2. Cast
Directed by
◦ Chris Williams
◦ Ron Clements
◦ Jhon Musker
◦ Don Hall
Produced by
◦ Nicole P. Hearon
◦ John Lasseter
◦ Osnat Shurer
Actors
character Acting by
Auli'i Cravalho Moana (voice)
Dwayne Johnson Maui (voice)
Rachel House Gramma Tala (voice)
Temuera Morrison Chief Tui (voice)
Nicole Scherzinger Sina (voice)
Louise Bush Louise Bush
3. Release date and its impact
Strategy Impact
Released on the thanksgiving
festival
People with their families tend
to visit the cinemas to spend
time together on such festivals
Holiday season Because of the holiday children
would be more attracted to the
cinema.
4. The Poster release
The first poster for the movie
definitely sold the spectacle and
visuals of the movie, showing the
father and daughter riding a small
boat on the wide, bright blue ocean.
“The ocean is calling” is the only
copy other than the title, telling
people that there’s some sort of
journey, likely of self-discovery, that
will be told in the movie.
5. ◦ The next poster more clearly shows off
both Maui and Moana, both of whom
are standing on a small patch of beach
sand with massive waves cresting and
swirling around them, which sets up the
location for the story. The movie is
tagged as coming from creators of both
Zootopia and Frozen to give it some
cred with the kiddos.
6. Teaser Trailers
The first teaser trailer begins by introducing us to the fantastic feats accomplished
by the demigod Maui, which are amazing, if he does say so himself. We watch him
reenacting all kinds of accomplishments and soon see he’s doing so for the benefit
of his teenage daughter, who gives him a look between disgust and confusion that’s
unique to teenage daughters. After that it’s all about the visuals as we see Maui and
Moana sailing, fishing and more and get a chance to really see how gorgeous the
movie is going to look.
7.
8. Official trailer
◦ The first full trailer starts out by introducing us to the peaceful island Moana calls
home and the grave threat looming over it. A hero must travel and find Maui to
defeat the monster and Moana is that hero. Of course their first meeting isn’t as
smooth as anyone might have thought, but eventually she convinces him to join
her, especially after she shows off the special connection she has with the sea.
After that it’s all wacky hijinks and monster battles, though of course there’s
plenty of room for the cute but ferocious little coconut creatures, some jokes
involved Moana’s chicken sidekick and more.
9.
10. Songs Released
The song “ HOW FAR I’LL GO ” was released a few weeks before the release the
song immediately created a hype over the internet because of the variety of
languages the song was comprising off.
11.
12. Social media
◦ The film had its own website and other social media accounts.
◦ Associated with them was a link that could take you to a site to buy tickets. After
that was a section of various videos, including the trailer, clips, features and
interviews and more. Then there’s a synopsis that outlines the story and mentions
the talent involved.
13. Advertising and Cross-Promotion
The TV spots opened up with an extended promo airing during the recent
Olympics. The commercial’s main focus is to introduce the lava monster that will
be the antagonist to the story but is more focused on the reluctant partnership
between Maui and Moana. The former is not thrilled to have a partner but she’s
persistent in wanting to accompany him. Online and social ads drove ticket sales as
well as views of the trailers and other videos. There was plenty of outdoor
advertising as well that used the key art of Moana and Maui to show off the
characters and setting.
14.
15. Media and Publicity
◦ Well in advance of its release the movie would start building buzz by giving
audiences at Disney’s 2015 D23 conference a first look at footage and bringing
Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson out to talk about his role.
◦ Things would then go quiet until late 2015 when it was announced that a native
Hawaiian film’s titular lead character, a young girl. This was a smart move as many
movies have come under fire recently for casting Caucasian actors or actresses to
play a character who’s decidedly not Caucasian, or at least not of the same ethnic
background as the character. I’m sure there’s more to it than that, but doing so
helped head off the same backlash those other movies have come in for.
