Matewa Media is a New Zealand production company that dubs

Disney The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was originally founded on October ...

animated films into the Māori language.

Productions

''Moana Reo Māori'' (2017)

Matewa Media was formed by Tweedie Waititi and

Chelsea Winstanley Chelsea Jane Winstanley (born 30 January 1976) is a New Zealand film producer. She produces short films and documentaries which celebrate Indigenous peoples. She also produced the films ''What We Do in the Shadows'' and ''Jojo Rabbit''. Career ...

in 2017 after seeing how popular the 2016 film ''Moana'' was with Winstanley's children. With the help of Waititi's cousin and Winstanley's husband

Taika Waititi Taika David Cohen (born 16 August 1975), known professionally as Taika Waititi ( ), is a New Zealand filmmaker, actor, and comedian. He is a recipient of an Academy Award, a BAFTA Award, and a Grammy Award, and has received two nominations at ...

, who wrote the initial screenplay of ''Moana'' and was at the time working on '' Thor: Ragnarok'', they secured the dubbing rights from Disney. They received funding from Disney,

Air New Zealand Air New Zealand Limited () is the flag carrier airline of New Zealand. Based in Auckland, the airline operates scheduled passenger flights to 20 domestic and 30 international destinations in 18 countries, primarily around and within the Pacif ...

, and

Te Māngai Pāho Te Māngai Pāho (the Māori Broadcast Funding Agency) is the New Zealand Crown entity responsible for the promotion of the Māori language and Māori culture by providing funding for Māori-language programming on radio and television. In 198 ...

who gave $160,000. It was announced in June 2017, with high school student Jaedyn Randell and '' Te Kāea'' newsreader Piripi Taylor cast as the lead roles of Moana and Maui respectively, while Rachel House,

Temuera Morrison Temuera Derek Morrison (born 26 December 1960) is a New Zealand actor and Singer who first gained recognition for his role as Dr. Hone Ropata on the soap opera ''Shortland Street''. He gained critical acclaim for his starring role as Jake "The ...

, and

Jemaine Clement Jemaine Atea Mahana Clement (born 10 January 1974) is a New Zealand actor, comedian, musician and filmmaker. He has released several albums with Bret McKenzie as the musical comedy duo Flight of the Conchords, and created a comedy series of th ...

reprised their roles from the English version. A total of 250 people auditioned for the role of Moana. House also served as the performance director, while

Rob Ruha Rob Ruha (born 1980), is a New Zealand musician from Wharekahika, Gisborne District. He debuted as a solo musician in 2013, and is known for his singles sung in te Reo Māori, including "Kalega" (2017), " Ka Mānu" (2019), " 35" with Ka Hao ( ...

was the musical director. The film premiered on 11 September 2017, during

Te Wiki o te Reo Māori ( en, Māori Language Week) is a government-sponsored initiative intended to encourage New Zealanders to promote the use of the Māori language which is an official language of the country. Māori Language Week is part of a broader movement to ...

. It was screened for free in thirty cinemas around the country, with no English subtitles. The soundtrack was released in November 2017, and the film launched on the

Disney+ Disney+ is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service owned and operated by the Media and Entertainment Distribution division of The Walt Disney Company. The service primarily distributes films and television se ...

streaming service on 26 June 2020.

''The Lion King Reo Māori'' and ''Frozen Reo Māori'' (2022)

Māori dubs of the 1994 film ''The Lion King'' and the 2013 film ''Frozen'' were announced in July 2021, with Matewa Media getting $500,000 in funding from

NZ On Air NZ On Air (NZOA; mi, Irirangi te Motu), formally the Broadcasting Commission, is an autonomous Crown entity and commission of the New Zealand Government responsible for funding support for broadcasting and creative works. The commission oper ...

to produce them in December 2021. The cast of ''The Lion King Reo Māori'' was announced in May 2022, with Mataara Stokes as

Simba Simba is a fictional character and the protagonist of Disney's ''The Lion King'' franchise. Introduced in the 1994 film ''The Lion King'', Walt Disney Animation's 32nd animated feature, the character subsequently appears in '' The Lion King II: ...

, Arihia Cassidy as Nala, Piripi Taylor as Mufasa, Matu Ngaropo as

Scar A scar (or scar tissue) is an area of fibrous tissue that replaces normal skin after an injury. Scars result from the biological process of wound repair in the skin, as well as in other organs, and tissues of the body. Thus, scarring is a n ...

, and Matai Rae and Justin Rogers as

Timon and Pumbaa Timon and Pumbaa are an animated meerkat and warthog duo introduced in Disney's 1994 animated film '' The Lion King'' and its franchise. Timon was played through his many appearances by Nathan Lane (in all three films and early episodes of t ...

respectively. Each group of animals speak their own Māori dialect from five different

iwi Iwi () are the largest social units in New Zealand Māori society. In Māori roughly means "people" or "nation", and is often translated as "tribe", or "a confederation of tribes". The word is both singular and plural in the Māori language, ...

