The title character, 16-year-old Moana(voiced by Auli’i Cravalho) lives on the island of Motunui, the daughter of the local Chief(Temuera Morrison). Moana has a happy and loving life, but is filled with a wanderlust and upset by her father’s orders that no one ever travel beyond their island’s reef. A crisis begins when, without warning, Motunui’s fruit is spoiled and inedible, and the local fish seem to have vanished from the water, putting everyone’s life in danger. Encouraged by her grandmother(Rachel House), Moana defies her father’s orders and leaves her home, in order to save her people.
That quest includes finding the demigod, Maui(Dwayne Johnson), who is inadvertently responsible for what is happening to Motunui. 1000 years before, Maui - whose massive, magical fishhook gives him the ability to shapeshift into any animal - stole a powerful object from the lava monster Te Ka. Now, Te Ka’s vengeance is causing the plight facing Moana’s people. Moana must enlist Maui’s assistance in returning the “heart” of Te Ka to its rightful place – but that is, of course, easier said than done.
Moana quickly establishes itself as an entertaining, gorgeously animated film, but the opening scenes also feel a bit overly familiar when it comes to Disney animation storylines. A teenage girl who longs to see and do more than her daily life allows – possibly with a loving but stern/overly-protective father as an obstacle – is obviously not a new concept. Indeed, Moana directors Ron Clements and John Musker famously told a story with a similar set-up with the classic The Little Mermaid nearly three decades ago.