- “You are the future of our people, Moana. They are not out there. They are right here. It's time to be who they need you to be.”
- ― Tui to his daughter.
Tui is a supporting character in Disney's 2016 animated feature film Moana. He is the former chief/village leader of Motunui, and is the husband of Sina and father of Moana and Simea. Tui was an aspiring voyager in his youth, but after experiencing a traumatic event, he developed aquaphobia and forbade his people from journeying beyond his island's reef.
Quick Answers
What event led to Chief Tui developing aquaphobia in Disney's Moana?
Who succeeded Chief Tui's father as the leader of Motunui?
How does Chief Tui's past as an aspiring voyager influence his role in Moana?
What is the relationship between Chief Tui and the main character, Moana?
Why did Chief Tui forbid his people from journeying beyond the island's reef in Moana?
Background
Tui is the chief of the people on the island of Motunui, residing alongside his wife Sina and daughter Moana. As chief, Tui succeeded his father, and as evidenced by the stones left behind atop Motunui's sacred mountain, comes from a long line of rulers.
Generations before Tui's birth, a catastrophe triggered by the demigod Maui rendered the seas dangerous and unfit for wayfinding. To protect their people, the ancient chiefs forbid voyaging, thus abolishing a long-standing tradition of their society. Though the law was upheld through the generations, Tui found himself drawn to the seas and aspired to follow in his ancestors' footsteps as a wayfinder. One night, Tui and his best friend took a canoe out into the ocean, and successfully crossed Motunui's barrier reef. Upon doing so, however, the two were struck by rough waves that destroyed their vessel. Although Tui survived, his best friend was lost to the sea, having drowned. Consumed by his heartache and guilt, Tui became aquaphobic, and vowed to never again disobey the ancient law of his ancestors.
Official description
- Chief Tui is the gregarious and well-respected leader of the people of Motunui Island. Chief Tui wants Moana to follow in his footsteps as leader of their people, but fears his daughter's draw to the ocean and the world that lies beyond their reef.[3]
Personality
Tui is a well-respected and caring leader. He values his family, island, and people, showing great pride in the life they've built for themselves. He truly believes Motunui to be paradise, and has become perfectly content in remaining on its shores. As chief, he has made it his mission to ensure that his family and people feel the same, for their own happiness.
Though he loves his family, Tui's stubbornness often clashes with that of Moana, due to the latter's love for the sea. Tui sees himself in his daughter, both positively and negatively; since her birth, he has pressured Moana to uphold their family legacy by succeeding him as chief, a position he believes she would handle exceptionally. However, Moana also shares her father's youthful love for the ocean. Having lingering guilt for his friend's death, Tui sees Moana's desire to reinvigorate voyaging as selfish, accusing her of pursuing a dream at the cost of endangering their people. His staunch adherence to his belief that the island will provide despite the concrete evidence that their home is dying shows that Tui is too afraid to admit his belief is becoming invalid and actually endangering his people. Once it is made clear to the whole village that the darkness is indeed real, he reveals his cowardly side, attempting to destroy his ancestors' boats just to keep Moana and everyone else away from the dangers of the reef, only stopping due to his mother's failing health. Once Moana proves her worth by sailing across the ocean and saving the village, Tui is able to come to terms with her love for the sea, and his own. He then proudly supports Moana, who succeeds him as the new chief.
Appearances
Moana
Early in her youth, Moana was drawn to the sea, and the ancient legends told by her grandmother (and Tui's mother) Tala. Tala believed an ancient curse was slowly consuming the world, meaning someone would have to venture past the reef to save the island. Tui believed otherwise, and was open about his opinion on the matter. He also believed the idea of leaving Motunui to be a foolish one, as he viewed his village as nothing short of paradise. Nevertheless, Moana still found herself attracted to the open ocean, which only drove Tui and his wife Sina to spend years breaking her out of the apparent phase. By the time Moana was teenaged, Tui felt comfortable with taking her to a sacred part of the island, where chiefs of the past place their rock to solidify the start of their eras. With Moana next in line to serve as chief, Tui expresses excitement in having his daughter follow in his footsteps, but stresses that Moana must forget her love for exploration to properly focus on the welfare of her people and family.
