Meet Taika Waititi – The Multitalented Goofball Writing Disney’s Moana

Yesterday news leaked that Taika Waititi will be writing the screenplay for Disney’s next animated princess film, Moana.

Waititi is a Maori of Te-Whanau-a-Apanui descent, and hails from the Raukokore region of northeast New Zealand. One cool thing about Waititi’s hiring is that Disney has actually hired a person of Polynesian decent to write about a person of Polynesian decent. Seems obvious, but it is all too rare. (I know what you’re thinking — ‘But they still hired a man to write about a woman!’ — and hey, when you’re right, you’re right.)

In addition to writing and directing Eagle vs Shark (a goofy, Napoleon Dynamite-esque film), What We Do In The Shadows (a HILARIOUS mockumentary about a group of vampires living in modern-day New Zealand) and Boy (an amazing, odd, incredibly imaginative and heartfelt film about an 11-year old boy who’s obsessed with Micheal Jackson and reconnecting with his troubled father), Waititi is also an actor, painter, standup comedian, fashion designer and photographer.

Or, to put it another way, dude keeps busy.

I look forward to seeing what such a creative person brings to the screenplay for Moana. While most screenplays are written by writers more concerned with words than images, Waititi’s work in photography, fashion and directing gives me hope that Moana will be the sort of cartoon that takes full advantage of its unique place as a ‘visual medium.’

I can’t wait!