Te Waimarie Ngatai-Callaghan voices Mirabel Madrigal in Disney's Encanto Reo Maori which is in cinemas now.
Te Waimarie Ngatai-Callaghan voices Mirabel Madrigal in Disney's Encanto Reo Maori which is in cinemas now.
Rotorua te reo Māori singer Te Waimarie Ngatai-Callaghan has made her Disney debut in the animated movie Encanto Reo Māori.
Encanto Reo Māori celebrates ahi kaa - a Pā environment where a village thrives. It opened on Thursday in time for Te Wiki o Te Reo Māori (Māori Language Week).
It tells the story of the Madrigals who live hidden in the Colombian mountains, in a wondrous place called an Encanto. Every child in the family has a unique gift - except one, Mirabel. But when she finds out that the magic surrounding the Encanto is in danger, Mirabel decides that she might be her exceptional family’s last hope.
Born and bred in Rotorua, the 20-year-old from Koutu said scoring the lead role of voicing Mirabel was a career milestone that she was “still wrapping my head around”.
“It’s every little girl’s dream to be a Disney princess and ... to be a part of a Disney film was just absolutely surreal.
Te Waimarie Ngatai-Callaghan made her Disney debut voicing Mirabel for Encanto Reo Māori.
It won best-animated feature at the 2022 Academy Awards and tells the tale of the Madrigal family who live hidden in the mountains of Colombia, in a magical house called an Encanto.
It is the fifth film Matewa Media has produced in te reo. Other titles are COCO Reo Māori, Frozen Reo Māori, The Lion King Reo Māori and Moana Reo Māori.
“This was a culturally dynamic movie and just to relate to Colombian culture as Māori, with their cultural expectations, family expectations, it can really resonate with Māoridom.
“We’ve got our kaumatua [tribal elder], our pakeke [adults] and we’ve also got our mokopuna or tamariki [children] so it’s just that whole intergenerational connection that was really similar and quite moving.
“To even see Encanto being heard in te reo Māori, it hit home and it hit different,” Ngatai-Callaghan said.
“Definitely, kapa haka has played a huge part with my mahi waiata.
“This is my first-ever time in the space with acting or with Disney so it’s definitely been a beautiful experience for me and kapa haka was a vital part.
Ngatai-Callaghan said her biggest challenge was trying to be Mirabel in her authentic way.
“Honestly, I struggled with being Mirabel only because I went to St Joseph Māori Girls’ College and the expectation there is also high,’' she said.
“Even when I went into the booth, I had that St Jo’s [St Joseph] mindest but Mirabel was the total opposite of those standards.
“It was about un-layering and taking out all those teachings I’d learned from school and trying to be a whole different person and step outside of my comfort zone,” Ngatai-Callaghan said.
Mirabel’s longing for her grandmother’s approval was another aspect of growing up as an indigenous woman that resonated with Ngatai-Callaghan.
“You can definitely see some of that in Māoridom, especially nowadays you see our mokopuna being raised by their grandparents and it’s not a bad thing honestly, it’s definitely not, but it’s just the beauty of that knowledge being passed down.
“I love seeing indigenous people taking their voice, taking their stance and I think that the beauty of Encanto Reo Māori, we were able to forge that pathway for our tamariki.
Voicing Mirabel taught her a lot about her confidence and what she wanted.
“She actually knew what she wanted, but it was just a bit hard to get that acceptance from her whanau and especially from Abuela [Abuela Alma, the grandmother in the movie] but she still did it anyway.
“This is just a little snippet of what iwi Māori can offer for our babies,” Ngatai-Callaghan said.
Te Waimarie Ngatai-Callaghan (Mirabel) and Hinetu Dell (Abuela Alma) at the screening for Encanto Reo Māori in Auckland.
Matewa Media director and producer Chelsea Winstanley said it was Disney’s “most culturally diverse” production.
Producer and director Tweedie Waititi said it was a true collaboration of Colombian and Māori cultures with similarities that celebrate “community, intergenerational knowledge and respect for our elders”.
She said translations for the film were not tied to a specific dialect and were completed by renowned mātanga reo Māori [experts] Pānia Papa and Leon Blake.
Multi-linguist Hana Mereraiha and Colombian consultant Mauricio Locano ensure the Spanish language is honoured.
Waititi says, “Although this has been the most challenging film of them all, it’ll pull on the heartstrings, make you laugh and cry all in one breath”.
Aleyna Martinez is a multimedia journalist based in the Bay of Plenty. She moved to the region in 2024 and has previously reported in Wairarapa and at Pacific Media Network.
