Comprehensible Māori

Content for beginners in te reo Māori

Table of Contents

This is a page where I will collect links to tv shows and movies in te reo Māori suitable for beginners to watch. If you have any suggestions, please don’t hesitate to contact me and I can add them to this page.

Also know that to gain the most benefit of absorbing the language from watching these, avoid using English subtitles. Otherwise you’ll be reading English rather than working your brain to improve your te reo comprehension. And, for the best results try watch things slightly above your level but that you still enjoy and understand at least the storyline.

TV Shows

Many of the kids shows are produced in both English and te reo Māori. This page will only link to the te reo playlists. Most content is available for free on either Youtube or Māori+.

Tākaro Tribe - Te Reo Rārangi

Created for preschoolers, it follows 5 patupaiarehe (woodland fairies) each named after the vowels in te reo: A, E, I, O, U. Each episode they learn a new word, how to spell it and how it looks in real life. They also have extra songs and videos other than the series. Empty (grey) links are videos I couldn’t find.

Pipi Mā

“Join Pipi, Hura, Tītoki and Pītau Pōtiki as they discover and explore the exciting world within their kōhanga and beyond!”

Darwin and Newts

This kids tv series follows Māori siblings Darwin and Newts as they explore their world through science and playing in the outdoors, accompanied with other characters. It is a step up from Te Reo Rārangi, but has simple language and is easy to follow along with.

Both Craft with Newts and Experiments with Darwin season 1 were only produced in English.

Molly of Denali

It’s set in Alaska and “follow[s] the adventures of feisty and resourceful 10-year-old Molly Mabray, an Alaska Native girl.” A kids TV show with 2 seasons. The language is a bit more advanced than Darwin and Newts.

We Bear Bears in te reo Māori

A cartoon dubbed by Cartoon Network New Zealand a few years back. There are 3 full-length episodes, 7 two-minute episodes, 10 thirty-second episodes of a learn te reo series, and 1 behind the scenes recording video. The language is quite complicated and they speak fast, but it’s very entertaining.

Ngā Kōtiro o Taranaki

“A stunning colourful, 2D animated short series set in 1870’s Taranaki, Aotearoa. The Land Wars in Aotearoa are over. A Taranaki hapū is planning a feast with Pākehā former soldiers to mark the start of more peaceful times. Not all is what it seems.”

Tōku Reo Kōkara

A 6-episode (10 mins each) documentary focusing on “the important role mothers play in the effort of te reo Māori revitalisation and creating future generations of te reo Māori speakers.”

Waka Huia

Waka Huia is a documentary series by TVNZ which follows stories from te ao Māori. Most is in te reo (with English subtitles) but there is occasional English (with Māori subtitles).

Movies

Matewa Media are an awesome film company who partnered with Disney and create Māori dubbed versions for Disney films. Currently there are 6 of them, and they’re all available on Disney+. There is also Māoriland who partnerned with Dreamworks to create a te reo version of Shrek.

There is a lot of language in these and they’re great for improving your reo comprehension, especially if you’re familiar with the story.

The Lion King

Moana

Frozen

Coco

Encanto

Moana 2

Shrek: Kātahi te Korokē

Ka Whawhai Tonu

“Aotearoa, 1864. In the brutal Waikato land wars, Maori defiantly stand their ground with impossible odds against British forces. This heroic conflict is told through the eyes of two young teenagers, who must find their own destinies amid the chaos of battle.” Contains complicated, fast-paced language with English subtitles.

Bilingual Content

There are some really great bilingual shows that have been made over the years. It’s satisfying to switch between languages and understand both (to varying degrees). Most will have English subtitles, which your brain will automatically read and not focus on te reo, making it less useful for learning. If they’re embedded in the video, you can block them with web extensions like ZeroBlur.

Ahikāroa

“Follow a crazy group of city based rangatahi, they’re young, kura kaupapa raised and dangerously onto it. Their world orbits around getting cash, cutting corners and charging their phones.” 6 seasons each with around 20 episodes, which are 25 minutes each.

Dead Ahead

“A high-powered Māori lawyer (Miriama Smith) accidentally unleashes her chaotic tūpuna, forcing the living and the dead to navigate their shared legacy.” 6 episode season of 20 minutes each.

Online Reading

Reading is an important skill, but not everyone is able to fork out the money to buy books. Instead, there are many sources on the internet which publish in te reo Māori, and some stories as well. This is only a sample, but there are many other websites you could find to practise your reading.

Publications & Blogs in te reo Māori

This page was first published on 2025-03-29. Last updated 2025-07-09.

#te reo Māori   #linguistics