Moana as she appears in Moana (2016). Inspired by Polynesian mythology, Moana is depicted as the strong-willed daughter of a chief of a Polynesian village, who is chosen by the ocean itself to reunite a mystical relic with the goddess Te Fiti.
If you're short on time, here's a quick answer to your question: Moana is considered both Polynesian and Hawaiian in different respects. She was created by Disney as an amalgamation of various Polynesian cultures and mythologies, but is set specifically on the Hawaiian island of Motunui.
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.
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.
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.
The story of the demigod Maui stretches across the Pacific and is estimated to be over 1000 years old. Always on a quest to empower mankind, Maui has become an endearing icon to the people of Polynesia.
While the ages of Disney Princesses are rarely discussed in their respective movies, Moana's age is given as 16, and the movie doesn't try to hide the fact that she is still quite young.
Voiced by Auli'i Carvalho, Moana is a young woman with great navigational talents with a love for adventure and the sea. A once-powerful demigod, Maui is the courageous hero who accompanies Moana on her adventure. Seeing how Maui is so bulky, it's only appropriate that he's voiced by Dwayne Johnson.
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.
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.
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!
In Moana, Disney creators employed some creative license, but they did highlight some actual Polynesian origin myths. In “The Maui Myths,” Maori natives of Tolago (today called Tolaga) Bay, North Island, New Zealand recount Maui's mytho-history which aided in the creation of Moana.
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.
Polynesia is characterized by a small amount of land spread over a very large portion of the mid- and southern Pacific Ocean. It comprises approximately 300,000 to 310,000 square kilometres (117,000 to 118,000 sq mi) of land, of which more than 270,000 km2 (103,000 sq mi) are within New Zealand.
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.
Te Kā is the main antagonist of Disney's 56th full-length animated feature film Moana. She was once the benevolent island goddess Te Fiti, but after her heart was stolen by the demigod Maui, she became a destructive lava demon.
Merida. Merida's place as a Disney princess was rather groundbreaking in the fact that she was the first Disney princess who wasn't given a prince. Her entire story is more about family and that kind of love. Merida has a rather free spirit and is strong and independent.
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.
Moana isn't the first princess not to have a love interest. Princess Merida from Brave also didn't have one. The story was all about her not wanting go through with an arranged marriage and her relationship with her mother, and that movie was AMAZING.
They were given an official number in the franchise line-up based on the chronological order in which their films were released, starting with Snow White as the first and original Disney Princess, with Cinderella being the second, followed by Aurora and so on.
