Moana

Despite losing an interest in Disney movies lately, I was pleasantly surprised by how much I truly enjoyed Moana. It was a very well done movie and it had a ton of mythological aspects which was fun to dive into. I have never really delved deep into Pacific Island Culture, however after watching Moana, I find I may do just that.

Maui's character as a demigod is rather intriguing and as we have mentioned in discussions, very similar to Prometheus from the Greek Pantheon. Maui in his lifetime does so many things to help humans and his people to thrive. Similarly Prometheus, does what he can to help humans even going as far as stealing fire from the gods in order to protect and help humanity. Maui, in the movie Moana, attempts to steal the heart of Te Fiti, which is said to give the power to create, in order to create good things for his people. Both of these deities wanted to do something to help their people, and both were punished for it. Prometheus, ordered by Zeus, was chained to a rock  where an eagle would eat his liver everyday as punishment. Maui was banished to an desert island after the earth monster Te Ka struck him down and the heart was lost at sea. Two very similar stories in two different cultures.

Moana is also an epic journey led by the heroine Moana herself on her quest to find Maui and make him return the heart of Te Fiti. These two heroes embark on a crazy journey that takes them to many places, faces challenges, learning new things, and defeating major monsters along the way. Another similar tale can be found in the Epic of Gilgamesh. These myths involve a demigod/king, who, with his friend Enkidu, go on many adventures, defeating monsters. In his death, Enkidu helps Gilgamesh cast away much of his vanity and pride in order to search for the meaning of life and death. Moana and Maui's quest are very similar. Maui at the beginning holds a lot vanity and feels very highly of himself. Moana ultimately humbles Maui, however in this case without dying. Maui does help Moana learn more about herself as well. In the end, Maui and Moana learn about the importance of life and creation. Once again two similar mythologies, from two different cultures.

Moana is a wonderful movie and the story within it is even better. Just like many mythologies, Moana teaches you about life and the values we live by. For me, it is a refreshing taste to finally see something more culturally different than the typically Disney movie. I look forward to seeing more branches out by Disney and hopefully more stories with mythological similarities.