Moana willingly agrees, and she works alongside her father and mother as leaders of the village. She proves to be successful, with Tui having so much trust and pride that he allows her to singlehandedly solve some of the issues throughout the community. At one point, however, the food supply in the island begins to die down, including the fish. With every idea to fix the problem having been executed and met with failure, Moana suggests her people sail beyond the reef to find fish elsewhere. This angers Tui immensely, who reminds his people that no one is to leave the island. Moana argues against him, which only angers her father further. Tui gruffly reiterates his longstanding law, and leaves the scene before his temper worsens. With Moana failing to understand her father's decision, Sina explains the accident that killed Tui's best friend years ago. Though this gives Moana some context, it doesn't help her dilemma.
Later that night, Tui and Sina gathered with the villagers to discuss the crises of their dwindling food supply. Moana suddenly arrives and claims to have a solution, which rests on the legendary heart of Te Fiti. Moana shows her people the stone and tells them they were once voyagers with the ships of their ancestors still in their possessions, albeit hidden away in a secret cave, and suggests using them to seek out Te Fiti and restore her heart. This infuriates Tui, who regrets not destroying the hidden boats years ago when he had the chance. He grabs a torch and heads to the hidden cave to do just that, though Moana tries to stop him and shows him the heart. Tui discards it as nothing but a rock, and as Moana scurries to recover it, she finds Tala's cane on the ground.
Tui and Moana are informed that Tala is in critical condition, and rush to her deathbed to oversee the problem. According to the medics, there is no foreseeable cure for Tala's failing health, and Tui mournfully remains by his mother's bedside as she passes away. Meanwhile, Moana leaves her home to fulfill her grandmother's dying wish of returning the heart of Te Fiti to save her people. During her voyage, Tui briefly returns in a nightmare in which he and Sina are killed by the growing darkness consuming their island.
Back in reality, Tui and Sina continue to overlook the dying crops. Suddenly, they begin to heal and grow as fresh as can be. The island appears to be saved, and just as this occurs, Moana returns from her voyage. Tui and Sina run to greet their daughter, and although the latter admits to having journeyed passed the reef, her father smiles and states that it suits her. From there, Moana succeeds him as the new Chief (Chieftess) of Motunui, and reinvigorates her island's wayfinding roots. With her parents supporting the abolition of the law, Moana takes her people to the seas to begin a new era of voyaging, with Tui among them.
Other appearances
An emoticon version of Tui appeared in the As Told by Emoji retelling of Moana.
Gallery
Trivia
- An abandoned concept in earlier drafts of the movie involved Tui sending Heihei the rooster to tag along Moana's journey as a watchdog. In these versions, Heihei was Tui's sidekick of sorts, and accompanied the chief often. The rooster also took after Tui, as he was no-nonsense and aggressive with Moana's rule-breaking tendencies.[4]
- Tui's necklace is made of whale teeth, which only royalty were allowed to wear, further establishing his role as chief.[5]
- Both of his voice actors portrayed Chiefs as well: Temuera Morrison as Daimyo Boba Fett and Christopher Jackson as President George Washington.
- In the demo version of "Shiny", Tui was the relative that Tamatoa mocked. In the movie, Tamatoa mocks Tala.
- Originally, Tui had nine sons (Moana's older brothers). He had pride in each of them and their sailing talents but was less pleased whenever Moana tried to join them at sea.
- While they don't have any sons, Tui and Sina do have a second child by the time of the events in Moana 2. Specifically, they have a three-year-old daughter named Simea.
- In deleted scenes, Tui knew the truth of Maui and Te Fiti, and openly prevented his people from sailing specifically to keep them away from the dangerous land spirit Te Po (named "Te Kā" in the final film).
- In earlier drafts, it was Tui's father who died at sea, rather than Tui's best friend.
- The name "Tui" is of Maori origin which means "A kind of bird which eats honey always as food."
- Although Jackson provided Tui's singing voice in the first Moana, Morrison did so in the sequel.[6]
Variants
- Chief Tui (Moana 2026)
References
- ↑ "Moana: Here’s the Cast of the Upcoming Live-Action Film". The Walt Disney Company.com (June 12, 2024).
- ↑ https://www.thewrap.com/moana-2-footage-description/
- ↑ "New ‘Moana’ Photos and Character Details Introduce You to the Animated Cast". Screencrush (July 25, 2016).
- ↑ "Comic Con 2016: 15 Things to Know About Disney’s ‘Moana’". Collider (July 22, 2016).
- ↑ Julius, J., Lasseter, J., Malone, M. (2016). The Art of Moana. Chronicle Books, page 60.
- ↑ "This ‘Moana 2’ Star Will Finally Get a Chance to Show Off Their Singing Chops". Collider (August 19, 2024).
External links
Tui on Moana Wiki
