Moana is the titular main protagonist of Disney's 2016 animated feature film of the same name. Born on the island village of Motunui, Moana is the daughter of Chief Tui and Sina, with an inherited love for the seas and voyaging. When her island becomes endangered by a life-killing darkness, Moana is chosen by the ocean to journey across the sea to save both her people and the world.
Moana is the twelfth official member of the Disney Princess line-up.
Personality[]
Moana, as Gramma Tala describes, "stands out from the crowd". She is sea-loving, headstrong, strong-willed, 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 crisis. 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 an 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. However, these acts are not done with malicious, or even notable intent. Moana is extremely sympathetic and caring, which drives her to perform life-threatening stunts for what she genuinely believes to be the greater good.
In 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 this 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.
Physical appearance[]
At 16 years old (19 in the sequel), Moana of Motunui has a slender yet muscular build that sets her apart from previous Disney princesses and heroines. She has medium brown skin, brown eyes, thick eyebrows and eyelashes, wide nose, full brownish-pink lips, and long, wavy, black hair. Moana usually wears her hair down, only tying it in a top bun sporadically when sailing.
Moana's outfits are all made out of Tapa, Pandanus, leaves, feathers, and other natural resources found on Motunui. For her regular outfit, she wears a tube top made out of red Tapa with a layered style accessorized with seashells along the perimeter. She wears a red sash made from the same material that wraps around her skirt made out of shredded Pandanas and layered Tapa, with a slit for mobility purposes on her journey. She is also barefoot. When leading on Motunui, she wears a lei made out of green leaves and pink flowers. After Gramma Tala's death, Moana dons her blue necklace that carries in it the heart of Te Fiti.
In the very beginning of the film, Moana, being a 2-year-old toddler, wears a traditional Polynesian cloth diaper made from a simple piece of fabric, possibly made from woven coconut or woven plant fibers, that got wrapped around her waist and secured with a knot, decorated with a light-brown color and some orange-colored curves. The rest of the accessories she has include a necklace with bones that is a symbol of her connection to the ocean and a hibiscus flower in her headband that is a symbol of beauty and respect to nature.
During a brief dancing scene in "Where You Are", Moana wears a dress similar in style to her regular outfit, this time with a red skirt and a white top adorned with a white Pandanus collar, seashell necklace, and a lei made out of green leaves and white flowers, as well as bracelets and anklets on both hands and feet made out of the same material and encrusted with white seashells. At the beginning of the film, she has a pink flower on her head.
Moana also wears a Samoan-inspired ceremonial dress during the same song with a red Tapa top and skirt adorned with red tassels, a white Pandanus collar, skirt, and belt, red-feathered arm cuffs, and green leaf bracelets, both with white seashells around the edge. The dress is topped off with a traditional Samoan headdress made out of shredded red Pandanus, white feathers, seashells, and other natural items found throughout Motunui.
The final outfit Moana wears in the film is her voyager dress in the film's epilogue. Moana's voyager dress is made out of fresh leaves and plants in contrast to her previous outfits, all made out of dried materials. Moana's top is made out of bright red leaves to symbolize her new role as Chief of Motunui. Her belt is made out of red Tapa with a panel of green leaves cascading down the layered skirt made out of shredded Pandanus. Moana wears a lei made out of red and green leaves and encrusted with white flowers, as well as a leaf cuff on her left arm and on her right ankle.
Abilities[]
- Ocean connection: Though Moana does not technically possess the skill to bend water to her will, she does share a unique and exclusive connection with the ocean itself. Sometimes the ocean helps her when she's in need. For example, when Maui leaves Moana with her boat, and repeatedly throwing her overboard, the ocean popped her back on board. However, there are some places where the ocean won't be able to help her, such as in Nalo's realm. However, after being elevated to the status of a demigoddess, Moana may now have the ability to bend water, as her oar is now enchanted.
- Athleticism: Growing up on an island has provided Moana with an environment that allows her to use her strength and agility to traverse throughout it. As seen during "How Far I'll Go", Moana is physically dominant, as she was seen zip-lining and running at a fast pace without losing stamina. She also has a natural talent for swimming and can endure being underwater for a considerably long period of time for a human. During her brief time trapped in Maui's cave, Moana demonstrated incredible leg strength by moving and toppling over a statue of the demigod many times her size and weight, so she can climb out through a tiny crevice. Moana also held her own while fighting back against the Kakamora and has demonstrated that she is able to outrun various monsters.
