Moana is a 2016 American animated musical fantasy adventure film produced by Walt Disney Animation Studios and released by Walt Disney Pictures, and the 56th film in Disney's animated features canon. The film is being directed by Ron Clements and John Musker. Auli'i Cravalho and Dwayne Johnson provide the lead voices. It also features the voices of Rachel House, Temuera Morrison, Jemaine Clement, Nicole Scherzinger, and Alan Tudyk.
The film features original songs written by Lin-Manuel Miranda, Opetaia Foa'i, and Mark Mancina, and an orchestral score also composed by Mancina. Set in ancient Polynesia, the film tells the story of Moana, the strong-willed daughter of a chief of a coastal village, who is chosen by the ocean itself to reunite a mystical relic with the goddess Te Fiti. When a blightstrikes her island, Moana sets sail in search of Maui, a legendary demigod, in the hope of returning the relic to Te Fiti and saving her people. The plot is original, but takes inspiration from Polynesian myths.
Moana premiered during the AFI Fest at the El Capitan Theatre in Los Angeles on November 14, 2016, and was released theatrically in the United States on November 23, by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures. The film received acclaim from critics, who particularly praised its animation, music, and vocal performances. The film went on to gross over $682 million worldwide. Along with Zootopia, it marked the first time since 2002 that Walt Disney Animation Studios released two feature films in the same year, after Lilo & Stitch and Treasure Planet. At the 89th Academy Awards, the film received two nominations for Best Animated Feature and Best Original Song ("How Far I'll Go"). A live-action remake is scheduled for release on July 10, 2026 with Johnson reprising his role, while a spin-off series is originally scheduled set to premiere on Disney+ in 2024. However, it was cancelled to make way for a sequel, Moana 2, which will be released in theaters on November 27, 2024.
Plot[]
| Spoiler Warning: The following contains important plot details of the entire film. |
On the Polynesian island of Motunui, the inhabitants worshipped the goddess of nature, Te Fiti (a living island who brought life to the ocean long ago using a pounamu stone as her heart and the source of her power). Maui, the trickster, shape-shifting demigod of the wind and sea and master of wayfinding, stole the heart to give humanity the power of creation. This caused Te Fiti to disintegrate, and Maui was attacked by Te Kā, a volcanic demon. He lost both the heart and his magic fish hook to the depths of the sea.
A thousand years later, the ocean chooses Moana, daughter of Motunui's chief Tui, to return the heart to Te Fiti. Tui and Sina, Moana's father and mother, try to keep her away from the ocean to prepare her to become the island's chief. Sixteen years later, blight strikes the island, killing vegetation and shrinking the fish catch. Moana suggests going beyond the island's reef with her pet pig Pua to find more fish and find out what is happening, but Tui forbids it. Moana tries conquering the reef but is overpowered by the tides and shipwrecked. That afternoon, Moana's grandmother Tala shows her a secret cavern of ships, revealing that their people were voyagers until Maui stole Te Fiti's heart; the ocean was no longer safe without it. Tala explains that Te Kā's darkness is poisoning the island, but can be cured if Moana finds Maui and has him restore the heart of Te Fiti. Having been given the heart by the ocean, Tala gives it to Moana. Tala later falls ill and, on her deathbed, tells Moana that she must depart to find Maui.
Moana sets sail on a camakau from the cavern along with her dimwitted pet rooster, Heihei, who has stowed away on it. They are caught in a typhoon and shipwrecked on an island where she finds Maui, who boasts about his achievements. She demands that Maui return the heart, but he refuses and traps her in a cave before leaving on her boat. She escapes and confronts Maui, who reluctantly lets her on the camakau. They are attacked by Kakamora, coconut pirates who seek the heart, but Moana and Maui outwit them. Moana realizes Maui is no longer a hero since he stole the heart and cursed the world, and convinces him to redeem himself by returning the heart. Maui first needs to retrieve his magical fishhook in Lalotai, the Realm of Monsters, from Tamatoa, a giant coconut crab. While Moana distracts Tamatoa, Maui retrieves his hook, only to find himself unable to control his shape-shifting. He is overpowered by Tamatoa, but Moana's quick thinking allows them to escape with the hook. Maui reveals that his first tattoo was earned when his mortal parents abandoned him as an infant, and the gods, taking pity on him, granted him his powers. After reassurance from Moana, Maui teaches her the art of way-finding, regaining control of his powers, and the two grow closer.
