Moana is the main protagonist of Disney's 2016 animated feature film, "Moana".

Appearance

At 16 years old, Moana of Motonui has a tall, slender yet muscular build that sets her apart from previous Disney princesses and heroines. She has brown eyes with thick eyebrows, full brownish-pink lips, and long, wavy, black hair. Moana usually wears her hair down, only tying it in a top bun sporadically when sailing.

Moana's outfits are all made out of Tapa, Pandanus, leaves, feathers, and other natural resources found on Motonui. For her regular outfit, she wears a crop top made out of red Tapa with a layered style accessorized with seashells along the perimeter. She wears a red sash made from the same material that wraps around her skirt made out of shredded Pandanas and layered Tapa, with a slit for mobility purposes on her journey. When leading on Motonui, she wears a lei made out of green leaves and pink flowers. After Gramma Tala's death, Moana dons her blue necklace that carries in it the heart of Te Fiti.

During a brief dancing scene in "Where You Are", Moana wears a dress similar in style to her regular outfit, this time with a red skirt and a white top adorned with a white Pandanus collar, seashell necklace, and a lei made out of green leaves and white flowers, as well as bracelets and anklets on both hands and feet made out of the same material and encrusted with white seashells.

Moana also wears a Samoan-inspired ceremonial dress during the same song with a red Tapa top and skirt adorned with red tassels, a white Pandanus collar, skirt, and belt, red feathered arm cuffs, and green leaf bracelets both with white seashells around the edge. The dress is topped off with a traditional Samoan headdress made out of shredded red Pandanus, white feathers, seashells, and other natural items found throughout Motonui.

The final outfit Moana wears in the film is her voyager dress in the film's epilogue. Moana's voyager dress is made out of fresh leaves and plants in contrast to her previous outfits, which were all made out of dried materials. Moana's top is made out of bright red leaves to symbolize her new role of Chief of Motonui. Her belt is made out of red Tapa with a panel of green leaves cascading down the layered skirt made out of shredded Pandanus. Moana wears a lei made out of red and green leaves and encrusted with white flowers, as well as a leaf cuff on her left arm and on her right ankle.

Skills

Moana is the daughter of Chief Tui, living on the oceanic island of Motunui as the appointed heir to the chiefdom. Since childhood, Moana has been deeply captivated by the rich legends and lore that have spread across the South Pacific islands over the centuries, most of which revolve around legendary gods and goddesses, such as the demigodMaui. Compelling Moana further into these legends is her always-supportive grandmother, Tala, who firmly believes Moana is destined to someday navigate and explore the seas, as her ancestors did before her. Tui, however, feels the world beyond the reef is far too dangerous for any exploration, and forbids his people (including Moana) from venturing off.

As she grows, Moana is driven to leave the village in hopes of uncovering the secrets of her heritage, while also connecting with it; accompanied by a bumbling, stowaway rooster known as Heihei. Along the way, she meets Maui, himself.

Relationships

Maui

Maui is moana's hero. He is a legendary demi-god.

Trivia

• Her name means "ocean" in many Polynesian languages, including Hawaiian and Maori.
• Animators put a considerable amount of effort into ensuring Moana's hair added to her performance. They did so by developing new software to give the hair a realistic look. They also changed her hairstyle in different scenes, depending on her current action (such as tying her hair in a bun as she sails).
• She will be the second protagonist of Polynesian descent in a Disney animated feature, the first being Lilo from Lilo & Stitch.
• In most European countries, she is renamed Vaiana due to copyright reasons. In Italy, it was renamed Oceania, however the character's name is Vaiana.
• Moana was originally going to be a playable character in the third installment of Disney INFINITY, but after the series was confirmed to have been discontinued in May 2016, it was implied that Moana was cancelled.
• Moana's story does not involve a love interest or romantic sub-plot.
• In Zootopia, a feline version of Moana can be seen on the cover of Duke Weaselton's bootleg copy of Meowna.
• She is the third Disney Princess not to have a love interest, The first being Merida, and the second being Elsa.
• She is the second Disney Princess that is completely barefoot, first was Rapunzel.

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