Tala's death is perhaps the saddest scene in Moana. After revealing to the young Moana that she has the Heart of Te Fiti, Tala's health takes a sudden turn for the worst. Despite putting on a brave face for her grandchild, she's weak and in pain.
So the long and short of it is just that: Moana and her ancestors are descendants of a demigod of Te Fiti. In the movie we see Moana's grandmother exhibit some mystical properties. When she dances in the ocean the rays obey her and dance with her.
The grandmother is reincarnated as a ray fish and guides Moana in the ocean. Later the grandmother appears as a ghost to help Moana believe in herself. Maui makes a joke about human sacrifice.
Gramma Tala becoming a manta ray after she dies is loosely based on the myth of Taotao Mo'na, which implies that ancestral spirits can come back in the form of animals to haunt the island.
This DARK Theory Explains Why Moana Looks EXACTLY Like Te Fiti
Why did ocean chose Moana?
The ocean challenged Moana's empathy by tempting her to choose between the shell and the sea turtle; she chose to save the latter. Moana's selfless act prompted the ocean to choose her as the world's "chosen one" and revealed itself as a sentient being.
Temuera Morrison as Tui, Moana's overprotective father, Sina's husband, and Tala's son. He is chief of Motunui Island. Morrison reprised his role in the film's Māori-language dub.
The Heart of Te Fiti May Have Been Keeping Tala Alive
Considering the ocean chose Moana when she was a child, someone needed to keep the precious Heart safe. A popular fan theory explains that with the Heart in her possession, Gramma Tala was granted a little more time to live and guide Moana on her quest.
Grandma Tala is the first voice we hear passing down the story of how the world came to be, created by nature. She later tells Moana she was there the day the Ocean chose her to carry out the journey to restore the heart of Te Fiti.
The theory is that there is a barrier between the spiritual, mystical world and the real world, with Maui's island located in the former. In order for Moana to get there (and return the relic stolen from the goddess Te Fiti) she has to die, too.
The chiefs wife is not Moanas mother. The chief was seduced and had moana with the goddess of the sea Tangaroa. When the Goddess presented the chief with his daughter she told him the child's fate, which is why he fights so hard to keep her away from the ocean.
In Hawaiian mythos, Pele is credited with the creation of the Hawaiian islands, so it fits that she would also be Te Fiti, Disney-fied for a broader audience. After all, Pele is less a green, loving goddess, and more a goddess known for power and an even more powerful jealousy.
If you're looking for a quick answer before diving into the analysis: no, Maui is not Moana's biological father in the film. But their bond and character development does have paternal themes.
Merida and Pocahontas are the only Princesses to not be seen married, or have wedding dresses in the franchise. Belle and a few others were featured in Disney's Beautiful Brides book.
In the Disney film Moana, the relationship between Moana and Maui is not romantic because Moana is a sixteen year old girl and Maui is thousands of years old. This is a step up from prior Disney movies.
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5) In the film's novelization, Moana's age is given as 16. This makes her the only Disney princess to be voiced by an actress younger than herself. Moana was released on Cravalho's 16th birthday.
In Moana, Disney merged a fictionalized tale with Polynesian history and origin myths to create the film's plot that tells the story of Moana, a teenage girl who yearns to be on the sea and ultimately leads her people back to the water as skilled voyagers and navigators.
A millennium later, Moana, daughter of Motunui's chief Tui, is chosen by the ocean to return the heart to Te Fiti. However, Tui arrives and takes Moana away, causing her to lose the heart. Tui and Moana's mother, Sina, try to keep her away from the ocean to prepare her for ascension as the island's chief.