They arrive at Te Fiti's island, only to be attacked by Te Kā. Moana refuses to turn back, resulting in Maui's hook being badly damaged. Unwilling to lose his hook again, Maui abandons Moana, who asks the ocean to find someone else to restore the heart and loses hope. The ocean obliges and takes the heart, but Tala's spirit appears, inspiring Moana to find her true calling. She retrieves the heart and sails back to confront Te Kā. Maui returns, having had a change of heart, and buys Moana time to reach Te Fiti by fighting Te Kā, destroying his hook in the process. Upon being unable to find Te Fiti, Moana realizes Te Kā is Te Fiti, corrupted without her heart. The ocean clears a path for Moana, allowing her to return the heart to Te Fiti, who heals the ocean and islands of blight. Maui apologizes to Te Fiti, who fixes his hook before falling into a deep sleep and becoming an island. Moana bids farewell to Maui and Te Fiti, returning home and reuniting with her parents. She takes up her role as chief and wayfinder, leading her people as they resume voyaging, accompanied by Maui.
Cast[]
- Auli'i Cravalho as the voice of Moana Waialiki
- Louise Bush as the voice of a younger Moana
- Dwayne Johnson as the voice of Maui
- Rachel House as the voice of Gramma Tala Waialiki
- Temuera Morrison as the voice of Chief Tui Waialiki
- Christopher Jackson as Tui's singing voice
- Jemaine Clement as the voice of Tamatoa
- Nicole Scherzinger as Sina Waialiki, Moana's mother and Tui's wife
- Alan Tudyk as the voice of Heihei, Moana's pet rooster
- Tudyk also provided the voice of a character credited as Villager #3
- Oscar Kightley as the voice of Fisherman
- Troy Polamalu as the voice of Villager #1
- The voice of Pua, Moana's pet pig, is provided by the use of several pigs.
Reception[]
Critical response[]
On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 95% based on 283 reviews and an average rating of 7.9/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "With a title character as three-dimensional as its lush animation and a story that adds fresh depth to Disney's time-tested formula, Moana is truly a family-friendly adventure for the ages." On Metacritic, the film holds a normalized score of 81 out of 100 based on 44 critics, indicating "universal acclaim." Audiences surveyed by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A" on a scale ranging from A to F.
Legacy[]
Due to the success of the film, Moana was officially added to the Disney Princess franchise and was the 12th addition to the lineup. According to the official list of the most-watched streaming titles of 2021 released on January 21, 2022, by Deadline and Nielsen, Moana ranked as the second most streamed film of 2021 with a view-time of 8.9 billion minutes, just behind Luca (2021), which had been watched for 10.5 billion minutes.
Cancelled Disney+ series[]
On December 10, 2020, it was announced during the Disney investors meeting that a series based on the film would stream on Disney+ sometime in 2023. The release date was later pushed back to 2024. It is one of the first spin-offs to be produced by Walt Disney Animation Studios itself instead of its television animation division. However, Disney announced that the series has been cancelled to make way for a new Disney animated film, Moana 2.
Live-action adaptation[]
In April 2023, The Hollywood Reporter reported that Walt Disney Pictures was developing a live-action remake of Moana to be produced by Dwayne Johnson, Dany Garcia, and Hiram Garcia, under their production company Seven Bucks Productions, and Beau Flynn of Flynn Pictures Co., executive produced by Auli'i Cravalho and Scott Sheldon, and written by Jared Bush, with Johnson set to reprise his role as Maui.
On the announcement, Johnson remarked "I'm deeply humbled and overcome with gratitude to bring the beautiful story of Moana to the live-action big screen. This story is my culture, and this story is emblematic of our people's grace and warrior strength. I wear this culture proudly on my skin and in my soul, and this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to reunite with Maui, inspired by the mana and spirit of my late grandfather, High Chief Peter Maivia, is one that runs very deep for me. I want to thank my partners at Disney for their strong commitment to this special endeavor, because there is no better world for us to honor the story of our people, our passion and our purpose than through the realm of music and dance, which is at the core of who we are as Polynesian people." Sean Bailey, Disney Live Action's president of production, acknowledged that despite it being considered too early to remake the film seven years after it came out, "...the idea of working with these fantastic partners to tell such a meaningful story on a live-action canvas, particularly as we celebrate 100 years of storytelling at Disney, is thrilling." Cravalho announced via an Instagram video that she will not reprise her role as Moana, but will serve as an executive producer. Thomas Kail was revealed as director in late May.
It is originally set to scheduled for release on June 27, 2025, but, it was delayed to July 10, 2026.
Trivia[]
To be added
