Director explains why live-action Moana ditched curls for waves when the actress already had them

The new Moana live-action is out today, and now the director has finally explained why Catherine Laga’aia’s hair in the movie was changed from the original film.

When Disney released the first trailer for the live-action Moana, there was a huge backlash for multiple reasons. But one of the biggest changes was Moana’s wavy hair compared to the original curly hair in the animated film. Loads of viewers noticed that actress Catherine Laga’aia appeared to have wavy hair in the film. This was despite her natural hair already having a similar texture to the animated version of Moana.

So, why did Disney decide to change her hair?

via Disney

Speaking to Rolling Stone, director Thomas Kail explained why it was changed. During filming, Laga’aia’s character had to move between scenes where she was completely soaked and others where she was dry. Because the production was filming scenes from different parts of the story on the same day, maintaining the same hairstyle with natural hair would have been difficult.

“We shot for 80 or 90 days and it’s [43°C] real feel, [and] what this would do with the wear and tear and [going] in and out of tanks and out of water. Sometimes we’re doing three different scenes in a day that are from completely different parts of the film,” Kail explained.

He also said, “A lot of it’s about maintenance, and in the body of the film… Moana has 30 different looks for hair. And we really tried to make sure that the given circumstance, when she gets knocked around the ocean in the storm, it’s gonna look quite different than when she’s being presented in front of the village.”

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‘I think it helped me kind of channel her’

via Disney

Laga’aia also revealed that she actually enjoyed wearing the wig and felt it helped her transform into the character. She said, “The first time I put it on, I was like, this is so cool. I get to have hair down to my waist, like it’s kind of a new look for me.”

“Once I was in this wig, once I’m in this costume, then I really am Moana,” Laga’aia said. “I think it helped me kind of channel her and see myself a little bit differently through her. So maybe there were things that, you know, Catherine couldn’t do, but Moana could do.”

Catherine Laga’aia was only 17 when she was cast as Moana. And she said it was a huge “honour to represent her heritage” through such an important role.

She added, “To do that so early and to be introduced to the world in a way that’s so attached to my culture and where I come from [is a] blessing.”

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