Interview with “Moana 2” Actors, David Fane, Awhimai Fraser & Temuera Morrison

Full transcript of Interview with “Moana 2” Actors, David Fane, Awhimai Fraser & Temuera Morrison.

0:00KT: Hey friends and lovers, we are very excited. We had the opportunity to be on the blue slash red carpet for Moana 2, the Australian premiere in Sydney. We want to thank Jonathan, Catherine, the team at Disney, and obviously, always, our people, our community in the show notes, we will have the names of everyone that we interviewed.

0:24KT: Thank you for everyone for showing all the love. Oti, you've already had a chance to check out the interviews. What do you think?

0:32Oti: It was very good. Very, um, communal. It felt like everyone was in it, um, with love, which is good to see.

0:39KT: And that's what we're all about fam. Thank you so much. Moana 2 is out in Australian cinemas now.

0:50KT: Hey friends and lovers, it's Katea Talahiwa Mahe, also KT, from the For Your Reference Podcast. We are here at the Moana 2 screening. We're gonna chop it up fam. Let's do it. I think it's only fair that we start with royalty. The literal queen, friends and lovers. Gen Fricker

1:07KT: how are you feeling?

1:07Gen: I'm good. Are you enjoying 101? Love 101. Gave it a re watch the other night. Um, I don't know. When I think about it, it's so emotional to have like a Disney film.

1:17Gen: That recognises, like, Polynesian people, um, our cultures and stuff. And

1:22KT: you just spoke to the team at Te Vaka as well that worked on the music. We gotta put the credits in, girl. Yeah,

1:27Gen: we gotta put the credits in. We need to let people know what's going on. But I'm mostly excited to see Uncle Tem, Temuera Morrison. Jake the Muss.

1:35KT: Uncle forever. Yeah, yeah. Well, thank you so much for your time. I know you're a busy woman, so let's just I'll just let you know. I love you.

1:35Gen: I love you too.

1:35KT: Um, we are here with royalty again, Kween Kong.

1:46Kween: Hi, how are you? Malo, malo.

1:49KT: Thank you so much. How does it feel to be here, I guess, in all of the

1:54Kween: It feels correct, you know, it feels correct.

1:57Kween: Um, we're celebrating, you know, our ancestry, and especially for the kids, you know. I think when we were raised, we didn't really have We had Pocahontas, we had Princess Jasmine, you know, so to have Moana as a reference and especially for our kids coming up. And to be soft,

2:10KT: and that femininity.

2:12Kween: Femininity, ancestry, lineage, matriarch, we're voyagers girls, period.

2:16Kween: And we stand up in it.

2:17KT: Especially in this screening. Hello,

2:19Kween: we do.

2:20KT: I love you so much.

2:20Kween: Love you too.

2:20KT: so much for your time. Where we've celebrated the moment that goddess, the legend, the everything. We only interview queens, it seems.

2:20Sela: Oh, thank you. But I just stand next to one. Offa lahi lahi ahi, man. Like, the love is so real.

2:36KT: As a expert on movement and fluidity and love and that femininity and masculinity as well, how does it feel, I guess, being on a world stage with Moana 2 coming out doing your work as well? It's all happening. We're everywhere.

2:51Sela: We are everywhere. So get ready. That's why these events and premieres are so important because I feel like it's the Avengers forming of Pacific and Māori and all the island cultures, you know, we're all here.

3:02Sela: I've bumped into, um, music artists, designers and everything. So I'm just so happy that we're all here. Thriving and it's not only in our own communities, but it's here obviously in the world stage

3:14KT: And when we all come up, we all come up

3:15Sela: exactly. That's the difference. Yeah.

3:15KT: Love you so much. Thank you

3:21KT: How are you

3:21David: good

3:21KT: do you mind so good to see you back in And still kicking around.

3:27David: You know, I just be like, I wake up, I'm like David Fane on the red carpet. I need to, I need to get to work again.

3:27KT: Yeah, you need, you need someone to help clean the carpet afterwards. You know, well, it's so nice to see you. You look great, you always look well rested. How are you feeling?

3:27David: I'm feeling, uh, oh, I suppose excited.

3:44KT: Yeah. Could be a word and I, I don't want to say typecast, but you've also got a grumpy man character in this film with a heart of gold, I believe.

3:44David: Uh, yeah. I mean, being grumpy is, is quite true. You know, foreign to me.

3:44KT: Oh, okay.

3:44David: You know, unlike most people, uh, I, I found that being grumpy is quite hard work.

3:44KT: Oh, really?

4:03David: Yeah. I mean, how do people be grumpy for so long? Yeah. Like all day, every day. Yeah. It's so exhausting. Just be happy. Yeah, exactly. And so, um, it was really nice doing the Kele, the voice for Kele, because I, I just reminded what makes me laugh most about being grumpy is, you know, when you see elder people, you stubbed their toe.

