Moana, as Gramma Tala describes, "stands out from the crowd". She is adventurous, headstrong, practically fearless, and physically capable. Though she has moments of self-doubt, she has great pride in who she is, and is generally too stubborn to back away from new challenges. Moana approaches new experiences and tasks with the utmost seriousness and will stand her ground to fight for what she values even when all seems lost. She can present herself as an imposing force despite her size and has bested the most fearsome beasts and impossible obstacles across the seas of Oceania while relying almost solely on her own intelligence.
For all her strengths, Moana suffers from major identity crises. Surrounded by a loving family and a supportive community of neighbors, Moana cares a great deal for her people, and the village in which she was born and raised. However, she also has a passionate love for the ocean and the idea of voyaging beyond her home island's barrier reef. At the start of the film, voyaging had been prohibited as a means to keep the people of Motunui safe, but even so, Moana's spirited and tenacious attitude kept her dreams of experiencing life beyond her island alive. At the same time, Moana was happily devoted to her village during her time as chief-in-training. An intelligent and resourceful leader, Moana was quick to remedy any problems her village faced, and was masterful in keeping herself composed and optimistic during times of a crisis. Moana's loyalty towards her family and people actually played a part in her crippling identity crises. As she cared for them immensely, she occasionally felt extreme guilt for being drawn to the sea, as lamented in her song "How Far I'll Go"; she believed that if she were to pursue the ocean, she would ultimately disappoint the people she loved. Simultaneously, she felt obligation towards her ancestors, wanting to reinvigorate their ways of wayfinding as a means to honor them and the legacy they left for her people. These conflicted emotions would ultimately act as Moana's greatest challenge throughout the film.
When it was revealed that she had been chosen by the ocean to restore the legendary heart of Te Fiti, Moana did not put her focus on the potentially devastating outcome of her mission, but the unity between her love for Motunui and her dream of voyaging in the tradition of her great ancestors. Though this would ultimately benefit all parties, this mindset is perhaps Moana's greatest flaw. In being heroic and deathly devoted to her goals, Moana can be selfish in that she is willing to endanger the lives of others in order to prove she is capable of confronting her ambitions without fail. Both Tui and Maui confront Moana on this during the events of the film, and though she denied both accusations, she knew - deep down - that this was correct. She can also be reckless with herself in this regard, as she drove herself out to sea without proper training in the ways of wayfinding or even sailing. She fears very little, but because of this, she can occasionally bite off more than she can chew. These acts are not done with malicious, or even notable intent, however. Moana is extremely sympathetic and caring, which drives her to perform life-threatening stunts for what she genuinely believes to be the greater good.
Contrast to this, Moana grows with failure. After Maui refuses to assist her in battling Te Kā following a disastrous first encounter on her account, she works up the courage to redeem herself by facing the lava demon alone. She is also empathetic, and looks to help herself by helping and understanding others first. This is most notably seen when she puts hours worth of focus on coming to understand Maui, and the reasonings behind his own inner-demons. In doing so, she was able to exhibit self-loving wisdom (specifically regarding how one should look inside themselves for strength and guidance, and not in someone else). Moana would later use to encourage herself during her darkest hour.
As she grew with her adventure, Moana discovered more about herself. She came to realize that no one can define who you are, other than yourself; she was neither meant to be devoted solely to the sea or solely to her people, but to herself. As such, she was able to bring her two loves together, ultimately recreating and honoring what came before her: a unity between her people and the sea.
Appearance
Overview
Moana
Moana is first seen as a toddler, being told an ancient story about the legendary demigod Maui. According to Gramma Tala, the dramatic storyteller, Maui stole the coveted heart of Te Fiti years before their time. As a result, a lava demon known as Te Kā
swore vengeance and plunged the world into a slow-burning darkness. The
only hope for humanity lies in the hands of a fearless hero, who must
journey to find Maui and have him return the heart to its rightful
place. While the other children are terrified by the story, Moana is
captivated. Her father, Chief Tui,
claims there is no such darkness consuming the world, and stresses the
law that forbids anyone on the island from traveling pass the reef.
Moana fails to heed her father's words and waddles to the ocean shores
in bliss. There, she helps a struggling newborn seaturtle make its way
to the ocean against predators. Just then, Moana is acquainted with the ocean,
which reveals itself to have a mind of its own. Having witnessed her
purity with the baby seaturtle, the ocean grows fond of Moana and
chooses her as the heroine destined to save the world. It provides her
with the heart of Te Fiti, but when Tui arrives and takes her back to
the village, Moana inadvertently leaves the heart at the shore.
