No, Moana isn’t Disney’s ‘first trans princess’ in Moana 2
A still of the Disney character Moana wearing a red and white patterned top with a floral headband. (Disney)
Right-wingers were up in arms over a report that Moana would be Disney’s ‘first trans princess’ in Moana 2 – but it was all a hoax.
Word started to spread In December 2023 that Moana was to become the House of Mouse’s “first transgender princess”, but the report originated from Mouse Trap News, a satirical website that publishes jokey fabricated stories about Disney.
The story claimed that Moana would team up with shape-shifting demi-god Maui “again to find her true self” in Moana 2, which arrives in UK cinemas on Friday (29 November).
The hero would supposedly begin her transition halfway through the movie and become Kai, sharing “his new male identity with his family and friends on the island”.
The satirical blog post claimed the island of Motunui, which was originally “transphobic”, eventually accepts Kai, fixes their “bigoted mind set” and “fully embraces” the character.
Mouse Trap News also released a video about the supposed “news” on their Instagram and TikTok channels, including an edited image of Moana as a transgender man.
Conservatives were duped by the viral videos and shared their outrage online. One person commented on Instagram that the alleged changes were “disgusting” while another vowed to cancel their Disney+ subscription and “never take [their] kids to Disneyland again”.
Meanwhile, on TikTok, some right-wingers promised to never watch Disney again if the news was true.
Mouse Trap News’ bio explicitly states that it produces “fake stories” about Disney and that everything on the website is “not true, real or accurate, but it is fun”.
In April 2023, Dwayne Johnson, who provided the voice for Maui in the 2016 film, announced that a live-action remake was in the works. Seven months later, in an interview on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, he confirmed that the his next project was the Disney reimagining. There have been no reports of any trans storyline in that movie, either.
Mouse Trap News has been the source of other (fake) rumours about queer representation in Disney films, reporting in October, that Elsa (voiced by Idina Menzel) would be marrying a woman in Frozen III.
Fans have thought for a while that Elsa could be queer.
While Disney won’t be introducing an animated trans princess, many real life Disney Channel stars have come out publicly as LGBTQ+, including Hannah Montana‘s Miley Cyrus and High School Musical‘s Joshua Bassett.
Moana 2 is released in UK cinemas this Friday (29 November).
How did this story make you feel?
