Te Reo Moana features on Disney+

Moana fans can now watch the te reo Māori version of the film on the streaming service Disney+, three years after it featured in cinemas across New Zealand.

In a fitting start to Māori Language Week, the te reo version of Disney's Moana premiered in 30 cinemas in September 2017 — free of charge.

It also featured on Air New Zealand flights.

The original script for Moana was written by Taika Waititi and released in the US in 2016.

He, along with his whāngai sister, Tweedie Waititi, of Matewā Media, worked with Disney to dub the movie in te reo. Kiwi cast and crew went to Los Angeles to record the voiceovers.

Jaedyn Randell, 16, from Tokoroa, was cast as the voice behind the young Polynesian princess.

"I learned a lot," she told the Herald at the time of the first release. "I don't [speak fluent Māori] but I attended kōhanga reo, I've been in bilingual classes and take Māori at high school so the language is something I'm familiar with."

Randell said the film would be a good tool for those practising their reo, and said she couldn't wait to see the effect it had.

"I'm very proud to be a part of such a beautiful kaupapa and I'm hoping that this will support the revitalisation of our language," she said in 2017.

Māori Development Minister Te Ururoa Flavell said: "This is a movie that was widely enjoyed by whānau and this version will build on that popularity whilst promoting te reo."