Tui notices his daughter's love for the sea, and over the years, he and the people of Motunui
try to convince Moana that their island home is a paradise and that her
destiny is to follow in her father's footsteps by becoming chief.
Though she loves her people, Moana continues to feel drawn to the sea,
something Tala encourages. One day, Tui takes Moana to a sacred place on
the island: a high mountain, where chiefs from every generation place a
stone to signify the start of their leadership. This inspires Moana to
finally accept her role as soon-to-be chief of the village. She thusly
spends her time learning under her parents in how to assist her people
across the island. One day, the islands' supply of food begins to die
out. Moana believes that traveling beyond the reef to find food
elsewhere is the best solution, but Tui strongly forbids it. She
nevertheless tries against his wishes and nearly drowns before she can
even make it passed the barriers.
Believing she's failed as a sailor, Moana declares that she is not fit
for the sea and wishes to place her stone on the mountain. She tells
this to Tala, who responds by showing Moana a hidden cave created by
their ancestors long ago. Moana learns that she's drawn to the sea
because her ancestors were voyagers. When asked why their voyaging
stopped, Tala explains that it was Maui's doing, referring to his crime
of stealing Te Fiti's heart, which filled the seas with monsters and
demons. Tala reveals to have the heart of Te Fiti in her possessions and
explains that the ocean chose Moana to restore it. Not knowing how to
sail, Moana rushes to her people and asks for their assistance in
restoring the heart. Once again, Tui forbids leaving the island and
throws the heart away. As Moana uncovers it, she finds Tala's walking
cane on the grass.
Moana and her parents rush to the medics, where Tala lies on her
deathbed. She encourages Moana to find Maui and restore the heart with
her last ounce of breath. Moana reluctantly accepts her grandmother's
dying wish, packs supplies, and takes one of her ancestor's boats that
unknowingly had her rooster friend, Heihei,
aboard as well. As Moana leaves, her grandmother's light fades out, and
her spirit guides Moana passed the reef and into the seas. The
following night, the ocean carries Moana to Maui's island, where the two
meet and fail to see eye to eye. Maui is more concerned with the sight
of Moana's boat, which he steals by trapping Moana in a cave. She
manages to use her wits to escape and makes it to Maui with the help of
the ocean. She orders him to return the heart, but upon seeing it, Maui
tries to leave the boat, only to be brought back by the ocean. He claims
the heart is cursed, something Moana refuses to believe until they fall
under attack by a band of pirates called the Kakamora.
The Kakamora crave the heart of Te Fiti's power, but Moana stands
her ground and fights back. She successfully recovers the heart and
defeats the pirates. Though Maui commends her on surviving, he still
refuses to help return the heart. Moana persuades him to do otherwise
when she claims such an act will help Maui regain a positive reputation
amongst mortals. Maui agrees to help, but not without his fishhook,
which is said to be in the clutches of Tamatoa, a giant crab living in the Realm of Monsters.
As they make their way, Moana watches intently as Maui proves himself
to be a master wayfinder. She asks him to teach her, and after he
refuses at first, the ocean uses one of the Kakamora's blow darts to
numb the demigod, leaving him unable to sail. With no other choice, he
teaches Moana how to wayfind. After much mentoring, Moana falls asleep
and has a nightmare in which she watches as her home and parents are
destroyed by Te Kā's curse. When she awakens, she finds that Maui has
taken over the boat and has successfully led them to Lalotai's island.
As they climb a mountain to reach the entrance to the underworld,
Maui questions why the ocean chose Moana to save the world, though she
doesn't seem to know, herself. Despite her sudden feeling of self-doubt,
Moana follows Maui into Lalotai, and eventually finds the fishhook. She
distracts Tamatoa long enough for Maui to take back his hook, but the
demigod finds that his shapeshifting abilities are out of whack. Feeling
powerful, Tamatoa attacks Maui and imprisons Moana to prevent her from
interfering. As she watches helplessly, Tamatoa taunts Maui on his
hidden insecurities and alludes to a tragic past. As such information
was previously unknown to her, Moana is confused by Tamatoa's words. She
nevertheless escapes her cell
while Tamatoa is distracted and uses a makeshift duplicate of Te Fiti's
heart to drive the crab's attention away from Maui. The two escape, and
once they've reached safety, Maui thanks Moana for her actions, though
he berates himself for failing to defeat Tamatoa and almost letting
Moana be killed as a result.
