
Between the film and te ao Ma¯ ori, ‘‘there are so many other parallels that just work and enhance [it] seamlessly’’, said Flavell.
‘‘This film is being launched on Matariki and the fact that the story aligns with it is pretty amazing.’’
Winstanley said there were many incredible Matariki themes in the film.
Honouring those who had passed, and how te taiao (the environment) and whenua are looked after were all messages that the film spoke to, she said, and they were still relevant to Ma¯ ori nearly 30 years since the first movie premiered.
‘‘It will really lift the wairua – emotion and spirit – of Ma¯ori people.’’ Kararaina Rangihau Tu¯hoe reo expert