Featured Image Credit: Disney
Topics: Disney, TV And Film, US News, News
Rhianna Benson
After an Australian mum noticed last week that the packaging of her daughter's new Moana doll bore an entirely different name, the subsequent revelation has gone viral.
It turns out, the Polynesian princess and the titular Disney movie in which she stars are both recognised by a different name for some European viewers.
And even more interestingly, it is believed that Moana received its new moniker in some areas of the continent because of some pretty saucy association with the original title.
As Tyla reported last week, Tayla Cespedes shared a video on TikTok, holding up the 'Singing Friend Moana Doll, 38cm' that she'd recently bought for her daughter for $84.99.
Advert
"And upon taking her out, I noticed that it said 'Vaiana 2' on the box, and I was like, hmm," she explained.
Things got even weirder for the Perth mum when she attempted to make Vaiana/Moana sing, only for the doll to do so in a different language.
"I am actually so confused," Tayla confessed, before asking her followers to get in touch if they recognise Vaiana, or the language in the songs.
And within a matter of minutes, the TikTok's comment section became full to the brim with explanations from European movie-lovers.
One wrote: "In Europe, she's called Vaiana/Viana because some countries had an adult movie star called Moana, so they changed her name so when kids looked this Disney movie up, they wouldn't be traumatized."
And it turns out, their theory holds up.
According to the Huff Post, in Italy, for example, the movie title is Oceania, and the central character is named Vaiana, instead of Moana.
The outlet also explained that this is also the case in several other European countries - including France, Spain, Germany, Portugal, The Netherlands and across Scandinavia.
It was suspected at the time of the film's release that this was due to the existence of late Italian adult star Moana Pozzi, starred in more than 100 adult films throughout her career.
She died in 1994 at the age of 33 after being ill for some time - reportedly having suffered liver cancer.
Speculation regarding Pozzi's name was seemingly confirmed by the Head of Theatrical Marketing for Disney Italy, who told Variety in 2016 that the porn actress' moniker had become an 'issue' that the company had spent time 'thinking about'.
Officially, Disney has maintained that the global variation in the name of the main character is due to issues regarding registered trademarks.
As per the Hollywood Reporter, a Disney source in California in 2016 said only 'the studio frequently changes titles in foreign territories for a wide variety of reasons.'