; the lions are

Waikato Tainui Waikato Tainui, Waikato or Tainui is a group of Māori ''iwi'' based in Waikato Region, in the western central region of New Zealand's North Island. It is part of the larger Tainui confederation of Polynesian settlers who arrived to New Zealand ...

, the hyenas are

Ngāti Kahungunu Ngāti Kahungunu is a Māori iwi located along the eastern coast of the North Island of New Zealand. The iwi is traditionally centred in the Hawke's Bay and Wairārapa regions. The tribe is organised into six geographical and administrative ...

, Timon and Pumbaa are

Te Tai Tokerau Māori Te Tai Tokerau Māori are a group of Māori ''iwi'' (tribes) based on the Northland Peninsula of New Zealand's North Island. It includes the far northern Muriwhenua ''iwi'' (tribes) of Te Aupōuri, Ngāti Kahu, Ngāti Kurī, Te Pātū, Te Rarawa ...

, Zazu is

Taranaki Taranaki is a region in the west of New Zealand's North Island. It is named after its main geographical feature, the stratovolcano of Mount Taranaki, also known as Mount Egmont. The main centre is the city of New Plymouth. The New Plymouth D ...

, and Rafiki is

Ngāi Tūhoe Ngāi Tūhoe (), often known simply as Tūhoe, is a Māori iwi of New Zealand. It takes its name from an ancestral figure, Tūhoe-pōtiki. ''Tūhoe'' is a Māori-language word meaning "steep" or "high noon". Tūhoe people also bear the sobriquet ...

. Matewa Media appealed directly to Elton John for permission to dub his version of "

Can You Feel the Love Tonight "Can You Feel the Love Tonight" is a song from Disney's 1994 animated film ''The Lion King'' composed by English musician Elton John with lyrics by Tim Rice. At the 67th Academy Awards in March 1995 it won the Academy Award for Best Original So ...

" in the closing credits, becoming the first foreign version of the film to do so.

Stan Walker Stan Walker (born 23 October 1990) is an Australian-born New Zealand singer, actor, and television personality. In 2009, Walker was the winner of the seventh and last season of ''Australian Idol''. He subsequently signed a recording contract ...

performed the cover. The film released on 21 June 2022, with the premiere attended by the

Māori King Māori or Maori can refer to: Relating to the Māori people * Māori people of New Zealand, or members of that group * Māori language, the language of the Māori people of New Zealand * Māori culture * Cook Islanders, the Māori people of the C ...

Tūheitia Paki. The cast of ''Frozen Reo Māori'' was announced in September 2022, with Jaedyn Randell as

Anna Anna may refer to: People Surname and given name * Anna (name) Mononym * Anna the Prophetess, in the Gospel of Luke * Anna (wife of Artabasdos) (fl. 715–773) * Anna (daughter of Boris I) (9th–10th century) * Anna (Anisia) (fl. 1218 to 12 ...

, Awhimai Fraser as Elsa, Kawiti Waetford as Kristoff, James Tito as Hans, and Pere Wihongi as

Olaf Olaf or Olav (, , or British ; Old Norse: ''Áleifr'', ''Ólafr'', ''Óleifr'', ''Anleifr'') is a Scandinavian and German given name. It is presumably of Proto-Norse origin, reconstructed as ''*Anu-laibaz'', from ''anu'' "ancestor, grand-father" a ...

. Due to the colder climate, the film is in the dialect of

Ngāi Tahu Ngāi Tahu, or Kāi Tahu, is the principal Māori (tribe) of the South Island. Its (tribal area) is the largest in New Zealand, and extends from the White Bluffs / Te Parinui o Whiti (southeast of Blenheim), Mount Mahanga and Kahurangi Point ...

. The film premiered on 26 October 2022. Both films launched on Disney+ in November 2022.

Future projects

At the premiere of ''Frozen Reo Māori'', Waititi announced that the 2021 film ''

Encanto ''Encanto'' is a 2021 American computer-animated musical fantasy comedy film produced by Walt Disney Animation Studios and distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures. The 60th film produced by the studio, it was directed by Jared B ...

'' and the 2017 film '' Coco'' were next. Matewa Media secured another $500,000 in funding from NZ On Air to produce them in December 2022, and the release of ''Coco Reo Māori'' was set for

Matariki ), signalling the Māori new year., litcolor=, observedby=New Zealanders, nickname=, official_name=, alt=, image=M45 Pleiades Pbkwee (cropped to core 9 stars).jpg, relatedto=, date2022=24 June, date2023=14 July In Māori culture, Matariki is the ...

2023.

References

{{reflist Dubbing studios New Zealand companies established in 2017 Mass media companies established in 2017 Mass media companies of New Zealand Māori-language mass media Disney animation