

The film features original songs written by Lin-Manuel Miranda, Opetaia Foa'i and Mark Mancina, and an orchestral score also composed by Mancina. It 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. The plot is original, but takes inspiration from Polynesian myths. Moana was released theatrically in the United States on November 23, 2016, to positive reviews from critics, who particularly praised its animation, music, and vocal performances. The film went on to gross over $645 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, after Lilo & Stitch and Treasure Planet. At the 89th Academy Awards, the film received two nominations for Best Animated Feature and Best Original Song (" How Far I'll Go"). On the Polynesian island of Motunui, the inhabitants worship the goddess of nature Te Fiti, who brought life to the ocean long ago using a pounamu stone as her heart and the source of her power. Maui, the trickster, shape-shifting demigod of the wind and sea and master of sailing, steals the heart to give humanity the power of creation. This causes Te Fiti to disintegrate, and Maui is attacked offshore by Te Kā, a volcanic demon. He loses both the heart and his magical giant fishhook to the depths of the sea.Ī thousand years later, the ocean chooses Moana, daughter of Motunui's chief Tui, to return the heart to Te Fiti. Tui and Sina, Moana's father and mother, try to keep her away from the ocean to prepare her to become the island's chief.
