Disney Moana costume sparks debate

People shared their outraged over this Moana, Disney Costume.

We previously shared how one particular Moana costume from Disney had people up in arms, resulting in it being pulled from sale.

The children’s costume was inspired by the character Maui, a Polynesian god voiced by Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson in the film, Moana, and includes an “island-style skirt” made of fabric leaves, rope necklace, and fabric brown skin with tattoos.

The arms and legs were padded to simulate Maui’s muscle-bound physique and “photorealistic teeth art appliqués.”

The zip-up costume, which cost nearly $50 along with a matching wig for another $15, left many people wondering if it’s a celebration of culture or a very offensive example of cultural appropriation.

1moana moana costume

People online raised their concerns that the costume caricatures Polynesian culture, particularly by turning Maui’s brown skin into a costume piece. Some had mixed feelings of wanting to support Polynesians who are working on the movie while still feeling the costume was not acceptable.

Disney, I love you and I love what i’m seeing of Moana so far but you screwed up with that Maui Costume.

— ????lita. (@LitaNZ) September 19, 2016

As excited as I am for #Moana, and as cool as Maui will be, other people’s skins are not costumes. @DisneyAnimation https://t.co/p9RsWt18o0

— jess banks (@ProfBanks) September 18, 2016

As a Poly I support our folk involved in #MOANA. But this? NO.Our Brown Skin/Ink’s NOT a costume. @DisneyMoana pic.twitter.com/X0pacppAqV

— TheBlackSheep.com (@LivinOffTheGrid) September 18, 2016

According to Huffington Post, Disney discontinued the sale of the costumes and also issued an apology.

“The team behind Moana has taken great care to respect the cultures of the Pacific Islands that inspired the film, and we regret that the Maui costume has offended some,” the company said in a statement. “We sincerely apologize and are pulling the costume from our website and stores.”

Update 30 October 2017

Yet again a Moana costume has caused controversy after parents claimed the outfit “made fun of someone else’s culture”.

Sachi Feris urged parents on her blog to not allow their little girls to dress up as Disney’s Moana character for Halloween because it is based on “real history and a real group of people”.

Her daughter had told her she wanted to dress as the Polynesian girl which led to the issue of “cultural appropriation”.

The girl then suggested Elsa from Frozen but Ms Feris also objected to the idea.

“There is one thing I don’t like about the character of Elsa. I feel like because Elsa is a White princess, and we see so many white princesses, her character sends the message that you have to be a certain way to be “beautiful” or to be a ‘princess'”, she wrote. Read the full blog here.

moana 2 moana 1

While some mothers backed her call on the outfit being inappropriate on social media, others were quick to point out there was no such issue and the costume wasn’t racist.

“Kids don’t care about race. What do you think your kid is going to tell her friends? She can’t be Moana because Moana is different race and culture?” one comment read.

What do you think of this costume? Did they go too far?

Share your comments below.

31 Comments

- - ChiWren said
  - 04 Sep 2024
    3:22 pm
Honestly, I get it. It’s no longer okay to dress as ‘indians’ (indigenous people). We can appreciate and love something without having to dress like it.

- - june11 said
  - 11 Nov 2017
    9:00 pm
A costume is supposed to be fun. Moana is a childrens’ movie/series. Was there a fuss and it banned? haved the Polynesian people complained?

- - BellaB said
  - 01 Nov 2017
    9:33 am
I have less of a problem with this costume. But I think this Mum needs to get her head straight. If her daughter can’t dress as someone from a different culture, OR as someone who’s white. what does that leave her?

- - country chick said
  - 31 Oct 2017
    9:35 am
It’s a costume… how else do you depict tattoos all over the skin??

- - mom112217 said
  - 31 Oct 2017
    9:16 am
It is a costume,l can’t see the problem!

- - Ellen said
  - 31 Oct 2017
    7:47 am
I don’t see anything wrong with it. Kids like to dress up as Cowboy’s, Indians, king & Queens, Princes and Princesses, Tarzan and Moana. Nothing wrong with the beautiful brown skin and the rich culture Moana comes from, in the contrary I think !

- - ashna9 said
  - 30 Oct 2017
    6:48 pm
I don’t see anything wrong with this costume but I can also see what other people are saying.

- - mom81879 said
  - 30 Oct 2017
    6:48 pm
Are you kidding me?! How can dressing up as a character, a sports person, a famous movie star….any of the above, how can it be racist. Get a life people

- - mom206279 said
  - 30 Oct 2017
    6:17 pm
A kid wanting to wear a Disney costume is not ever racist. Its because they love the character and want to look like them. They wouldn’t even see the skin colour!

- - mom90758 said
  - 30 Oct 2017
    1:31 pm
For me it’s just a costume. I wouldn’t see any other meaning behind it.

- - mom160421 said
  - 30 Oct 2017
    1:12 pm
I think this costume reflects the movie’s character, not an entire race of people.

- - mom94125 said
  - 08 Oct 2017
    2:33 pm
i think that this was done respectfully and not offensive at all but yet again the pc crew wins and takes more fun away from the kids

- - nealsq said
  - 19 Jul 2017
    3:09 pm
I would take it as a compliment, raise awareness of your culture, explain to people the significance of the tattoos, why do we always have to jump on the insult bandwagon

- - june11 said
  - 17 Jun 2017
    10:06 pm
Too many things are being effected by political correctness.
There is probably lots of other costumes that should be removed if this one is.

- - mom79779 said
  - 01 Jun 2017
    2:18 pm
Really??? Come on people…it’s a COSTUME not life threatening in any way…..get a life gawd

- - tessie said
  - 30 May 2017
    6:26 am
I wonder if the people who complained actually have young kids. They just want to dress up as their idols and favourite characters. Can’t people find something better to complain about. Kids don’t wear them out of disrespect, they wear them out of love and respect.

- - ella12 said
  - 29 May 2017
    2:18 pm
It is a kids costume for goodness sake! Seriously, people need to stop being so uptight over silly little minor things.
- mom79779 replied
  
  01 Jun 2017 , 2:14 pm
  I 100% agree!!!
- - rovermum said
  - 29 May 2017
    9:26 am
Really? Seriously? What is going on when you can’t dress as a character? I think it’s absolute overkill.

- - rachel1970 said
  - 27 May 2017
    7:35 am
That is just crazy, I have Polynesian friends and they think the costumes are great. Some people just need to get over it-it’s just a costume.

- - sars_angelchik said
  - 26 May 2017
    9:55 am
Seriously? It’s just a costume! I think people just need to stop being offended at every little thing! There is nothing wrong with having brown skin so it shouldn’t be bad to dress up that way. How else is a kid supposed to dress up as Maui? Utterly stupid! I think people are just too worried about being ‘politically correct’ that they just miss the point.