‘Moana’ will teach your child lessons of the heart
As a 90’s kid, I have been obsessed with Disney movies since an early age. I wore out my VHS tapes by repeatedly watching movies like Disney’s "Robin Hood," "The Aristocats" and "Alice in Wonderland, "until I knew them word for word.
Despite my love for the "House of Mouse," I have not always been a huge fan of the Disney princesses (with the exception of Belle).
However, in recent years, Disney has impressed me with the strength and moral fiber of their newer princesses. The latest of these, Moana, is no exception.
Moana is a Polynesian princess (although she prefers to be called the daughter of the village chief) who decides to venture beyond her island’s reef in order to save it from certain destruction, even though it was against their village’s law. She sails across the sea with
her chicken, Heihei and the demigod of the wind and sea, Maui, to restore the heart of the mother island that was stolen by Maui to keep her island from dying.
There are so many lessons for our children and grandchildren to learn from a story like this.
Becoming who you are was a theme throughout the whole movie. Moana is constantly pulled in two directions.
On one hand, her father is the chief who has been grooming her to take his place one day. He wants to keep her planted on their island and to appreciate the place that she calls home.
He once loved the ocean like Moana, but his own voyage beyond the reef was not as rewarding as her own.
He found rough waters and his best friend, who begged to be on the canoe with him, died because of it. Her father could not save him but he hopes that he can save Moana from a similar fate.
On the other hand, she loves the sea and wants nothing more than to be on it. Her grandmother, who has been labeled the village crazy lady for her belief in the tales of their people, has been one who has pushed her to follow her heart no matter what those around her say.
She always reassures Moana that she will support her no matter what she decides – be it stay in the village to rule or to sail the ocean.
She is also the one who tells Moana the stories of her people and tells Moana how Maui stole the heart of the mother island, unleashing a beast that was poisoning the world one island at a time.
She shows her how the poison had begun to effect their own island.
The story also shows children that after you make a mistake, you need to make amends and apologize.
Maui, demigod of the wind and sea, hero to all –bas he likes to be identified – made a mistake a thousand years ago.
While trying to impress man, he stole the heart of the mother island to give to humans so they can create life itself.
You see, Maui was not always an immortal. He was born human and was cast into the sea by his parents. He was found and raised by the gods who gave him immortality.
Even so, he still wanted to be accepted by humans, to find the love that he was missing because of the actions of his parents. He gave them food, coconut trees and even held the sky up for them. But with stealing the heart, he went too far.
He helps Moana in her quest, even against his will sometimes, and even destroys his giant magical fish hook, a device given to him by the gods so he can use his powers, in his efforts.
Once the heart is restored to the mother island, he tells the spirit of the island how sorry he is for his actions and begs for her forgiveness.
There is so much to say about this movie, I could honestly keep going on and on. The music is catchy and moving. It has a good mixture of whimsy and serious parts. Instead of blathering on, I will simply say that it is definitely worth watching with your little ones.