STORY BEHIND THE MOVIE

My Disney-loving niece has asked for a DVD of Moana for her birthday. What can you tell me about the film? – V.

With its spellbinding, computer-animated production, Moana’s 3D digital environment might seem a world away from 1937’s Snow White And The Seven Dwarfs, Walt Disney’s first big-screen fairytale. But the film company remained true to its traditions and Maui’s tattoos were actually hand-drawn.

Co-director John Musker initially pitched the idea after studying Polynesian mythology, but it grew into a tale about a princess rather than demigods’ heroic exploits.

Moana means “sea” or “lake” in Maori.