Disney’s 2016 movie Moana is a fascinating project to study from a feminist perspective, because it is the result of a very conscious effort on the part of a global corporation - whose output is largely white-male-led – to deliver a movie that is specifically not white-male-centric. The film is successful in some respects, while unsuccessful in others – but it teaches us a lot about the problems in the production of these huge projects, and how these problems can be resolved.

Moana tells the tale of the titular young woman (voiced by Auli’I Cravalho), and her journey to save her people. She lives on the fictional Polynesian island of Motonui, and is the daughter of Chief Tui (voiced by Temuera Morrison) – which means that she is expected to assume the role of Chief h...

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