On the Polynesian island of Motunui, the inhabitants worship the goddess Te Fiti, who brought life to the ocean, using a stone as her heart and the source of her power. Maui, the shape-shifting demigod and master of sailing, steals the heart to give humanity the power of creation. However, Te Fiti disintegrates, and Maui is attacked by Te Ka, a volcanic demon, losing both his magical giant fishhook and the heart to the depths. A millennium later, Moana, daughter of Motunui’s chief Tui, is chosen by the ocean to return the heart to Te Fiti. However, Tui arrives and takes Moana away, causing her to lose the heart. Tui and Moana’s mother, Sina, try to keep her away from the ocean to prepare her for ascension as the island’s chief.
Moana (also known as Vaiana or Oceania, in some markets) is a 2016 American 3D computer-animated musical adventure film produced by Walt Disney Animation Studios and released by Walt Disney Pictures. It is the 56th Disney animated feature film. Directed by Ron Clements and John Musker, co-directed by Don Hall and Chris Williams, the film introduces Auliʻi Cravalho as Moana and features the voices of Dwayne Johnson, Rachel House, Temuera Morrison, Jemaine Clement, Nicole Scherzinger, and Alan Tudyk. The film features songs written by Lin-Manuel Miranda, Opetaia Foa’i and Mark Mancina, and an orchestral score also composed by Mancina.
The film tells the story of Moana, the strong-willed daughter of a chief of a Polynesian village, who is chosen by the ocean itself to reunite a mystical relic with the goddess Te Fiti. When a blight strikes her island, Moana sets sail in search of Maui, a legendary demigod, in the hope of returning the relic to Te Fiti and saving her people.
Moana was released theatrically in the United States on November 23, 2016 to positive reviews from critics, with particular praise going towards its animation, music, and vocal performances. The film went on to gross over $690 million worldwide. Along with Zootopia, it marked the first time since 2002 that Walt Disney Animation Studios released two feature films in the same year. It received two Academy Award nominations at the 89th Academy Awards: one for Best Animated Feature and another for Best Original Song (“How Far I’ll Go”).