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.
Moana references Polynesian mythology all throughout the movie, specifically with the character Maui. Although Maui isn't a perfect portrayal of the original legends (and the legends vary across islands), the Disney version does incorporate some familiar, favorite Polynesian stories.
Maui is a shapeshifting, trickster god who comes to the aid of the film's protagonist, Moana, on her quest to save her island and family. Maui is voiced by Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson and is based on the Polynesian deity of the same name.
In the mythology of Tahiti, Māui was a wise man, or prophet. He was a priest, but was afterwards deified. Being at one time engaged at the marae (sacred place), and the sun getting low while Māui's work was unfinished, he laid hold of the hihi, or sun-rays, and stopped his course for some time.
In the 2016 Disney computer-animated musical film Moana, the demigod Maui is voiced by Dwayne Johnson. Abandoned by his human parents as a baby, the gods took pity on him and made him a demigod and gave him a magic fish hook that gives him the ability to shapeshift.
MOANA Live Action - Official Trailer (2024) Zendaya, Dwayne Johnson | Disney+
Is Maui based off a real God?
Māui is a character from Māori and Polynesian mythology. Though the stories about him do sometimes differ, he is consistently depicted as a clever, talented trickster. He's a demi-god, and he has supernatural powers, but still looks human.
Māui (Maui) is the great culture hero and trickster in Polynesian mythology. Very rarely was Māui actually worshipped, being less of a deity and more of a folk hero. His origins vary from culture to culture, but many of his main exploits remain relatively similar.
From creating fire to raising the sky to snare the sun, Maui was a hero whose legacy spanned well over 1000 years while these stories traveled over 4000 miles across the Pacific ocean. Several Mo'olelo speak of Maui's supernatural powers. It is said he belongs to a family of enchanted beings with superhuman abilities.
Among the iwi of New Zealand, Hina is usually considered to be either the elder sister or the wife of Māui. The most common story that presents Hina as the wife of Māui tells of Te Tunaroa, the father of all eels, who one day visited the pool where Hina bathed.
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.
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.
The main focus of spiritual devotion in Moana is the islanders, and particularly Moana's, faith in Te Fiti. This island goddess is the highest being, and even another god, Maui bows to her. This strengthens the fact that life revolves around nature, and faith in nature roots the spirit.
Native peoples of the Pacific resumed voyaging again a thousand years later. 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.
Some enjoy the movie but believe Maui should have been portrayed as a warrior. "As a proud Polynesian woman, it's not often that you see a film like Moana come out. It headlines our Pasifika culture, and it's lead by our Polynesian artists in the industry.
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.
Te Fiti does not exist in Polynesian mythology, but there is a goddess of fire, lightning, wind, and volcanoes called Pele. The spiral on Te Fiti's heart, Moana's necklace, and on the sail of her boat is called a koru. Te Fiti slightly resembles the Spring Sprite from the Firebird Suite segment in Fantasia 2000.
A demigod or demigoddess is a part-human and part-divine offspring of a deity and a human, or a human or non-human creature that is accorded divine status after death, or someone who has attained the "divine spark" (spiritual enlightenment).
Te Fiti's heart, a small pounamu stone, possessed the power to create life and raise islands. But it also attracted monsters who tried to steal it for its creative power. It was stolen by the demigod Maui, who planned to give it to humanity as a gift. After he stole it, the island was enveloped in darkness.
This region of Maui has a longer history. It has been revered by its Indigenous peoples as a sacred place for generations. In the 19th century, it served as the home and burial place of the Hawaiian royal family and became the first capital of the Hawaiian Kingdom.
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.
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.