- Master sailor: Though inexperienced at first, Moana has always been drawn to the sea as a result of her ancestral heritage. When she first embarked set sail with Pua in an attempt to go beyond the reef, her sailing skills left much to be desired, and as a result, she was nearly killed by the strong currents. However, she made it past almost effortlessly the same night, and throughout her adventures with Maui, steadily learned various necessities and tricks that would ultimately lead her to become a talented sailor - and by extension - a master navigator.
- Demigoddesshood: After perishing in the act of breaking Nalo's curse on Motufetu, Moana was revived as a demigoddess, receiving demigoddess tattoos and having her oar turned into a magic totem. The full extent of her demigoddess abilities is unknown, with the only mystical ability displayed being the power wayfinding to guide people across Oceania.
Trivia[]
- In keeping with the tradition of other Disney Princesses, Moana does not have a last name. During the 2015 D23 Expo's panel for Disney's slate of upcoming animated films, Moana's last name was given as "Waialiki", but that name was not retained in the final version of the film.
- Her name means "ocean" in many Polynesian languages, including Hawaiian and Maori.
- Animators put a considerable amount of effort into ensuring Moana's hair added to her performance. They did so by developing new software to give the hair a realistic look. They also changed her hairstyle in different scenes, depending on her current action (such as tying her hair in a bun as she sails).
- In one version of the story, Moana had nine older brothers that left the island. Their sister would eventually journey to rescue them.
- In Moana 2, Moana has a younger sister named Simea, making Moana the fifth Disney Princess to have a sibling after Cinderella, Ariel, Rapunzel and Merida.
- Musician Dinah Jane Hansen auditioned for the role of Moana, but the role eventually went to Auli'i Cravalho.
- Moana was designed to have a body that is considerably more realistic than the thinly stylized proportions of previous Disney animated heroines.
- The junior novelization gives her age as 16. This makes her the only Disney princess to be voiced by an actress younger than the character, as her film was released on Auli'i Cravalho's 16th birthday.
- Moana was, at one point, a secondary character as the film was initially centered around Maui. Moana's story involved going on a mission to save her love interest.
- The red in Moana's clothing represents her royal heritage as the daughter of a chief.
- Over 40 designs were proposed for Moana's necklace. The final appearance was chosen to represent Moana's ties to both the land and sea. The stars on the necklace represent Moana's identity as a navigator.
- In some foreign versions of the film (mainly in some countries in Europe), she is renamed Vaiana due to copyright reasons.
- Moana was originally going to be a playable character in the third installment of Disney Infinity, but after the series was confirmed to have been discontinued in May 2016, it was implied that Moana was cancelled.
- Writer Jared Bush reported that past iterations of the film had her last name be Waialiki, while others have Motunui, though he wasn't sure on what was ultimately canon.
- In the reprise of the deleted ballad "More", Moana mentions that Gramma Tala was the one who named her.
- Moana's oar is most likely a Culacula: a warclub originating from Fiji that could be used both as an oar and a weapon.
- Unlike her most recent predecessors, Moana was not inducted into the Disney Princess franchise with a coronation event. Instead, the character was slowly integrated into official Disney Princess merchandise such as books and toy lines, as well as social media posts following the release of her film, before being added to the franchise's official website as a member in 2019.
- Also, unlike her most recent predecessors (who were inducted in the line-up after almost one year of their film's release), Moana took almost three years since her film's release before being inducted into the line-up.
- Moana is a taupou, who later became a Matai in the Fa'amatai government system due to her being a daughter of a chief, and because she became a successor to her father, who was a Matai before her.
- She is the first tautai (master wayfinder) that her people have had in a millennium.
- Moana is the second Disney Princess to be an original character and not based on a preexisting character, the first being Merida from Brave.
- Moana is the first Disney Princess to become a deity.
- She is the first Disney Princess to have a theatrically released sequel.
- Moana is the first Disney Princess in the modern era to "die" and be revived.
- She is the third Disney Princess after Snow White and Aurora to be in a death-like state.
- Moana is the first Disney Princess to use profanity. Though it's just barely cut off as she begins to utter the profane part of the phrase, she clearly calls Maui an S.O.B. after he leaves her in a cave at the end of "You're Welcome".
- Moana is the second Disney Princess to have a tattoo, after Pocahontas.
- Although Auli'i Cravalho was in her teens when she first voiced the character, Moana herself is technically not the first Disney Princess to be originally voiced by a teenager. That actually goes to Snow White, whose original voice actress, Adriana Caselotti, was 18 years old when she auditioned for the studio's first ever Disney Princess in their official line-up.
- Moana mentions in the second film that she is not a princess to which Maui states that a lot of people think she is. This might be referencing the real world, in which Moana was not designated as an official Disney Princess before 2019, but fans believed she was.
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