Moana and the Effects of Polynesia Misrepresentations to Young Children Moana is seen by most children as a whimsical animated film about courage that is set in Polynesia and is based on a traditional story. The main character, Moana loves the sea and is the only daughter of a chief in a long line of navigators. The demigod Maui stole Te Fiti's heart, causing the fishermen on her island to be unable to catch fish and the crops begin to fail. The island can only be healed if Maui returns Te Fiti's heart, so Moana embarks on a journey across the Pacific to convince him to do so. However, despite the charade put up by Disney, there are some concerning things about the movie that should be taken into account. However, despite the charade put up …show more content…
The folklore in Moana consists of many cultures and hundreds of thousands of people and their history. The common factor of all of them is that they share Polynesia and the same mythology. Disney rarely creates its stories all on its own. Many of their stories are borrowed from authors such as Hans Chrisitian Andersen and Brothers Grimm. They're known for transforming legends and folklore into fairy tail created around feelings and the beliefs of the people. They noted that their talks and legends helped persevere cultural history and taught valuable lessons about values and customs in everyday life. In the original Polynesian folklore, Maui goes to Te Fiti to seek immortality. His journey ends when he tries to enter the goddess's body between her thighs while she sleeps, however, she awoke and crushed Maui to death. This violent end might be too frightening for children and was omitted. In the movie, Maui disappears for thousands of years after successfully stealing the heart, while in the mythology he dies and fails the task. Another difference between the movie and Polynesian mythology is the origin of Maui’s hook. In the original mythology, Maui went to the underworld to obtain his grandmother’s magic jawbone. His grandmother's jawbone becomes the know fishhook that Maui uses for his deeds. The representation of his grandmother’s jawbone might be disturbing for young children and was removed. In the movie Moana, Maui explains that the hook was given to him by the gods, which is what makes it magical. A Polynesian myth describes Maui as a demigod and as the son of Tangaroa. According to mythology, he is the one who brought about the creation of the Hawaiian island, where Polynesians now live. As a result of the mythology, Maui is also regarded as a respected figure, even though no doubt some people in Polynesian islands worshipped him as well. Maui's real-life figure and Maui's portrayal in the movie