They set sail once more, but a down-on-his-luck Maui feels unable
to defeat Te Kā and restore the heart without his hook. Moana, wanting
to get to the root of Maui's self-doubt, pries to uncover the demigod's
backstory. This only angers Maui, which prompts Moana to confess her own
feelings of self-doubt by revealing she is unsure why the ocean chose
her. She further explains that she pushes herself regardless in order to
save her dying island, though she can only do so with Maui's help.
Moana offers to lend an ear for the demigod, and Maui eventually opens
up to her by revealing he was born a human and was abandoned by his
parents. After being adopted by the gods, he became a hero and protected
mankind to earn the love he was denied by his parents. Maui admits that
he feels worthless without his hook, but Moana sees a true hero in the
demigod, regardless of his magical attributes. This resonates with Maui
and gives him the courage to train in order to recover his power, under
the guidance of Moana and Mini Maui
(Maui's sentient tattoo). Simultaneously, Maui furthers Moana's
mentoring in wayfinding, eventually turning her into a master navigator
on par with her ancestors, though Maui contends that she may have
surpassed them.
It is eventually decided that they're ready to face Te Kā. Maui
encourages Moana to utilize her skills and sail the rest of the way, and
with the demigod's teachings in mind, Moana makes it to Te Fiti, much
to the delight of a prideful Maui. Maui then takes the heart and flies
to Te Fiti, but he is immediately attacked by Te Kā and quickly
defeated. Landing back on the boat, Maui urges Moana to turn back for
their own safety, but Moana refuses, unwilling to back away after coming
so close to accomplishing their goal. She sails them towards Te Fiti
and straight into Te Kā's reach. The lava monster strikes down to kill
Moana, but Maui intervenes and uses his fishhook to block Te Kā's blow.
The wave created by the powerful impact drives Moana and Maui far from
Te Fiti's shores. After they recover, Maui confronts Moana on her
recklessness, which severely damaged his fishhook. Believing the ocean
chose wrong in Moana as the world's savior, Maui refuses to return to Te
Kā, instead suggesting they part ways as all hope is lost with his
fishhook in such critical condition. Moana stands her ground at the
thought of backing down, and tearfully tries to force Maui to stay, only
to be met with rejection as the demigod uses some of his remaining
power to shape-shift into a hawk and fly off into the night
Lost and alone, Moana is approached by the ocean. She mournfully
confesses to her incompetence and demands that the ocean choose someone
else to restore the heart. The ocean accepts Moana's decision and takes
the heart of Te Fiti back into the sea. As Moana breaks down in tears,
she is visited by Gramma Tala's spirit, who comforts and apologizes to
her granddaughter for placing so much pressure on her. Tala encourages
Moana to return home if she wishes to, promising to remain by her side
on the journey back. Moana prepares herself to sail home, but finds that
she cannot bring herself to actually do so. Unable to understand, Tala
encourages Moana to open up to her emotions to understand why she feels
hesitant to return home. Moana comes to realize that the everlasting
love she holds for her people and the sea is what brought her so far, is
what ultimately defines who she is, and explains why she's the one
capable of saving the world. Encouraged, Moana dives into the sea and
retrieves the heart of Te Fiti. When she resurfaces, Tala is gone, but
Moana's determination is stronger than ever.
She repairs her boat and travels back to Te Fiti with Heihei by
her side. They confront Te Kā, who Moana manages to outsmart in order to
make it passed Te Fiti's barrier islands. Unfortunately, Te Kā
eventually catches on and attacks. Moana is thrown off her boat and is
nearly killed by the lava demon until Maui returns with a change of
heart. Determined to defend Moana despite the damaged state of his
fishhook, Maui distracts Te Kā while the ocean helps Moana to Te Fiti's
now molten shores. There, Moana cannot find the spiral in which the
heart is to be placed. Looking out into the distance, she notices a
glowing spiral on Te Kā's chest, and quickly comes to the realization
that the lava demon is Te Fiti. Moana uses "Know Who You Are"
to tame Te Kā, who finds peace in Moana's inspiring words and turns
herself into molten rock. Moana places the heart into Te Kā chest, and
the lava monster's body crumbles away, reviving the radiant and lush Te
Fiti.
