Visual Mood & Storyworld Concept

A vibrant, playful visual world inspired by Cook Islands landscapes, voyaging traditions, and childhood wonder, designed to make tamariki feel joy, pride, and connection in their language and identity.

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Project Proposal

Tiare e te ʻOnu

A Cook Islands Māori Animated Series for Tamariki

Project Summary

Tiare e te ʻOnu is an animated children’s series in Te Reo Māori Kūki ‘Āirani, developed by Te Aka Tau Trust. The story follows a curious young girl, Tiare, and her wise turtle companion ʻOnu, as they voyage across the 15 islands of the Cook Islands.

Inspired by Dora the Explorer, each episode invites tamariki to engage through song, repetition, movement, and questions, while learning core language concepts, legends, and knowledge of the environment and culture. The series is playful, musical, and deeply rooted in Cook Islands identity.

Purpose & Impact

This project aims to make Te Reo Māori Kūki ‘Āirani fun, joyful, and accessible for our youngest generation so they can embrace their language, enjoy their identity, and thrive with pride as Cook Islanders.

We are a collective of Massey University students and alumni, united by our passion for the revitalisation of Te Reo Māori Kūki ‘Āirani. Our work has included smaller-scale, impactful community initiatives to date, this project represents a major step toward a shared dream: to create language-rich, high-quality content that brings greater awareness, pride, and joy to our language and people.

We hope Tiare e te ʻOnu will encourage, inspire, and uplift Cook Islanders in Aotearoa, Australia and across the globe.

This project supports:

• Language revitalisation

• Early childhood learning

• Positive cultural identity

• Creative employment and capability-building for Pacific youth

Island Learning Palette

Each episode introduces a foundational learning theme that aligns with early childhood education. These are scaffolded across the 15 islands:

• Rarotonga – Greetings & Names

• Aitutaki – Colours

• Mangaia – Numbers

• Atiu – Days of the Week

• Mauke – Family Members

• Mitiaro – Food & Fruit

• Manihiki – Ocean Animals

• Rakahanga – Weather

• Tongareva – Voyaging & Navigation

• Pukapuka – Emotions

• Nassau – Body Parts

• Suwarrow – Nature & Plants

• Palmerston – Actions & Movement

• Manuae – Opposites

• Takutea – Land Animals

Each theme is introduced through music, dialogue, and interactive moments.

Audience & Platforms

Primary Audience:

• Tamariki aged 0–10
  Secondary Audiences:

• Family, diaspora families, early childhood educators, language nests

Distribution Platforms:

• PMN Digital Network

• YouTube Kids

• Cook Islands TV

• Early childhood centres, kura, and social media

Creative Team

• Chiavanni Le'Mon – Creator & Producer (Atiu, Enuamanu)

• Elva Opuu – Creator, Producer & Language Consultant (Manihiki, Rakahanga)

• Te Taumata Nelio – Creator, Producer & Visual Designer (Mangaia, Aitutaki)

• Teipotemarama Denny – Language Specialist (Mangaia, Rarotonga)

• Alhanis Jacobsen – Creative Director (Cook Islands Māori, NZ-born)

• Youth voice actors, illustrators, and Pacific interns – to be recruited

Team Bios

Chiavanni Le'Mon – Creator & Producer

Cook Islands Māori (Atiu, Enuamanu)
Chiavanni is the visionary behind Te Pūara Apii Potiki a Takitumu, the first total immersion Māori childcare in Rarotonga. With a Bachelor of Business (Management), she brings community leadership, cultural strategy, and storytelling vision to Tiare e te ʻOnu.

Elva Opuu – Language Consultant & Producer

Cook Islands Māori (Manihiki, Rakahanga)
Elva is a fluent speaker and reo content creator studying Social Policy at Massey University. She leads language development across the series, ensuring each episode honours dialectal and cultural integrity.

Tetaumata Nelio – Visual Designer & Producer

Cook Islands Māori (Mangaia, Aitutaki)
A graduate of Screen Arts (Hons), Te Taumata leads character and world design for the series, using animation to express Pacific landscapes and identity through vibrant visual storytelling.

Teipotemarama Denny – Language Specialist

Cook Islands Māori (Mangaia, Rarotonga)
A language and performance expert with a Bachelor of Performing Arts, currently pursuing her Master’s, Teipotemarama brings deep knowledge of orality and dialect to the show. She also serves on the board of Te Pūara Apii Potiki.

Alhanis Jacobsen – Creative Director

Cook Islands Māori (NZ-born)
Alhanis is studying a Bachelor of Psychology and brings a developmental lens to the storytelling and tone of the series. She focuses on emotional resonance, identity-building, and visual engagement for tamariki.

Funding Use

• Scriptwriting & language development

• Visual development & animation

• Music composition & recording

• Voice actor fees (incl. youth roles)

• Youth creative capability training

• Production & post-production

• Subtitling & translation

• Platform adaptation & distribution

• Project management & evaluation

• Contingency

Timeline

• Pre-production: August – October 2025

• Production: November 2025 – March 2026

• Launch: April – May 2026

Our team

Our strength lies in our individuality. Set up by Esther Bryce, the team strives to bring in the best talent in various fields, from architecture to interior design and sales.

Esther Bryce

Founder / Interior designer

Lianne Wilson

Broker

Jaden Smith

Architect

Jessica Kim

Photographer