MOANA 2 Voice Cast Interview: Temuera Morrison, Awhimai Fraser, David Fane

Pleasure to meet you all today. Lovely to meet you. Let's kick off with a question about your characters. Is there any particular connection that you have, you think, to your characters in terms of personality traits that you think, that's a bit like me? Oh, well, I don't have any qualities the same as my character. I never get grumpy, I don't rumpf around like he does. But if I did, then I would very much be like the character on Disney, if you didn't want it to. Kia ora. Matangi, I think I can have moments of being larger than life, I think I'm a little bit more private than she is, but I would say I definitely have a bit of sass, a bit of larger than life-ness, but also a lot of sensitivity, like she has a little bit of. I'm more one of the people, really, as a normal kind of real man, just one of the, it's hard to notice me. Even if we're in a crowd, I just sort of blend in, I'm one of those kinds of guys, but my character in this. So you're a spy? Is that what you're saying? You're a spy? No, I just look unassuming, just quiet, that's me normally. But in these movies I play these kind of chiefs and fathers, Aquaman's father, and I'm playing a few fathers lately, but it's great to be back. Speaking of Chief Tui, I mean, for the supporting characters, he gets quite an arc from the first film to the second film. How was it revisiting him, and do you think he has evolved much from when we first met him? Yes, he's woken up to the fact that he can't be, you know, well the first one I was always protecting Moana, telling her not to go up too far because I've had bad experiences out there, which I had a little bit of trouble with too, because there weren't any fishes on the side of the reef, so we were all starving to death, and the chief got it all wrong. But this one, he's opened up obviously, he's sent Moana out there to bring the people, to unite the forces in a way. And as a father, do you think that there's much evolution there, because, you know, letting your child go out is a bit, you know, worrisome? Very worrisome. Worrisome. How do I say that? Worrisome. Worrisome? Worrisome. Very worried about her going, about her returning, but once we're worrisome, sorry. Once we're worrisome, that's a very good word. But yes. You know what I like about Chief Tui and Moana too, is that he gives her more rope to go do these things, and he trusts, you know, the thing I noticed first was that he's trusting more. He's trusting more in letting her have the power, and just saying, yeah, take that mantle. And breaking down those barriers too, because it was too uptight before, I think. Too much, you know, just relax, man. I think I realised the talent, and she had it, and she was, it was a vision, it was a vision really that she's going to be the chosen one. There can only be one, and it was Moana. She just had the gift and the ability, and I'd seen this, I'd seen it. It felt very scary, in the hope that she'd be out there and come back safely. That's why we sent this guy along, just to keep an eye on her, make sure she comes back. Security. Security under the boat. Speaking of your grumpy grandad farmer, why is he so grumpy? What happened? Something has passed? Bad co-workers? What happened? Sawback? No hugs, no one hugged him, no one gave him a, you know, pat on the back, and he just feels, nah, I don't know why. It's the fact that there are grumpy people that you always laugh at, but you love them because they are that grumpy, unashamedly grumpy, but now and then they have that one pearl of wisdom, they can do one thing once, it was actually really good, and I just like it. I like playing characters that are flawed, absolutely flawed, they're more interesting to me. It makes you work harder, and it makes you think about people a lot more, and the context in which you meet other people. That's right. But one of Moana 2's most complex characters, or lead, I think is Matangi. Yeah, get that. Really? Yeah, I think so. Really? Yeah. I would agree with that. That's you. Mostly because of how wrapped up they've kept a lot of her history, a lot of her motivations are a little bit obscure, she's kind of antagonistic, but perhaps not so much, maybe she's been done over in the past. How was it delving into a character like this complex? Same thing, you know, finding flaws in your character, but also trying to discover, or creating your own narrative perhaps, even if the answers aren't there in front of you on the script, to create a story that at least you believe in as the actor, to then bring that, hopefully to bring that authenticity and the naturalism through the voice, which then hopefully translates onto the screen. But I found her, she was an amazing challenge. She evolved throughout the process of the year and a half, I think, that we spent recording her dialogue, and I think that's always a really fun thing to do, to come back and revisit and try something new. We definitely found that her being here and then being there, being there, was kind of her niche, and so that was really fun. Once we found that that was a golden nugget to Matangi, that you couldn't quite catch her in all the ways, I think, yeah, that became a really fun thing to play with. But yeah, definitely a challenge to keep some of those parts hidden, and at least for me to have created, in my mind at least, this is why she is who she is. Only time will tell if it is that. But yeah, she was great fun. You did a fantastic, fantastic job. Thank you, Tim. Just the singing as well. And the animation, like when I first saw the image for Tangi, it was like one of those moments of, you know, you're drawn to it, you're drawn to it, but you stay about two feet away. You get distracted. It's like a secret kind of entranceway into another realm that she's protecting in a way. It's just an amazing job, Tim. I'm getting the wrap, so just a quick... Some quick questions. Rapid fire. Favourite song in either film? Name a song that you really love. Or the opening song for me, because I sing in it. So that's... Yeah. I'm village in it. So you want to build a snowman. Disney, it's all good. It's all good. Beyond Get Lost. I did it. Yes. It's We're Back for me. Yeah. Favourite scene in the sequel? It could be one that you're in. Oh. Easter egg. There's a certain scene that happens towards the end that brought tears to my eyes, and then I was just crying in about three seconds. One of the other ceremonies, and they're scooping the bowl around, and it's just... It's a kava. Unbelievable. It made me feel like I was drinking a kava. Yeah. It was so real, even just the way, the respectful things they do. Just the spirituality, the return of that mysterious character that comes back. I say her name, but she comes back, and it's just... The way they do it is beautiful. It's a beautiful moment. And the big scene with Mowi and Moana, quite emotional. They really took the movie to another Waka level. Absolutely. Great work, guys. Pleasure to meet you all. Thank you. Muchas gracias, Papa. Muchas gracias.