DreamWorks Animation’s “Shrek” to be adapted as a Māori language film and world premiere at Māoriland Film Festival 2025

Ka tū tapatahi a Māoriland Charitable Trust me DreamWorks Animation ki te whakamāori i a “Shrek”

Māoriland Charitable Trust and DreamWorks Unite to Dub “Shrek” in te reo Māori.

E hīkaka ana mātou o Māoriland Charitable Trust ki te whakapāoho atu ki te ao, kua kotahi mātou ko DreamWorks Animation kia whakakorowaitia te pakiwaituhi rongonui ko “Shrek” ki te reo Māori. 

Kia rewaina a Shrek ki te ahurei kiriata o Māoriland hei te wā o Poutū-te-rangi 2025. Nō muri, he whakaaturanga motuhake ka tū, puta i Aotearoa.

Hei tā Te Tumu Whakarae o Māoriland, a Libby Hakaraia “He huhua ngā whānau puta i te ao e tino ngākaunui ana ki a Shrek. E harikoakoa ana mātou ki te whakamāori i te wairua hohonu me te reo ngahau o tēnei pakiwaituhi hirahira.”

40 katoa ngā reo rerekē o Shrek e rangona ana e te tinitini, e te manomano huri noa i te ao. Heoi, he tuatahitanga tēnei mō te panoni i te reo kōrero o tētahi pakiwaituhi nā DreamWorks Animation ki te reo Māori.

Hei tā Scott McCarthy, VP, Localisation mō DreamWorks Animation “Kei te harikoa mātou. Nā te mahi ngātahi me Māoriland ka tū haumi me te aroha ki ēnei o ngā kawenga kōrero hirahira. Ehara a Shrek i te kiriata noa iho. Mei kore ake te ao kawe kōrero hei whakanui te motuhaketanga o ngā ahurea ō te tangata, ka mutu me te whakahonohono i te tangata. Ko Shrek te tauira. Nāna te whakahoahoa i te rāwaho. He pērā rawa tā te hōtaka e whai ai – te whakakotahi i a tātou. 

Nō te tau 2001, i puta a Shrek ki ngā whare pikitia o te ao ka ū ki te ngākau o tērā o tērā, tamariki mai, pakeke mai. He pakiwaituhi mō tētahi korokē ngutu komekome me ōna hoa hātikēhi nei. He mea aruaru i ngā mahinga mātātoa hianga a Shrek, Fiona, Donkey me te hia noa atu o ngāti pōrangi o ngāi ngarengare mā. Nā Shrek i whakawhiwhiwhi ki te tuatahi o ngā tohu Academy Award® mō Best Animated Feature. He kawenga tēnei i kapohia ai ngā tikanga ā iwi o te ao Pākehā o taua wā, me te para huarahi mā ngā mahinga pakiwaituhi i muri mai. 

Hei tā te ringatohu o Māoriland, a Tainui Stephens, “Kua oti pai i a Shrek, kiriata nei, te kounga o te whakakata i te tangata, te rongo. E werohia ai ngā tū āhua rangirua o te ahurea o te ao Pākehā. Ko te uara nui mō ia kawenga Shrek o reo kē, he whakamana i taua reo, kātahi ai ngā mahinga whakaari, me eke. Ahatia te wero nui, koia hoki e reka ai nga mahi kei mua.”

Mātau mōhio a Mātewā Media ki ēnei momo werohanga, kua panonihia kētia e rātou kia rima ngā pakiwaituhi mai te reo Pākehā ki te reo Māori – tuatahi ko Moana, kātahi ko Lion King. Hei tēnei marama tērā anō ko Encanto ka rewaina ka tukuna ki te ao.  He rau nui ngā whānau arero Māori i tae atu ki te Māoriland Film Festival ki te mātakitaki i a Moana Reo Māori.

E mārama ana a Te Kiwa Goddard, te Kaiwhakamāori o Shrek, ko te mātaki kiriata auraki te karawhiu. “E ono aku tamariki, e whakapae ana ahau ka ngākaunuitia te whakamāoritanga nei e rātou, ka mutu e ō rātou hoa, ngā whānau katoa arero Māori mai, arero kē mai anō rānei, nā runga i te mea ko te momo ō te paki nei, ka mau ko te mahara o te tangata i te takoto pai o ōna kōrero me ōna waiata.   

Hei tāna anō “E matekai ana ngā iwi ki ngā pakiwaitara me ngā pūrākau kua tuhia ki te reo Māori, ka tō mai ko te ao ō waho ki te aroaro ō ā tātou tamariki. Ko te wero nui, ko te kimi i te kauwhanganui e ū ai ko te wairua pukuhohe ka rangona i te reo Māori kia pērā anō i tō te reo Pākehā.”

Kei te tautoko ā pūtea a Te Māngai Pāho. Hei tā te Kaiwhakahaere Matua a Larry Parr, “Mā te whakamāoritanga o Shrek e tatū anō ai ko te reo Māori hei kawenga whakatipu, whakangahau anō hoki, ka mutu hei taonga whakaaweawe mā te hunga he aroha nō rātou ki te reo.”

