When the credits rolled Moana 2we couldn’t get over the stunning revelation that Moana (Auli’i Cravalho) made a great sacrifice that resulted in the The Disney princess becomes more than just a royal guide. As Moana looked at her gifts in the form of a new tattoo and improved paddle, she wondered “does this mean…?” before Maui (Dwayne Johnson) winked in response as they celebrated theirs win against the gods.
So we moved on to the texts: the first Moana movie (streaming on Disney+) and The art of Moana 2 by Kalikolehua Hurley, to see if we could get to the bottom of this revelation.
OK, we’re safe behind the spoiler bar and we can scream: If Moana dies and comes back to life with a new orientation tattoo on her arm and a magical oar, courtesy of the gods and her ancestors, it means that is he a demigod ?
When we went back to the first movie, it turns out that this gift it is something that has been created since the beginning of his life. Like the mythologies upon which Joseph Campbell based his hero’s journey, the story runs deep. At the beginning of Moana we meet the future high priestess of Motunui, who was chosen by the sea to safeguard Te Fiti’s heart as a child, and carries the artifact with her into her teenage years as she begins her journey. In a vision of the spirit of Tautai Vasa (Gerald Ramsey), Motunui’s last seeker, he receives the revelation that his people were travelers before Maui took Te Fiti’s heart, causing darkness and monsters to scattered around him. His grandmother Tala encourages him to answer the call of his ancestors and become a seeker as his final wish: “To find Maui, take him by the ear” and deliver him across the great ocean to restore the heart of Te Fiti and stop the plague affecting the islands.
And as soon as she leaves, the ocean that chose her begins to test her. At the start of her journey, Moana is shipwrecked on an island after basically drowning and washes up on shore where Maui is exiled. Here we have our first clue, because Moana took on insurmountable odds for a human to fight for the future of her people, and is led to the god she has to take by the ear to make things right. And as he gets to know him, he explains that Maui was thrown into the sea when he was a baby, but saved by the gods who stuck him with a new role as a demigod after he should have drowned, like Moana almost did.
As they become friends, Maui says that the ocean was looking for a non-princess with curly hair to deliver across the great sea to fulfill the promise made, but when Te Kā refuses to let Maui deliver the heart (deservedly delivered). back to him), he doesn’t take it easy. He tells her that she’s just a girl, Moana tells her that “the ocean chose me,” and Maui angrily says that she “chose wrong,” the second proof in the mythological sense.
Moana lets this get to her for a moment and returns her heart to the sea, refusing the call once more. “You have to choose someone else,” he says to the sea. Then her grandmother Tala appears to tell her that if she is ready to go home she will be with her, but Moana grabs her oar (a source of power) and hesitates. This of course leads to the creepy performance where she sings “I am Moana!” as her grandmother and Tautai Vasa help her realize who she is, realizing that the calling is within her like her ancestors. This moment gives him an impulse that he needs to know the way and he performs a superhuman feat to restore Te Fiti’s heart. In the end, he returns home to better prepare himself to be a seeker; she’s still just a teenager. These events are echoed at the end of Moana 2.
In the sequel, when Maui and Moana along with their crew prepare to face the Storm God Nalo, it is a dangerous feat for any human. Her ancestor Tautai Vasa couldn’t make it to Motufetu, so he guides Moana so she can complete the mission and break the wrathful god Nalo’s curse on humanity to keep them apart. After a few calls, it becomes clear that Moana is training for something bigger as sung in Rock’s Maui anthem, “Can I Get a Chee Hoo?”
Here’s a look at the god in creating training montage panels The art of Moana 2:
Moana was destined to follow her ancestor’s shooting star to complete her destiny of gathering the islands of the sea. Even another trapped goddess, Batwoman Matangi, taught Moana to get lost and take unconventional paths like the Gate of the Gods, which how can a normal human do? Looking back now, we can argue that Moana has had the seeds of being a demigod from the start, having survived things no human ever has.
After she and her crew are transported to the sunken site of Motufetu, it is Maui’s time, but the storm god Nalo strikes Maui with his lightning strike that strips him and his hook of his powers and turns him into into a human before he can lift the island out of the sea. The song “Beyond” echoes her destiny, as Moana sings “There is destiny in motion/And it’s only just begun/Now is this life I’ve worked so hard for falling apart?” Her grandmother replies, “I’ll always be by your side, but maybe you’re meant for more,” and you can see in the following pages of The art of Moana 2 the force of the sea supports Moana as she dives to perform another superhuman feat.
Moana dives deep, swimming to Motufetu to fulfill her people’s fate, and Nalo strikes her with lightning. It seems that Maui was right all along that no human can stand against the gods, and Moana does indeed die. But her sacrifice is for naught and her ancestors appear to help her achieve her destiny. This is where Moana is finally ready, and along with the blessing of the sea gods, she seems to be granted the role of a demigod with the orientation tattoos appearing on her arm and the power to her magical oar.
We would like to think that the art of his historian crew member that represents his journey Moana 2 (as seen below from the behind-the-scenes book) confirms this.
Moana 2 out in theaters Disney Moana 2 art is now on sale.
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