Tamatoa

### Animators

Jen Hager, Andrew Chesworth, Trent Correy, Nara Youn, Jeff Williams and Jacob Frey

### Home

His Seashell Lair, Lalotai

**Tamatoa** is the secondary antagonist of the 2016 film Moana.

## Background

Tamatoa is a gargantuan coconut crab that hails from Lalotai, a realm inhabited by monsters. Living in a giant seashell within the realm's depths, Tamatoa is known as a "beady-eyed bottom feeder," a social reputation he greatly despises. He covers his shell in gold, rare artefacts and treasures as a means to elevate his status, and this overcompensation eventually became a crazed love for all things shiny. An avid collector and hoarder, Tamatoa's materialistic obsession has driven him into madness over time.

A shiny shell isn't enough for Tamatoa, however. For centuries, he has plotted to steal and control the heart of the island goddess Te Fiti. In doing so, Tamatoa would possess the ultimate power of creation, thus ennobling him to a supreme and preeminent entity.

Tamatoa is also the long-standing arch-nemesis of acclaimed demigod Maui. The two appear to know each other extremely well, with Tamatoa even having knowledge of Maui's near-tragic beginnings. During one of their battles, Maui ripped off one of Tamatoa's legs which, according to Maui, plays a part in the giant crab's hatred for him. Maui have even received a tattoo for defeating him. Despite his own physical prowess, Tamatoa fears Maui when the latter is equipped with his magical fish hook, but not so much when he learns that Maui is out of practice using it.

### Personality

Tamatoa is unpredictable and possibly insane. His mood tends to shift at the drop of a hat, going from cheeky and comedic, to murderous and menacing in a mere matter of seconds. He's quite monstrous in both size and attitude; one of his most well-known traits being his sadistic habit of eating anyone around him, be they humans, sea creatures or even deities, he even admitted to eating his own grandmother.

Tamatoa has a twisted sense of humor, specifically shown when he dryly remarked that it took a week to eat his grandmother because of her enormous size. He also takes pleasure in torturing his enemies both mentally and physically, as shown when he gleefully, yet brutally, thrashed Maui across his lair, while crushing the demigod's ego at the same time. With an apparent lack of boundaries, Tamatoa has no qualms with mocking someone's dead loved one, or exposing someone's deepest insecurities to amuse himself.

Above all, Tamatoa is extremely narcissistic. With a superiority complex, he views himself as beautiful, and others as irrelevant and disposable. Unlike Moana, Tala and Maui, Tamatoa does not believe in inner-beauty or "listening to your heart". Instead, he views anyone who is not physically attractive or outwardly strong as insignificant and lesser than him, albeit perfectly fit for a meal. This is his biggest flaw and ultimately causes his downfall, as he underestimated Moana's intelligence (because she's a human), which allowed her to best the villainous crustacean.

To some extent, Tamatoa's narcissism is superficial. In truth, he is insecure and uses his glamorous appearance and valuable possessions as compensation. As such, he welcomes anything that will increase his power and, by extension, his social status, such as the heart of Te Fiti. Tamatoa's lust for power also cripples him to a degree, as he gave up his chance at destroying Maui in favour of chasing after what he assumed to be Te Fiti's heart.

## Film Appearances

### Moana

Tamatoa is first seen during Gramma Tala's story concerning the mother island Te Fiti and her life-giving heart. According to Tala, many sought the heart for its power, and among these ancient entities was Tamatoa, though Maui was the only one capable of actually stealing the heart. In doing so, he was banished to a desolate island, while his fish hook was lost at sea in a battle for the heart against a wrathful lava demon. At some point, the fish hook would be found by Tamatoa, who added it to his collection of treasures. According to Tala, Te Kā and the "demons of the deep" still hunt for the heart long after its disappearance. Among the creatures depicted on Tala's tapa cloths is Tamatoa.

Centuries later, Maui is freed from his exile by Moana, who needs Maui to return the heart of Te Fiti to its rightful place. Maui eventually agrees, but needs his fish hook in order to accomplish the mission. Both Moana and Maui sail to Lalotai, and the two soon find Tamatoa's lair. Moana is sent in as bait, covering herself in shiny objects to attract the crab. Tamatoa soon awakens, and examines the potential new prize, only to scoff in disgust upon realizing it's a human. To keep Tamatoa's attention away from Maui, Moana indirectly asks the crab to talk about his supposed greatness, which he gladly obliges to through the song "Shiny". Tamatoa explains that he was once a "drab little crab", unhappy with who he was, until he began covering himself in all things shiny. He further explains that his shell is also used practically, as the glimmering light attracts dozens of fish at a time—all of whom become Tamatoa's meal. Hungering for more, Tamatoa prepares to eat Moana, only to pause in fear when Maui reveals himself, fish hook in hand. Unfortunately, Maui is out of practice with the weapon, crippling his ability to shape-shift.

Tamatoa sadistically sees this as an opportunity to eliminate his foe, and thusly attacks and abuses Maui throughout his lair. When Moana tries to intervene, Tamatoa traps her within a cage made from discarded bones. Tamatoa then darkens his lair so that his form becomes bioluminescent, giving him a glowing yet menacing appearance. He prepares to devour Maui, but Moana escapes her cell and creates a phony duplicate of Te Fiti's heart using a barnacle covered in luminescent algae. She calls to Tamatoa to show him the shiny prize in her possession, and the crab immediately discards Maui in favour of his coveted treasure. He chases after Moana, who drops the heart in a crevice on the ocean floor. While Tamatoa digs for it, Moana takes the fish hook and then makes her escape with Maui. It isn't long before Tamatoa realizes he's been tricked, and the enraged crustacean chases after the duo. They launch themselves onto a geyser heading to the surface, and the impact of the shooting water knocks Tamatoa onto his shell. Unable to move, he's left stranded on the ocean floor, asking if Moana at the very least enjoyed his song.

Tamatoa is last seen after the credits, where he is still trapped and struggling to get off his shell, but to no avail. He sings a short, melancholy version of "Shiny" before asking the audience for assistance, and quips that if his name were "Sebastian" and he had "a cool Jamaican accent", the audience would feel happy to help.

## Other Appearances

Tamatoa briefly appeared in the As Told by Emoji retelling of Moana.

In Ralph Breaks the Internet, Moana's casual shirt features stylized artwork of Tamatoa.

## Disney Parks

### Walt Disney World Resort

In Disney's Hollywood Studios, Tamatoa appears as the central villain in Wonderful World of Animation, with "Shiny" featuring as the overarching theme of the villains' segment. When he appears, the Chinese Theater is transformed into the interior of Tamatoa's seashell lair. Following the appearances of the Kakamora and Te Kā, Tamatoa becomes bioluminescent, which leads to the appearances of various other Disney animated villains like Hades and Yzma. At the end of the sequence, Tamatoa timidly asks the audience, "Did you like the song?"