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. The film received positive reviews from critics and was a commercial success, grossing $687 million worldwide. The short film, Gone Fishing, was released in 2017 as a bonus feature on the Blu-ray release of Moana. It shows Maui trying to catch a fish with his magical fishhook, while Moana tries to stop him from harming a baby turtle. After sadly telling the ocean to bring the heart to someone else, Gramma Tala appears as Moana a spiritual manta ray and encourages her to discover who she is based on what she has learned, what she has lived through, who she has met, and where she comes from. Moana proudly realizes who she has meant to be within herself and what defines her and swims down to retrieve the heart.

Moana (character)

Their argument is cut short when they hear that Gramma Tala is suddenly dying, leading Moana and her father to stand by his mother’s deathbed. The Kakamora crave the heart of Te Fiti’s power, but Moana stands her ground and fights back. Though Maui commends her on surviving, he still refuses to help return the heart.

Development

Upon escaping the cave and being helped by Ocean to desperately get back to her boat, Moana angrily confronted Maui, who continuously threw her off the boat, only for Ocean to repeatedly put her back on it. When Moana revealed the Heart of Te Fiti to Maui, she was amused to discover he was traumatized by the sight of it. She did not believe that anyone dangerous would appear if she showed the Heart around until the Kakamora revealed themselves before Moana and Maui. After successfully restoring the Heart of Te Fiti and saving Motunui, Moana began a new era of wayfinding where she was watched by her grandmother’s manta ray reincarnation, showing she was still being looked after by Tala through a different life form. Memorable characters, an empowering message and a catchy soundtrack combine to make this incredible movie.

Theatrical Short Film: Inner Workings Without Filmmaker Intro

• Moana is devastated and loses faith in herself, but Maui manages to inspire her.
• After reassurance from Moana, Maui teaches her the art of way-finding, regaining control of his powers, and the two grow closer.
• Moana and Pua would often try to sneak off to try sailing beyond the reef of Motunui, only to get caught by Moana’s parents every time.
• She further explains that despite this, she pushes herself in order to save her dying island, though she can only do so with Maui’s help.
• Tala shows Moana a secret cavern full of ships, revealing her ancestors were voyagers but stopped after Te Fiti’s heart was stolen due to the ocean no longer being safe.
• After returning the Heart of Te Fiti to the mother goddess, saving Motunui and every other island from dying, Moana returns home where she happily reunites with her mother.
• Maui informs them to stay away from Matangi, but as he was about to leave, he sees Heihei and realizes that Moana is in danger.

With Moana revitalized, the group plans to have Maui raise Motufetu so that Moana can touch it, as that is the only way to stop Nalo. Her crew repairs her raft, but when the group ventures forth to confront Nalo, they encounter a gigantic storm. Moana and her crew are attacked once again by the Kakamora, but soon learn they want what they do as well, leading to the Kakamora giving them a weapon to aid them, as well as the aid of a skilled coconut warrior Kotu. Moana is separated from her group and meets Matangi, a goddess who is the unwilling companion of Nalo.

Animation

• The ocean obliges and takes the heart, but Tala’s spirit appears, inspiring Moana to find her true calling.
• Maui compliments Moana’s tattoos by saying “my tattoos are still cooler than yours”.
• Moana departs using one of the sailboats found in the cave and departs with Heihei, a dumb rooster who has accidentally stowed away on the sailboat.
• Aaron and Jordan Kandell joined the project during a critical period to help deepen the emotional story architecture of the film.
• She did not believe that anyone dangerous would appear if she showed the Heart around until the Kakamora revealed themselves before Moana and Maui.

Finding a deserted island to beach the raft on and regroup, it is there that Moana finds the remains of Tautai Vasa’s raft, indicating that he and those with him were killed by Nalo before they could reach Motufetu. Her morale restored, and with Loto having repaired their raft with materials from Tautai Vasa’s, they head for Motufetu, with the plan being for Maui to raise the island, then Moana will touch it, breaking the curse. The first film, Moana, was released on November 23, 2016 to critical acclaim and commercial success. It features the voice talents of Auli’i Cravalho as Moana and Dwayne Johnson as Maui, as well as Rachel House, Temuera Morrison, Jemaine Clement, Nicole Scherzinger, and Alan Tudyk. The film was nominated for two Academy Awards, for Best Animated Feature and Best Original Song, and won the Annie Award for Best Animated Feature. It also became the sixth highest-grossing animated film of all time, with a worldwide gross of over $690 million.

She mournfully confesses her incompetence and demands that the ocean chooses someone else to restore the heart. The ocean accepts Moana’s decision and takes the heart of Te Fiti back into the sea. As Moana breaks down in tears, she is visited by Gramma Tala’s spirit, who comforts and apologizes to her granddaughter for placing so much pressure on her.

Other media

As Moana leaves, her grandmother’s light fades out, and her spirit appears in the form of a manta ray, which guides Moana past the reef and into the seas. The ocean carries Moana to Maui’s island, where the two meet and fail to see eye to eye. Maui is more concerned with Moana’s boat, which he steals by trapping Moana in a cave.
Meanwhile, Maui is seeking Motufetu himself since he had a previous quarrel with Nalo, but he is captured by Nalo’s enforcer, Matangi. Maui is reluctant to contact Moana, as he fears she may not survive if she comes to help. Moana and her crew are captured by the Kakamora, a tribe of savage coconut-like pirates that Moana previously encountered, who reveal that Nalo’s actions against Motufetu had caused them to be disconnected from their home island.