4:25David: Yeah. And they, they hang on to that pain for so long. Yeah. Like endless. If the auntie takes the other uncle. Yeah. Yeah. Endless. It goes for months. Remember that time? You know, I'll never forget that time that you stumped my foot and you never cared. And that's so long they hold on. And so that was the, that was the vibe I was going for.

4:49KT: It's so beautiful to see you and so many legends be. Consolidated in a Disney Moana film. Yeah. How does it feel to be able to be the legacy and a part of an ongoing legacy?

4:49David: Well, the funny thing is, is that, um, when it was a TV series, it was, um, you, you didn't feel the pressure. Yeah. Like it was real fun.

5:11David: And then it became a film and then it was like a, oh, oh, serious now. But it didn't lose any of that vibe as we're carrying on. Oh, yeah. It was over. I was, what? Oh no, gotta work harder. But no, it was like, have more fun. Make, you know, make wilder suggestions. Yeah, absolutely. And the ones that made it, yeah, good.

5:35David: The ones that didn't make it, you know,

5:40KT: Well I don't want to take too much more of your time, but I guess just quickly, for our up and coming babies, what advice do you have?

5:40David: Oh, like, like, the vibe is this, this is my advice. Think about it over Christmas as, as, as look beyond yourself and push yourself. Same as Moana does. Yeah. And you'll find something new and, and the new person you find.

6:02KT: Oh, winner! Yeah. Chicken dinner! Winner, winner! We're rising tides and we're coming up together. Yeah. Absolutely. Exactly. Hello.

6:22KT: Thank you so much for your time.

6:22David: Of course.

6:22KT: I would love to pause this moment because there's so much to talk about. Why am I getting emotional? Not you crying, not me crying.

6:32Awhimai: It's so nice to meet you.

6:32KT: Te reo version of Frozen, as well as Matangi, as well as Moana 2. Is it even worth asking what does this mean?

6:42KT: Like, what does this mean? What does it mean for you and for the people, especially in Aotearoa right now?

6:47Awhimai: Yeah, everything. That's a lot of pressure breaking, isn't it? Everything, no, it's a great question. It's everything, you know. I'm so proud to be here to represent um, my whānau, my family, to represent our country.

6:58Awhimai: Um, and most importantly, to celebrate the songs and the story and hopefully this um, Eccentric, uh, larger than life, um, interesting, hopefully, and surprising character as well. Yeah, super proud. It's a huge moment.

7:13KT: Yeah, and how did it feel recording the musical number Get Lost Is It?

7:16Awhimai: Yes! You know what? I'm gonna need to spin that a couple of times, I think.

7:21Awhimai: I feel like I've just blinked and now it's here and we can hear it. It was, it was an amazing process. Yeah. Um, I've never heard anything like it. I've never prepared for anything like it. I was challenged, but I was also invigorated, and I just loved working with Barlow and Bear. I loved working with the whole team who brought that song together.

7:42Awhimai: Um, I think it's insane. It's amazing. It's one of a kind. And we deserve it.

7:46KT: Yes!

7:47Awhimai: And the movie deserves it, and our whānau deserve it. Absolutely.

7:51KT: Um, just very quickly, uh, what advice do you have to our babies out there? Oh! That are up and coming, that don't want to tap into the industry and tell stories.

7:58KT: Amazing. Amazing.

8:00Awhimai: Go for it darling. You got it. Absolutely. Give it your all. Surround yourself with people who believe in you. Um, who want the best for you. Who love you. Um, and I can't wait to see what you do. It's all about mana.

8:00KT: Yeah, absolutely.

8:00Awhimai: And about aroha.

8:00KT: so much. so much. Nice to meet you. Enjoy the movie.

8:18Awhimai: Have you seen the movie?

8:18KT: No, not yet.

8:18Awhimai: Oh, me neither. I'll see you soon. You've got to come through.

8:23KT: Literally, interviewing queens only. Oh, okay. Thank you so much for your time. We are officially podcast official. Hell yes! And we love to see you.

8:34Sose: Let's go!

8:36KT: How are you feeling about Moana 2? Have you even seen it yet?

8:39Sose: I've only seen the first half hour of this film. And what I can say is that maybe the first five I was already getting emotional. I was getting emotional talking to Alfie and Mike. That too, that too. Everyone here is just so amazing. But, no, everything about what I've seen so far is It's fulfilling. It feels right.

9:04Sose: You know, when we see Moana, she's three years on from the original. So I don't think there's been another Disney character, much less a heroine, that when we return to in the sequel, we see her growing incrementally. Like normally you have the first one, the second movie, they've got kids and they're kind of, they're grown and they're sort of not main character energy.