Kei te tautoko hoki a Te Tumu Whakaata Tāonga i ngā whakaritenga o Shrek Māori, mā tā rātou kaupapa Whakapakari Rangatahi Māori i te Ao Kiriata.  I tua atu i tēnā, ka hāpaitia e rātou te whakarewatanga o Shrek ki Māoriland Film Festival hei te wā o Poutū te rangi 2025, waihoki ki ngā whakaaturanga e rima anō, puta i te motu i raro i te korowai o Māoriland.

Hei tā te Manukura, a Te Ō Kahurangi Waaka, “E mea ake ana mātou, he taonga kahurangi te reo. Me tiaki. Ko te kaupapa o Shrek ki te taha o Māoriland, me he whakapakaritanga mō ngā tāngata, rangatahi hoki, kei te ao kiriata e koke whakamua ana. He mea whakamana i te hāpori, whakamana i tō tātou reo hoki. Koinā te tino mahi a te Rautaki Māori mō tō tātou rāngai.”

Kua hīkaka katoa a Māoriland rāua ko DreamWorks. Tāria te wā ka whakaterea a Shrek Māori ki te ao!  Hei Poutū te rangi 2025 i Māoriland Film Festival me ētahi anō wāhi i Aotearoa e kitea ai.

Māoriland Charitable Trust and DreamWorks Unite to Dub “Shrek” in te reo Māori.

Māoriland Charitable Trust is thrilled to announce a collaboration with DreamWorks Animation to dub the beloved animated film “Shrek” into te reo Māori, leading to a world premiere at the Māoriland Film Festival in March 2025 followed by a series of special screenings across New Zealand.

“We are hugely excited to re-imagine this phenomenal and captivating story, which has captured the hearts of families worldwide in te reo Māori” said Māoriland producer Libby Hakaraia. 

The original “Shrek” has been dubbed into over 40 languages and enjoyed by millions of people around the world.  However, this is the first time a DreamWorks Animation film has been adapted into te reo Maori. 

“With the team at Māoriland, we’ve found a partner who shares our passion for diverse stories.  This project is more than a movie — it celebrates cultural diversity and the power of storytelling to connect people.  Just as Shrek brings unlikely friends together, this project highlights that same unifying power,” said Scott McCarthy, VP, Localization for DreamWorks Animation. 

Since bursting onto screen in  2001,  audiences of all ages have been enchanted by the delightful, irreverent adventures of a misunderstood ogre and his ragtag group of roguish fairytale folk. The winner of first ever Academy Award® for Best Animated Feature, Shrek, Fiona, Donkey and their signature friends, family and tormentors have become a defining force in the cultural zeitgeist, shaping the landscape of animated storytelling and popular culture at large. 

 “Shrek is a sensational movie because it’s a masterpiece of comedy, loaded with Irony, puns and sly references to Western pop culture. Any reversioning of Shrek presents significant but delicious linguistic and performance challenges,” said Māoriland director Tainui Stephens 

Such challenges are already known to Mātewā Media who have reversioned five animated films into te Reo Māori. Their first was “Moana” and then “Lion King,” and their latest, “Encanto” was released this month. “Moana” in te reo Māori screened at the Māoriland Film Festival at an outdoor venue that was attended by hundreds of Māori speaking whānau. 

Lead translator of “Shrek,” Te Kiwa Goddard, understands the popularity of mainstream films for everyone. 

“I’m a father of six, and I see this film as not only being gratefully received by my tamariki, their friends and whānau but by non-Māori speaking people as well as it’s that sort of film where you are carried away by the story and the music.”

But added: “There’s a hunger for stories in te reo that bring the world to our tamariki. The biggest challenge is to find the ‘sweet spot’ when it comes to matching the humour – which is funny when expressed in English – and then find its equivalent in Māori.”  said Te Kiwa. 

With funding support from Te Māngai Pāho, Kaihautū, Larry Parr said “The reversioning of “Shrek” is another opportunity for us to celebrate and promote te reo Māori. This production will allow audiences to engage with te reo Māori in a unique yet familiar and entertaining environment.”

Te Tumu Whakaata Tāonga (NZFC) is also supporting the project through a tuakana teina fund to enable rangatahi Māori to work on the project as well as to support its release in March 2025 at the Māoriland Film Festival and through five special screenings across the country under the MFF banner.

“The NZFC acknowledges that Te Reo Māori is a taonga to be nurtured and celebrated. The reversioning of “Shrek” with Māoriland fosters progression of Māori talent especially rangatahi/ youth, grows the industry and grows te reo Māori. That meets the outcomes of our Rautaki Māori for our sector.” said Te o Kahurangi Waaka, Manukura – Chief Advisor Māori.

Māoriland and DreamWorks look forward to the world premiere of “Shrek” at the Māoriland Film Festival in March 2025, followed by a series of special screenings across New Zealand.