‘Big week for Māori’: Taika Waititi praises hīkoi, challenges corporates

Director Taika Waititi is encouraging businesses to support the release of Disney and Matewa Media’s Moana 2 Reo Māori. Photos / Disney, Getty Images
Director Taika Waititi has joined the Hollywood names praising Hīkoi mō Te Tiriti, and suggested corporates could show support for te reo Māori by funding screenings of Moana 2 Reo Māori.
“Big week for Māori,” Waititi told his three million Instagram followers in a video posted on Wednesday.
“The hīkoi looks amazing,” he said, acknowledging the tens of thousands of people who marched to Parliament in Wellington yesterday.
He then segued to talk about “another great thing” happening this month, the November 28 release of Moana 2, calling attention to Matewa Media’s te reo Māori version of the Disney film.
The Our Flag Means Death director invited “corporates” to support the film by sponsoring a screening.
“We’re trying to get as many people to see Moana 2 in Māori as possible,” Waititi said.
“If you’re a little cashed up and you have the means, sponsor a screening,” he said, suggesting it could be gifted to community groups, schools, marae, or work colleagues.
A post shared by Taika Waititi (@taikawaititi)
“This is a corporate shoutout to gift reo Māori to others in New Zealand,” Waititi said. “Give the gift of the Māori language.”
Waititi wrote the initial draft for the Moana screenplay, before going on to focus on other projects.
Waititi hasn’t responded to the Herald’s request for comment.
The highly anticipated sequel will be in cinemas on November 28, 2024, and both the English and te reo Māori versions will be released on the same date – the first time Disney has released a film simultaneously in an indigenous language and English.
“What a thing would it be for New Zealanders to support the Māori version,” Waititi told his followers. “Listen to the dulcet tones of the Māori language as it comes into your ears and transforms your soul.”
Matewa Media is behind the development and production of Moana 2 Reo Māori. It’s also encouraging businesses to “Tautoko te teo Māori – join the waka!”
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The company counts Emmy-winning producer and director Tweedie Waititi, Taika’s whāngai sister, and Oscar-nominated producer Chelsea Winstanley – who separated from Taika Waititi in 2018 – among its leaders.
Matewa Media has released five indigenous-language adaptations of Disney films, including Frozen and The Lion King.
Its latest, Moana 2 Reo Māori, will have English subtitles, making it accessible for those not fluent in the language.
Directed by Dave Derrick jnr, the movie’s plot sees Moana and Maui reuniting for another voyage.
The characters’ voice actors are reprising their famous roles for the sequel; with Jaedyn Randell and Piripi Taylor bringing Moana and Maui to life in the te reo version. Both starred in the 2020 te reo adaptation of the first film. Auli’i Cravalho and Dwayne Johnson will voice the lead characters for the English-language release.
Kiwi actors Temuera Morrison, Rose Matafeo, Dave Fane and Rachel House are among the English-language voice actors, alongside Hollywood names like Alan Tudyk and Nicole Scherzinger.
The first film was a box office hit in 2016, grossing US$687 million worldwide, earning Academy Award nominations for Best Animated Feature and Best Original Song.
Among other accolades, Moana won an American Music Award for its soundtrack, and Lin-Manuel Miranda’s How Far I’ll Go earned a Grammy for Best Song.
Moana is getting the live-action treatment from Disney, with Kiwi actors Frankie Adams, Rena Owen and John Tui signing on for the remake, joining Johnson. The film is set to be released in July 2026.
Moana 2 is released in New Zealand cinemas on November 28.
Emma Gleason is the Herald’s lifestyle and entertainment deputy editor. Based in Auckland, she covers culture, media and more.