Moana
Franchise logo used since the2016 film
Created by	Ron Clements John Musker Chris Williams Don Hall Pamela Ribon Aaron Kandell Jordan Kandell
Original work	Moana (2016)
Owner	The Walt Disney Company
Years	2016–present
Films and television
Film(s)	Moana (2016) Moana 2 (2024) Moana (2026)
Short film(s)	Gone Fishing (2017)
Audio
Soundtrack(s)	Moana (2016) Moana 2 (2024)
Miscellaneous
Theme park attraction(s)	Journey of Water
Official website
disney.com/moana/

Moana (also known asVaiana^[1] orOceania^[2] in some markets) is a Disney media franchise that originally started in 2016 with the release of the American animated feature filmMoana, produced byWalt Disney Animation Studios, and released byWalt Disney Pictures.

The franchise consists of two animated films,Moana (2016) and its sequelMoana 2 (2024), as well alive-action remake adaptation of the 2016 film, scheduled to be released on July 10, 2026.

After directingThe Princess and the Frog (2009), Clements and Musker started working on an adaptation ofTerry Pratchett'sMort,^[3] but problems with acquiring the necessaryfilm rights prevented them from continuing with that project. To avoid a recurrence of that issue, they pitched three original ideas.^[4] The genesis of one of those ideas (the one that was ultimatelygreen-lit) occurred in 2011, when Musker began reading up onPolynesian mythology, and learned of the heroic exploits of the demigodMāui. Intrigued with the rich culture of Polynesia, he felt it would be a suitable subject for an animated film. Shortly thereafter, Musker and Clements wrote a treatment and pitched it toJohn Lasseter, who recommended that both of them should go on research trips.^[5][6] Accordingly, in 2012, Clements and Musker went on research trips toFiji,Samoa, andTahiti to meet the people of the South Pacific Ocean and learn about their culture.^[7] At first, they had planned to make the film entirely about Maui, but their initial research trips inspired Clements to pitch a new idea focused on the young daughter of a chief.^[8]

Clements and Musker were fascinated to learn during their research that the people of Polynesia abruptly stopped making long-distance voyages about three thousand years ago. Polynesian navigational traditions had long predated those of European explorers, beginning around 300 CE.^[9] Native people of the Pacific possessed knowledge of the world and their place in it prior to the incursion of foreigners. For example,Kānaka Maoli (Native Hawaiians) were well aware of the existence of far away islands, had names for these places, and were interested in exploring them to benefit their societies.^[9] This voyaging heritage was made possible by a geographical knowledge system based on individual perspective rather than the European cardinal direction system.^[9] The reasons for the halt of this voyaging tradition remain unknown, but scholars have offered climate change and resulting shifts in ocean currents and wind patterns as one possible explanation.^[9] Native peoples of the Pacific resumed voyaging again a thousand years later. Clements and Musker set the film at that point in time, about two thousand years ago, on a fictional island in the central Pacific Ocean, which drew inspiration from elements of the real-life island nations of Fiji, Samoa, andTonga.^[10] Although,Motunui is actually a real islet located south ofEaster Island inChilean Polynesia.^[11]

Over the five years it took to develop and produce the film, Clements and Musker recruited experts from across the South Pacific to form an Oceanic Story Trust, who consulted on the film's cultural accuracy and sensitivity as the story evolved through nine versions.^[12] The Trust responded negatively, for example, to a depiction of Maui as bald, and to a proposed scene in which Moana threw a tantrum by throwing coconuts. In response, Maui was reworked with long hair and the coconut scene was scrapped.^[8]

During the 2015 D23 Expo's panel for Disney's slate of upcoming animated films, Moana's last name was given as "Waialiki", but that name was not retained in the final film.^[13]

In December 2020, during a Disney Investor Day meeting,Walt Disney Animation Studios chief creative officerJennifer Lee announced that a musical series titledMoana: The Series, based on the2016 film of the same name, was in development at the studio forDisney+.^[14] By August 2021, it was reported thatOsnat Shurer would once again serve as producer.^[15] In January 2022, it was announced thatDavid Derrick Jr. would serve as the writer and director, after filling the role of storyboard artist of the first film.^[16][17][18] The series entered development simultaneously withthe live action remake ofMoana according toJared Bush, a writer of the film and screenplay writer of the 2016 animated film.^[19]

In February 2024,Disney CEOBob Iger announced that the series had been reworked into a theatrical sequel titledMoana 2, with Derrick and Shurer remaining attached to the project.^[20] By the release of the first trailer in May, Jason Hand and Dana Ledoux Miller were confirmed as co-directors alongside Derrick, while Christina Chen andYvett Merino were revealed to replace Shurer as the film's producers.^[21]

In April 2023,The Hollywood Reporter reported thatWalt Disney Pictures was developing a live-action adaptation ofMoana to be produced by Johnson,Dany Garcia, and Hiram Garcia, under their production companySeven Bucks Productions, andBeau Flynn of Flynn Pictures Co., executive produced by Auliʻi Cravalho and Scott Sheldon, and written byJared Bush, with Johnson set to reprise his role as Maui.^[22] On June 12, 2024,Catherine Laga‘aia was announced as the titular character.^[23]

The film was originally scheduled for theatrical release on June 27, 2025, in the United States,^[24] but was delayed to July 10, 2026, due to the release ofMoana 2 for the previous year.^[25][26]

Maui Mini Movie: Gone Fishing was released along with the first film's Blu-ray and digital release. It follows Maui trying and failing to fish until Moana shows him how it's done.

Moana and Heihei make guest appearances in the 2018 filmRalph Breaks the Internet.^[27][28] Moana appears as one of the main characters in the 2023 specialLego Disney Princess: The Castle Quest.^[29] The characters of the first film have cameo appearances in the 2023 short filmOnce Upon a Studio.^[30][31]

•  ^S indicates an appearance as a character's singing voice.

Moana appears as a meet-and-greet character atDisney Parks.^[40][41]

Journey of Water, Inspired byMoana is a walkthroughwater trail attraction, which depicts the Earth'swater cycle, opened atEpcot on October 16, 2023.^[42]

The franchise's titular protagonist,Moana, is part of the characters in theDisney Princess franchise.^[43] The antagonists of the 2016 film Tamatoa and the Kakamora have been included as part of theDisney Villains franchise.^[44][45][46]

On January 10, 2025, Buck Woodall filed a lawsuit againstthe Walt Disney Company for the alleged reasons of stealing the ideas of the firstMoana movie and the second, asking for a sum of $17 billion.^[47] The lawsuit ruled in Disney's favor on March 10, 2025.^[48]

• Walt Disney Studios (division) franchises
• Moana (franchise)
• Film franchises introduced in 2016

• CS1 Spanish-language sources (es)
• Articles with short description
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