9:26Sose: It's fulfilling. Moana, she's, I'm going to say like late teens by this stage and you see the growth and development and I think that's wonderful.

9:35KT: We love Moana but we also love you as well. If there was a Mattel line you should definitely be on there.

9:35Sose: Oh, let's pitch it, let's pitch it. Let's hype that up.

9:43KT: Do you have any advice, especially being a music journalist and an everything all around legend, do you have any advice for the babies out there that want to get into the industry?

9:52Sose: Keep going, keep going. Um, no, I think I was saying to somebody earlier right now Has never been a more important or perfect time for our stories to be out there And nobody

10:05KT: again for everyone at home online

10:07Sose: Now more than ever We need your voices our stories have Have always mattered but right now when there are so many Literal powers trying to squash that out.

10:22Sose: Yeah Keep going Keep going. For everybody who tells you no, be like, all right, sick. Your table, there's no room in that table. I've got my own, so.

10:32KT: We, we're here to break tables. Exactly.

10:34Sose: Exactly. I don't need your table with no seasoning.

10:36KT: This

10:36Sose: is our

10:36KT: fault. Unseasoned Keller shout outs interview, by the way. I know you're busy, but thank you so much.

10:42KT: We did it officially. Thank you so much. Katea.

10:46Temuera: Katea. Yeah.

10:46KT: K

10:47Temuera: A T E A.

10:48KT: How did you know? Are you part Tongan?

10:51Temuera: No. No. I had a Tongan friend at high school. He used to look after me because he was a good boxer.

10:59KT: Yeah,

10:59Temuera: Fred Vino was his name.

11:00KT: Oh, no, that's a strong time.

11:02Temuera: You know, you know, yeah. And he used to look after me because at boarding school, it can get a little bit rough.

11:07KT: Yeah.

11:07Temuera: Because you only get one egg for breakfast and sometimes someone will steal your egg.

11:11KT: I love this uncle, we just went straight into the interview. But

11:14Temuera: but with my Tongan friend, he'd always look after me. So I have a soft spot for Tonga.

11:18KT: I want to so much for your time.

11:18Temuera: Thank you very much.

11:18KT: And we are so happy.

11:22Temuera: No, no.

11:22KT: To be able to see you on a big stage.

11:24Temuera: You know, it's a good movie.

11:25KT: Yes.

11:26Temuera: I'll tell you.

11:26KT: Every movie you're in.

11:26Temuera: No, no. I've seen the Tongan movie, Red, White & Brass. It is the best movie I've seen in a long, long time since Moana.

11:35KT: I interviewed the director, Damon Fepulea'i.

11:37Temuera: I got to meet that guy. He was, that was the funnest movie.

11:39Temuera: And JP as well. JP, I know JP. We did TV together, me and JP. He's very talented. But I think what's happening is Polynesia, we're waking up. We're making our stories now. And, uh, and that's a perfect example of, of the humour. And let us be, let us be us. And, uh, that's what's happening. Moana 2 as well. It's extravagant.

11:56Temuera: It's extravagant. It's, uh, huge. And, um, and just the colours, the fiesta. Of course the music of Opetaia. It just gives, it gives you a desire to get into your waka.

12:08KT: Uh huh.

12:09Temuera: And wherever your waka's going, it gives you encouragement. It reinvigorates us too. To do what Moana does.

12:15KT: It feels like we're in my mum's island, Ha'apai, under the mango tree.

12:19KT: It doesn't even feel like we're on the red carpet right now.

12:21Temuera: No, no.

12:22KT: This is a beautiful thing.

12:23Temuera: It's a beautiful thing. Polynesian to the fore. Polynesian power.

12:27KT: And the te reo Māori version of Moana as well. And coming out at the same time.

12:30Temuera: That's remarkable. Yeah. That we can do that now. Yeah. Stand on it.

12:34Temuera: And have the expertise and the support of Disney to do these things too. Yeah. So, um, I'm looking forward to seeing both versions. Yes.

12:44KT: And I want to thank you so much for your time. Just very quickly, for all of our babies out there that want to be in the film industry, music, voice acting, everything. Yes, yes.

12:52KT: What's your advice?

12:54Temuera: Well, you know, I always just sort of, uh, I grew up singing my Māori music, doing the haka for tourists. And I always just thought, well, if you give it a go. Yeah. You know, and then you find out if you like things or not. And, but sometimes we sort of sit back and we sort of get too shy, whakamā.

13:12Temuera: You got that word too, we got that word, whakamā. And that's the trouble with some of us. And we gotta be more tenacious. More bold. And just give it a go. You got nothing to, to worry about, really.

13:24KT: so much uncle,

13:24Temuera: Give it a go.

13:24KT: so much.

13:28Temuera: Give it a go. Hoea te waka. Paddle the canoe I say.

13:31KT: Always. Hoea te waka. Always.