With the release of Moana before Thanksgiving, I believe it is time we discuss the importance of the new addition to the Disney Princess legacy. This new Disney animated movie is the latest project from the past directors of The Little Mermaid and Aladdin, John Musker and Ron Clements. It has passed Frozen in the box-office, becoming the biggest Thanksgiving holiday release in years. With music from Lin-Manuel Miranda, Moana gives us a new adventure tale that follows young Moana on her journey to find demi-god Maui and save her island. The movie has fun characters, hilarious jokes, and a great message to share with audiences everywhere. But what makes this new heroine so special? Here are a few things that make Moana one of my new favorite princesses: (WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD)
She has two parents.
I know that sometimes the tragedy of being kept away from her parents or having lost one long ago makes a princess have a sort of teen angst or desire to gain experience in the world, but this story gives a new look at a "princess origin story." Moana has been raised by two parents and a grandmother, giving her a stable upbringing and lots of time to learn who she is. Her grandmother has spent time educating her on the traditions of the village, her mother has taught her survival skills such as how to utilize all parts of the coconut, and her father has raised her to be responsible because she will one day be chief. With all of these people looking out for her, it makes Moana's desire to go out in the world much more relatable and unique. Other princesses have wanted to leave their homes because they feel they lack something, such as Rapunzel wanting to know why the lights call to her or Belle going to save her father because he is the only family she has left. Moana desires to go out onto the sea because 1. she believes it can save her people, and 2. it calls to her. It is not an obligation or question of something more. She seems to have everything on the island but there is something out there that she needs to find for herself.
She seems to already have developed a strong sense of responsibility.
It is never clearly stated what age Moana is meant to be, but it seems to be somewhat on the younger side. Despite that, this new princess already has a keen sense of responsibility and desire to take charge. The song "Where You Are" shows us that she is always drawn to the sea and for a long time turns away from her training as chief to go and venture out onto this forbidden span of water. After a talk with her father, she realizes that one day she will take charge of a large village and needs to be able to do it without questioning herself. She gives up her dream and decides to fully commit to her father's training. Unlike Ariel who refuses to give up her love for a complete stranger, Moana follows her father and goes against that voice inside of her that her grandmother told her to listen to. This young girl realized the welfare of her people was more important than her childhood dream to venture into the unknown. But then the safety of her village was threatened as she decided that voice might be able to help.
She believes in herself.
Despite never having sailed one of those ships before, Moana still takes one out onto the open sea in order to find what is beyond the reef. She trusts the ocean, even though she thought she made that original meeting up, and her heart to guide her on the unknown open ocean. There are not a lot of people that I know who would do that. I would not believe in myself that much. But this girl did and she managed to survive. In a world where all the answers we need are at our fingertips, maybe even directions on how to sail one of those boats, it is refreshing to see a character teach herself how to do something by just doing it. As she told Maui, "She is self taught" in the art of way-finding. And I will say, she did a pretty good job at getting herself to his island, even with that last push from the ocean. To make it even better, Moana believed she could get past a fire demon better than a demigod. Although she did not succeed the first time, she went back to try again. She did not let her first failure get her spirit down. It did not help that Maui degraded her abilities after that first try, but she decided to try again. Moana is a perfect example of the saying, "If at first you don't succeed, try again."