The goddess revives the dying islands across the world, as well as
Moana's boat and Maui's fishhook. Moana asks Maui to return home with
her, but Maui warmly denies, instead showing Moana a new tattoo on his
body, inspired by her heroism. The two warmly embrace before Maui
shape-shifts into a hawk and flies off. Shortly afterward. Moana and
Heihei sail for Motunui. They arrive just as Motunui recovers from the
curse entirely. Tui and Sina spot Moana arriving home, and lovingly
greet her. With her deed having restored the safety of the sea, Moana
becomes chief and the people of the village break out their ancestor's
boats. Voyaging starts again, and Moana makes her mark of leadership on
Motunui's sacred mountain with a seashell given to her by the ocean,
symbolizing the unity of her duties to her people and her passion for
the seas.
Gone Fishing
Moana interacts with the Ocean back on her home island of Motunui. She is interrupted by Maui who tried teaching her to 'command' it instead. This leads to Maui getting humiliated by the Ocean while trying to fish, much to Moana and Mini Maui's amusement. After his ego is completely deflated, Moana then returns the fish (intended to be Maui's lunch) to the Ocean as she corrects him on her name, leading to Maui being thrown to the sky by the Ocean through a geyser.
Ralph Breaks the Internet
Moana returns in Ralph Breaks the Internet, joining in with all of the Disney Princesses at Oh My Disney. She is first seen greeting netizens behind all the other princesses. Vanellope manages to find refuge in the Disney princesses' private quarters to get away from the First Order Stormtroopers, where the ladies are on break; Moana can be seen talking with Anna and Elsa. As the princesses are mistaking Vanellope as a threat, they surged at her with their respective weapons; Moana was about to hit Vanellope with her oar. Luckily, she and the other princesses began to softening themselves when Vanellope tells them that she was a princess too. Moana, Mulan, Merida, and Anna are the only ones who do not ask Vanellope a question to prove what kind of princess she is. After declaring Vanellope to be a princess, they soon admired her casual modern outfit, and switched their gowns to modern casual outfits; Moana wears an orange tank top reading "#SHINY" along with artwork of Tamatoa, and white shorts. They then talk about how they like to break into song. Pocahontas says what works is to find a body of water and stare at it, where Moana replies that she sings to the ocean. After C-3PO tells the princesses to get ready to meet the quiz participants, Merida farewells Vanellope in a strong Gaelic Scottish accent, which Moana says they can't understand her.
Moana also later appears participating in the rescue to save Ralph from falling down from the Google skyscraper, creating a wave that Ariel swims through. When Ralph falls into the Royal Mattress wearing Snow White's dress, he notices the princesses after Prince Naveen kisses him. After the princesses tell Ralph that they are Vanellope's friends, Moana says "You're welcome." Much to Yesss and Vanellope's amusement, Ralph says Snow White's dress is not made for a big boy.
Quotes
“
I've been staring at the edge of the water. Long as I can remember. Never really knowing why I wish I could be the perfect daughter. But I come back to the water. No matter how hard I try. Every turn I take, every trail I track. Every path I make, every road leads back. To the place I know where I cannot go. Where I long to be. See the line where the sky meets the sea. It calls me. And no one knows. How far it goes. If the wind in my sail on the sea Stays behind me. One day, I'll know If I go, there's just no telling how far I'll go I know everybody on this island. Seems so happy on this island. Everything is by design I know everybody on this island. Has a role on this island So maybe I can roll with mine. I can lead with pride I can make us strong I'll be satisfied if I play along. But the voice inside. Sings a different song. What is wrong with me? See the light as it shines on the sea. It's blinding. But no one knows. How deep it goes. And it seems like it's calling out to me. So come find me. And let me know. What's beyond that line? Will I cross that line? The line where the sky meets the sea. It calls me. And no one knows. How far it goes. If the wind in my sail on the sea. Stays behind me. One day, I'll know. How far I'll go
„
~ Moana's song
Trivia
Her name means "ocean" in many Polynesian languages, including Hawaiian and Maori.
In some countries, she is renamed Vaiana due to copyright reasons and to avoid confusion with Moana Pozzi.
In Ralph Breaks the Interent, Even though she was among the other Disney Princesses, Moana is actually unoffical Disney Princess along with Anna and Elsa.
