Tamatoa

**Tamatoa** is the secondary antagonist of *Moana*. He is a villainous giant crab that covets all things shiny and valuable. In an effort to exude beauty and superiority, Tamatoa displays his collected treasures atop his golden shell.

## 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 artifacts 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 favor of chasing after what he assumed to be Te Fiti's heart.

## Trivia

* Tamatoa become an enemy of Thomas and Twilight Sparkle in *Thomas and Twilight Sparkle Meets Moana.*
* He is voiced by Jemaine Clement.
* Despite *technically* being the secondary antagonist of the film, Tamatoa has been considered by fans as the actual villain of *Moana*, since he is the one who intentionally had more antagonizing motives than Te Ka.
* Despite being in the film for at least 6 minutes, Tamatoa is quite popular with the fandom for his over-the-top mannerisms, charisma, and Jemaine Clement's performance.
* Tamatoa seems to be a recluse as his home in Lalotai is in a secluded section.

## Gallery

Tamatoa's bioluminescent form.Tamatoa's defeat