Her father, Chief Tui Waialiki, is so overprotective that he forbids Moana from venturing beyond the safety of their reef. But he also instills in her the self-belief of a leader—which is exactly what prompts her to disobey his orders to set sail in order to save her people, while the teachings of her grandmother Tala give her spiritual direction rooted in her heritage. And that is precisely what makes Moana more the heroine’s tale the viewers and critics need.
Forbidden from venturing into the vast ocean that calls to her, she struggles to contain the yearning to go beyond her world. But when ecological decay starts devastating their only food sources and threatening the future of the island, she defies her father and leaves behind the safety of her home in order to save it from ruin.
To do so Moana sets sail with a brainless pet chicken by her side and the ocean itself as her guide …show more content…
Moana and Maui are never romantically linked. There is no “Prince Charming” character in the entire film. In every Disney Princess movie, the prince or the princess finding a mate is the essence of the entire film where, a princess’s story is incomplete without the prince, without the “happily ever after” of a love story. Raised from birth to inherit the chieftainship, she is reminded constantly that she is capable and strong and given such confidence to lead the men and women around her from an early age that her ability to do so is never in question. Moreover, throughout the movie in songs like “How Far I’ll Go,” “I Am Moana” and “Know Who You Are,” it is reinforced that Moana is cut from the same cloth as her brave, intelligent and compassionate