\u201cFree Byrd.\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n<\/li>\n\n\tGramma Tala (Rena Owen)<\/p>\n
\t\t\t![\"\"](\"https:\/\/variety.com\/wp-content\/themes\/pmc-variety-2020\/assets\/public\/lazyload-fallback.gif\")
\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
\n\tGramma Tala, played by Rena Owen, is the heart of \u201cMoana\u201d as both Moana\u2019s grandmother and the storyteller who helps the Kakamora tribe reconnect with their roots. Owen, who was born in New Zealand, has worked with the likes of George Lucas and Steven Spielberg, appearing in \u201cA.I. Artificial Intelligence,\u201d voicing Taun We in \u201cStar Wars: Episode II \u2013 Attack of the Clones\u201d and portraying Nee Alavar in \u201cStar Wars: Episode III \u2013 Revenge of the Sith.\u201d She recently reprised her role as Taun We in a 2021 episode of \u201cStar Wars: The Bad Batch.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/li>\n
\n\tChief Tui (John Tui)<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
\n\tJohn Tui (\u201cFast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw,\u201d \u201cSolo: A Star Wars Story\u201d) takes up the mantle of Chief Tui, Moana\u2019s protective father and leader of the people of Motunui. Although encouraging of Moana following in his footsteps as chief, he is wary of her desire to explore the ocean beyond their island home. Temuera Morrison (\u201cAquaman,\u201d \u201cStar Wars: Episode III \u2013 Revenge of the Sith\u201d) originated the role, with longtime Lin-Manuel Miranda collaborator Christopher Jackson (\u201cHamilton,\u201d \u201cIn the Heights\u201d) providing the singing voice for Chief Tui in the animated film.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/li>\n
\n\tSina (Frankie Adams)<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
\n\tMoana\u2019s perceptive mother, Sina both understands her daughter\u2019s longing for the water but wants to protect her from danger. Samoan New Zealand actor Frankie Adams (\u201cThe Expanse,\u201d \u201cShortland Street\u201d) steps into the role, taking over from Nicole Scherzinger (\u201cSunset Boulevard,\u201d \u201cThe X Factor\u201d) in the original.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n
\n\tTamatoa (Jemaine Clement)<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
\n\tJemaine Clement (\u201cRio,\u201d \u201cWhat We Do in the Shadows\u201d) returns as the glitzy king crab Tamatoa, and it\u2019s hard to imagine anyone else delivering the catchy song \u201cShiny\u201d in the same way. The jewel-encrusted crustacean harbors a grudge against Maui and fiercely guards his shiny collection, including the demigod\u2019s fishhook after it falls into his lair.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n
\n\tPua the Pig<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
\n\tMoana\u2019s trusty, if a little skittish, pet pig Pua would follow her anywhere, even if he\u2019s a little unsure of the ocean. The live-action production used a mix of real animals and animatronics to bring Moana\u2019s sidekick to life. The animated Pua was voiced using a combination of real pig vocalizations and sound effects from voice actor Frank Welker, whose long list of credits includes Fred Jones in \u201cScooby Doo,\u201d Pegasus in \u201cHercules,\u201d Cri-Kee in \u201cMulan\u201d and Abu, Rajah and the Cave of Wonders in \u201cAladdin.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/li>\n
\n\tHeihei the Rooster<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
\n\tHeihei is a constantly confused rooster who accidentally joins Moana on her quest after seeking refuge in her boat. Always unaware of what\u2019s happening around him, Heihei is simply along for the ride.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n
\n\tKakamora<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
\n\tThe Kakamora are hostile nomads floating across the sea who are easily identified by their armor made of coconut. Always ready to engage in battle, they are small but dangerous, especially when the hundreds of them band together. <\/p>\n<\/li>\n
\n\tTe K\u0101<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
\n\tTe K\u0101 is the giant, dangerous demon of earth and fire Moana must get past to successfully restore the heart of Te Fiti. Gramma Tala first tells Moana the story of Te K\u0101, who awoke when Maui stole the heart of Te Fiti. While battling the demigod, the heart was ultimately lost in the sea, which only infuriated Te K\u0101 more.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Moana and Maui are setting sail once again \u2014 this time, in live-action. Releasing in theaters July 10,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":580294,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[263],"tags":[246780,1887,8168,18,117,19,17,104496,327],"class_list":["post-580293","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-movies","tag-catherine-lagau2019aia","tag-disney","tag-dwayne-johnson","tag-eire","tag-entertainment","tag-ie","tag-ireland","tag-moana","tag-movies"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@ie\/116901124709881982","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/580293","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=580293"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/580293\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/580294"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=580293"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=580293"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=580293"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}