It was originally Gramma Tala's and when she was laying on her death bed, she placed the heart of Te Fiti inside it before handing it to Moana. Moana put it around her neck when she realized what she must do to save her island and people, with the heart safely around the neck.
Maui's necklace of assorted whale teeth may just look like interesting decoration for a colorful character, but it actually references an actual part of Polynesian history. Fijians had whale's teeth ornaments, called tabua, and would string them together to form a necklace, called sisi or wàseisei.
Te Fiti is a major character in Disney's 2016 animated feature film Moana. She is a goddess with the power to create life—an ability that she used to create the islands of Polynesia. After her heart had been stolen by Maui, she became Te Kā, a demon of earth and fire and the main antagonist of the film.
Moana's age, 16, is less of an issue in her story as it doesn't include a romantic plot, but it still relies on a young girl to overcome dangerous challenges and save the world. Disney princesses have always had an age problem, with characters as young as 14 falling in love, defying parents, and getting married.
Moana wears the Heart of Te Fiti around her neck whilst she sets sail across the uncharted ocean in order to restore it back to Te Fiti - an island diety - and save her people. The stone is once again, a turquoise heavy set rock hanging from a rope/fabric chain adorned with ocean pearls.
Although Moana is from the fictional island Motunui some 3,000 years ago, the story and culture of Moana is based on the very real heritage and history of Polynesian islands such as Hawaii, Samoa, Tonga, and Tahiti. In fact, once you start looking for ties to Polynesian culture in Moana, it's hard to stop!
Though Moana and Te Fiti aren't related by blood like Anna and Elsa, the sacrifice underscores the large role nature plays in the film. “The idea that what we perceive as the villain of the film is actually 'nature wronged' was always an idea that we had, and wanted to build toward,” Shurer said.
It is a known fact that in almost every new Disney film, there is some sort of fun little easter eggs to find from previous and classic Disney films and Moana is actually jam-packed with them! Finding the small little details and easter eggs can be both exciting and difficult.
Although Moana's relationship with Maui never extends beyond the platonic level in the film, and although he is a 1,000-year old demigod and she is a 16-year old human, a lot of fans of the film like to put her and Maui in a romantic pairing known as Hooked Wayfinder.
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.
Nope. It turns out Moana just doesn't have one in the movie. "It's a film about the heroine finding herself," Musker and Clements revealed to EW about whether or not Moana was going to have a romance.
Clements and Musker set the film at that point in time, about two thousand years ago, on a fictional island in the central Pacific Ocean, which drew inspiration from elements of the real-life island nations of Fiji, Samoa, and Tonga.
It is a beautiful Hawaiian given name meaning "ocean, sea, or expanse of water." The name has been a firm favorite among Polynesian communities for years, gaining global popularity with the release of Disney's epic animated film in 2016.
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.
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That's why Cinema Pro Studio published a trailer with the Euphoria star joining The Rock in the film, with a very accurate description: "Here's our concept trailer for 'Moana Live Action,' an exhilarating cinematic journey that brings Zendaya's Moana and Dwayne Johnson's Maui to life in a captivating new adaptation.
Moana and Maui are characters in a Disney movie that our children absolutely adore, so it is only natural that like every other Disney character, they want to dress up as them. It is fine to let them do this – minus the body paint, tattoos, brown skin-coloured body suit and legitimate cultural attire.
After losing her heart, Te Fiti is blinded by anger and rage as she smites the world in an act of vengeance. She forgets her initial purpose - forgets who she is - which causes the film's central conflict until Moana steps in and reminds Te Fiti that she is not identified by anger and hate, but by love and compassion.
The healing of all of the major characters in this movie is achieved by Moana answering the call that she was unequipped for. By conquering her fear of the ocean and learning to voyage, she follows the instruction to recruit Maui (who was also unequipped to support her) and return the heart to Te Fiti.
