where is whale rider set

What is the setting of Whale Rider?

1. Setting – ‘Whale Rider’ ‘Whale Rider’ is set in a small village called Whangara, on the East Coast of the north island of New Zealand.

Is Whale Rider based on a true story?

Whale Rider is a 2002 New Zealand drama film written and directed by Niki Caro. Based on the 1987 novel The Whale Rider by Witi Ihimaera, the film stars Keisha Castle-Hughes as Kahu Paikea Apirana, a twelve-year-old Māori girl whose ambition is to become the chief of the tribe. Her koro Apirana believes that this is a role reserved for males only.

Who is Keisha Castle-Hughes in Whale Rider?

Based on the 1987 novel The Whale Rider by Witi Ihimaera, the film stars Keisha Castle-Hughes as Kahu Paikea Apirana, a twelve-year-old Māori girl whose ambition is to become the chief of the tribe. Her koro Apirana believes that this is a role reserved for males only. The film was a coproduction between New Zealand and Germany.

What is the setting of Maori legend?

It is set in a small New Zealand coastal village where Maori claim descent from Paikea, the Whale Rider. In every generation, a male heir has succeeded to the chiefly title.

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When and where is Whale Rider set?

Set in the 1980s in Whangara, a Māori community on the eastern edge of New Zealand's North Island, the novel is a retelling of the myth of Paikea. Kahu is the eldest great-grandchild of chieftain Koro Apirana; had she been a boy, she would have been the natural future leader of the tribe.

Where was whale filmed?

The Whale is filmed and set in British Columbia. Michael Parfit and Suzanne Chisholm are from British Columbia.

Is the whale rider based on a true story?

Their 1, 000-year-old genealogical legend centers on a man named Paikea who traveled to New Zealand on the back of a whale after his canoe capsized. In 1986, Ihimaera turned that legend into a fictionalized tale of a Maori girl who proves her toughness.

What culture is Whale Rider based on?

The New Zealand film “Whale Rider” tells the story of 12-year old Pai, a Maori girl whose ancestor Paikea was the whale rider. While Pai lives in present day Whangara, New Zealand with her grandparents, Maori tradition maintains that the leadership should only be inherited by males.

Is Shamu The Whale still alive?

Shamu /ʃæmuː/ (unknown – August 16, 1971) was a captive orca that appeared in shows at SeaWorld San Diego in the mid/late 1960s. She was the fourth orca ever captured, and the second female. She was caught in October 1965 and died in August 1971, after about six years of captivity.

Is Shamu The Whale still alive at SeaWorld?

Shamu died that year at SeaWorld of pyometra (a uterine infection) and septicemia (blood poisoning). She was just 9 years old. In the wild, she could have lived to be older than 100.

Is Moana based on Whale Rider?

The directors of Moana, Ron Clements and John Musker, openly acknowledged that Caro's Whale Rider inspired them in making Moana and that there are clear thematic correspondences between the two films (Giardina 2016).

What does the whale tooth symbolism in Whale Rider?

The whale tooth is a representation of the Maori people who shaped and built their religion and community, as well as being a representation of Paikea and many other traits that would be needed by a chief, many of which, Paikea has.

What is the message behind Whale Rider?

Despite its focus on Maori culture, the themes in Whale Rider are universal and highlight important communication principles. We see the power of significant others to affect our self esteem, and the fact that, against strong odds, it is possible to assert ourselves and create an identity of our own.

Did Maori people ride whales?

Māori culture is rich with whale-riding stories and traditions. Many tribes have their particular legends and heroes. The stories often tell of an originating ancestor's arrival to New Zealand shores. The tradition of the famous whale-riding ancestor Paikea inspired the Oscar-nominated film Whale Rider.

What kind of whale was Paikea?

southern humpback whalesPaikea is also the Māori name for southern humpback whales.

Why is Pai raised by her grandparents?

The Chief's eldest son, Porourangi, fathers twins - a boy and a girl, but the boy and his mother die in childbirth. The surviving girl is called Pai. Grief-stricken, Porourangi leaves Pai to be raised by her grandparents.

Is Kiko the killer whale still alive?

THE real-life orca star of blockbuster movie Free Willy was never truly free. The killer whale who starred in the 1993 classic, named Keiko, died an agonising death in 2003 after tragically failing to adapt to a new life in the wild off the coast of Iceland.

Where is Keiko The Whale now?

Death. Keiko died in Taknes Bay, Skålvikfjord, Norway, while swimming in the fjords on 12 December 2003, at the age of 27. Pneumonia was determined as his probable cause of death.

Where is whale Song shack?

FalmouthLocated in the sleepy hamlet of Falmouth, a stunning, secluded part of the East Coast of Tasmania. Master bedrooms with ocean views; from the moment you awake, you are captivated by every changing mood of the Tasman Sea.

Was the loneliest whale ever found?

However, the whale itself has never been sighted; it has only been heard via hydrophones. It has been described as the "world's loneliest whale", though potential recordings of a second 52-hertz whale, heard elsewhere at the same time, have been sporadically found since 2010.

How old is Pai?

Pai is around twelve-years-old.

Whale Rider setting?

Current time: coastal Maori village in New Zealand.

Who is Pai named after

Pai is named her after mythological whale rider, loyal, persistent, wants to be leader.

Who is the whale rider?

Whale Rider is a 2002 New Zealand-German family drama film written and directed by Niki Caro. Based on the 1987 novel of the same name by Witi Ihimaera, the film stars Keisha Castle-Hughes as Kahu Paikea Apirana, a twelve-year-old Māori girl whose ambition is to become the chief of the tribe. Her grandfather Koro Apirana believes ...

