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Empowering girls without the necessities of romance or relying on a male lead to take charge! Moana is a great movie for girls as well as the whole family.
If you haven't heard about Disney's Moana, which just released on Blu Ray, you are missing out! Moana comes from Disney Animation Studios (Frozen, Big Hero 6, Zootopia) and features the talented voice of young up-and-comer Auli'i Cravalho and Mr. People's Champion himself, Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson. It opened Thanksgiving weekend as the 5th highest grossing move for that weekend and was nominated for two Academy Awards (Best Animated Feature and Best Original Song). If you find yourself a Rotten Tomatoes person, it received a 95% approval!
What is Moana all about?
A Demi-God, an Island Goddess, and a young girl and her rooster. Crazy right? The story of Moana starts out by introducing us to a tale of Polynesian Mythology and the demigod Maui (Dwayne Johnson). The island goddess Te Fiti has her mystical stone heart stolen by Maui which causes god-like creatures to come out in search of the stone while islands life slowly dwindles away. Creatures such as the lava demon Te Ka battle Maui and causes the stone to be lost in the ocean. It is said that after all this, Maui was banished for his choice to an island in the sea.
Many, many years later we are introduced to our protagonist Moana (Auli'i Cravalho), daughter and heir of the chief on the island of Motunui. Moana is raised to fear traveling beyond her island's shores by her father but has a desire to venture out beyond the reef. During her adventures along the shore, Moana is chosen by the ocean spirits to receive the lost heart. Moana makes a first attempt to travel beyond the reef but is thrown back onto the shore, thus doubting her internal strength to accept the task at hand. With the blessing and guidance of her grandmother Tala, Moana receives the strength and courage needed and sets out on her destiny with her unexpected sidekick Hei Hei (a very simple-minded yet lucky rooster).
Moana's first task is to find Maui and her second task is to get him to return the heart stone. When Moana finds Maui, she is treated as any demigod would, a thankful and fan girl. Over the course of adventures, Moana learns at first that Maui is very selfish in the sense that he felt betrayed by the humans. Maui tells his side of why he stole the heart to help the humans but it all backfired. With each quest, Maui soon grow to respect Moana for her dedication to the task at hand and her strength to continue on. At one point they confront the lava god Te Ka but lose the immediate battle due to the lack of faith Maui has for Moana. Maui scolds Moana and leaves her with the impression she was not the right person for the task.
Feeling worthless and ready to give up, Moana's spirit is lifted up by her grandmother's words and pushes forward on her quest. Again facing the daunting challenge of Te Ka, Moana succeeds in her confrontation. Te Ka soon returns for a second fight but Maui returns to provide a distraction/aide for Moana. Moana soon realizes that Te Ka is in fact Te Fiti and soon is able to return the heart stone while calming the angry beast. Te Fiti returns to her normal self and restores life to the world.
What a story for a young girl
So long story short, Moana tells a tale about a young girl who finds her inner strength to face a daunting task and succeeds. Unlike historical Disney movies that revolve around a charming prince or love-at-first site, Moana in fact contains no love story whatsoever. Moana and Maui develop a great friendship based on trust and respect. Just the fact that a movie focuses on a strong female lead and there is no love aspect is amazing. Moana faces many trails and tribulations and finds ways to perceiver. It's a great message to young girls that there is no need for a Prince Charming, be your own hero. Set your own sail, and create your own adventures.
You can pick up Disney's Moana now on Blu Ray, DVD, and Digital HD
**This post is no way sponsored by Disney or anything for that matter. I literally watched this move like 10 times over the past week because my girls loved this! And loved it WAY MORE than FROZEN!!!***