Girl Quote by Ron Clements
![“Taika [Waititi] came up... We kind of had and we sort of named this girl Moana, named after the ocean. And we had a very, a visual outline of the story. And we heard about Taika from people in the South Pacific that we talked to.” quote by Ron Clements](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/b17/ron-clements-54148_girl_taika-waititi-came-up-we-kind-of-had-and_3168119.jpg)
“Taika [Waititi] came up... We kind of had and we sort of named this girl Moana, named after the ocean. And we had a very, a visual outline of the story. And we heard about Taika from people in the South Pacific that we talked to.”
About This Quote
Source Interview: DVD commentary for "Moana", 2016
The story’s visual concept was inspired by Pacific Ocean imagery and the name Moana, reflecting cultural input from South Pacific sources.
In simple terms: Moana’s idea grew from ocean themes and local advice.
Key Takeaway
Integrate authentic cultural insights when creating stories.
Themes
creativity
culture
collaboration
storytelling
representation
Mood
thoughtful
inspirational
Type
creative
educational
When to use this quote
- film development
- creative brainstorming
- cultural research
- character naming
Key Concepts
indigenous consultation
visual design
Questions to Reflect On
- How can creators ensure genuine cultural representation?
- What steps protect authenticity in storytelling?
A Different Perspective
Risk of cultural appropriation if not handled respectfully.
![“We really wanted someone from the culture to sort of do that. And we heard about Taika [Waititi]. We saw his movie Boy, which that he had directed and written and which was great. We read another one of his scripts that was great. And we brought him in, showed him what we were doing. He really…” quote by Ron Clements](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/b3c/ron-clements-54148_boys_we-really-wanted-someone-from-the-cultur_414613.jpg)
![“[John Musker] got me reading the mythology and we very early on we worked up a basic storyline centered around the character of Maui. He just seemed like a great character to kind of build a movie around. He's this mythic demi-god, bigger than life character. He pulled up islands with his magical…” quote by Ron Clements](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/38b/ron-clements-54148_bigger_john-musker-got-me-reading-the-mythology_145840.jpg)
![“It was really John's [Musker] idea to begin with to tell a story set in the world of the South Pacific, Polynesia. He started, he just loved the world and he started reading a lot of mythology, which most people are not that familiar with.” quote by Ron Clements](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/b4b/ron-clements-54148_familiar_it-was-really-john-s-musker-idea-to-begi_312411.jpg)
![“There are stories of Maui everywhere in the South Pacific. They're different. Different areas have different interpretations. But and so we [with John Musker] fashioned, that was kind of the inspiration and we came up with a very simple basic storyline, focusing on Maui.” quote by Ron Clements](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/fb9/ron-clements-54148_areas_there-are-stories-of-maui-everywhere-in_1414875.jpg)
