The Disney animation voiced by Auli'I Cravalho and The Rock is called 'Oceana' in Italy to avoid confusion with a porn star.
- November 19, 2016
AceShowbiz -
"Moana" gets a new title in Italy. Instead of being named after its Polynesian heroine, the Disney animated movie voiced by Auli'i Cravalho and Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson is called "Oceana" for its Italian release. It's because Moana is also the name of an Italian porn star Moana Pozzi who died in 1994.
Directors John Musker and Ron Clements confirmed that the name changes had something to do with the porn star's name. "There are two very simple reasons for the title change," an Italian marketing expert additionally told Variety. "One is that if you type 'Moana' and do a Google search in Italy you risk coming up with porn videos. And it's very expensive and a waste of money to try and change that."
"Moana" is not the only film getting retitled outside the U.S. "Neighbors" was known as "Bad Neighbors" across the pond to avoid confusion with an unrelated Australian soap opera. "Zootopia" was known as "Zootropolis" in U.K. "to merely allow the film to have a unique title that works for UK audiences." It's also known as "Zoomania" in Germany and "Crazy Animal City" in China.