When was Whale Rider released?

Home media. Whale Rider was released on DVD and VHS on 28 October 2004 by Columbia TriStar Home Entertainment . Shout Factory released a 15th anniversary Blu-ray of Whale Rider on their Shout Select imprint on 22 August 2017.

What happens when Pai is thrown off the whale's back?

The whale leads the entire pod back into the sea; Pai submerges completely underwater before being thrown off the whale's back by the tide, and the spectators fear she has drowned.

What is the plot of the movie "Pai"?

Plot. The film's plot follows the story of Paikea Apirana ("Pai"). The village leader should be the first-born son, a direct patrilineal descendant of Paikea, the Whale Rider, he who rode on top of a whale (Tohora) from Hawaiki. Pai is originally born a twin, but her twin brother and her mother died during childbirth.

How old is Kahu in Whale Rider?

Based on the 1987 novel of the same name by Witi Ihimaera, the film stars Keisha Castle-Hughes as Kahu Paikea Apirana, a twelve-year-old Māori girl whose ambition is to become the chief of the tribe.

Where was the whale beaching filmed?

The whale beaching was depicted using full-scale models created by Auckland, New Zealand based Glasshammer visual effects. The 60 ft (18 m)-long waka seen at the end of the film was made in two-halves in Auckland before being transported to Whangara. The waka was given to the Whangara community after filming concluded.

Where was the movie Pai filmed?

Castle-Hughes impressed Caro in the resulting workshop and was cast as Pai. The film was shot in Whangara on the East Coast of New Zealand's North Island and in Auckland.

What is the setting of the Bull Whale?

The sea is used as a setting to link the two narrative strands, the past and the present, together. The sea is the setting where the ancient Bull Whale lives. Each of his chapters are set in different oceans as he makes his journey to Whangara.

What time period is the book The Whales set in?

The novel is set in modern times – and there are some references that link it into the late 1970’s and early 1980’s. The French testing at Muruora Atoll that happened in the 1960’s has contaminated the sea for the whales and is mentioned in a chapter of the novel.

Where does Rawiri travel in 1981?

Setting – ‘Whale Rider’ The novel does have other settings away from the central place of Whangara. Rawiri travels overseas to live in Sydney and then Papua New Guinea.

What is the whale rider story?

The Whale Rider Summary. The story begins with a focus on the ancient days, when nature and all wildlife were excitedly waiting for the coming of man. Then man arrived from the east, and the relationship between nature and man throve. One relationship in particular -- that between the whale rider and his giant whale -- was exemplary ...

What is the relationship between the whale rider and his giant whale?

One relationship in particular -- that between the whale rider and his giant whale -- was exemplary of a symbiotic connection. This whale rider casts spears as life-giving objects to the islands, but one spear he casts 1000 years into the future, which is the time of the story’s young heroine Kahu. The focus shifts to a herd of whales.

What is the epilogue of the story of Kahu and the Whale?

The epilogue narrates that the oldest mother whale notices Kahu and realizes that her husband, the bull whale, has mistaken this little girl for her ancestor.

What happens to the whales in Whangara?

Back in Whangara, big events soon take place. All the whales of a herd come and to the beach and strand themselves there. They will soon die if they are not pushed back to sea. While some humans take advantage of these whales to harvest their meat and organs, most of the locals of Whangara attempt to organize a rescue attempt and deliver the whales back to sea. Rawiri and his biker gang work with the police and rangers to keep whale butchers fro coming near the whales, while the navy is called in to attempt to pull the whales back out to sea. Ultimately, all the dedicated efforts of Rawiri, his friends, Nanny, and all the other locals fail and all of the whales perish on the beach. When Koro returns from a trip he had been on during the ordeal, he remarks with great anguish that this is a sign for them.

What does Rawiri do with the whales?

Rawiri and his biker gang work with the police and rangers to keep whale butchers fro coming near the whales, while the navy is called in to attempt to pull the whales back out to sea. Ultimately, all the dedicated efforts of Rawiri, his friends, Nanny, and all the other locals fail and all of the whales perish on the beach.

What is the whale herd in Part 2?

Part II begins with another short focus on the whale herd. They head towards a sea trench that used to provide them bounty and shelter but they find there an inhospitable and radioactive place. They are forced to travel to other havens as this long-time home for them has become too inhospitable to live in.

What is the bull whale's main focus in Part I?

Part I begins by refocusing on the herd of whales. The bull whale leads his herd away from their most-feared predator: mankind. The old whale remembers the days when man and animal were united and in communication, but those are long past. However, he is unable to let go, and thoughts of returning to the place of his youth at whatever cost gnaw at his heart.

Storyline

On the east coast of New Zealand, the Whangara people believe their presence there dates back a thousand years or more to a single ancestor, Paikea, who escaped death when his canoe capsized by riding to shore on the back of a whale. From then on, Whangara chiefs, always the first-born, always male, have been considered Paikea's direct descendants.

Did you know

The whales in the movie are a combination of footage of real whales, life size models (some with humans creating movement) and CGI. Keisha Castle-Hughes said the key whale riding scene took place 15-20 miles offshore, and was terrifying.

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By what name was Whale Rider (2002) officially released in India in English?

Overview

Production

The film had budget of NZ$9,235,000. It received $2.5 million from the New Zealand Film Production Fund. Additional financing came from ApolloMedia, Filmstiftung NRW, the New Zealand Film Commission and NZ On Air. Casting director Diana Rowan visited numerous schools to find an actress to play Pai. 10,000 children were auditioned before narrowing it down to 12. Castle-Hughes impressed Caro in the resulting workshop and was cast as Pai. The film was shot in

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