Moana

Story

Moana (voiced by Auli’i Cravalho) is the daughter of the chief of a beautiful Polynesian island. Moana loves the water and wants to explore the ocean, but her father (Temuera Morrison) tells her that she must stay on the island and become a great leader of their people.

But their island begins to die. Moana’s grandmother (Rachel House) reveals the secret of their ancestors, and Moana sets out on a journey to find the demigod Maui (Dwayne Johnson) and save her people.

Special note
A short movie called Inner Workings is being shown with Moana. It’s a silent Disney animation that shows the bodily functions of a man named Paul as he goes about his day. It contains a small amount of toilet humour, references to Paul dying (scenes show his grave), images of a woman with a large bottom, and scenes that show Paul flirting with the woman.

Themes

Death; separation from a parent; natural disasters (the island begins to die); fantasy and mythical themes including gods and monsters

Violence

Moana has some violence. For example:

There’s a running joke that involves Maui pushing Moana off a boat.
Little coconut pirate monsters attack Maui and Moana with arrows, spears and poison darts.
Maui and Moana fight a lava monster. The monster attacks them with fire balls, and Maui attacks the lava monster with his fish hook. Eventually they resolve their conflict peacefully.
Tamatoa, a giant hermit crab, tries to catch and eat Maui and Moana.

Sexual references

Moana has some sexual references. For example, a boy winks at Moana.

Alcohol, drugs and other substances

None of concern

Nudity and sexual activity

None of concern

Product placement

There is no product placement of concern in Moana itself. But Moana is a Disney movie, and plenty of Disney merchandise associated with the movie is being marketed to children.

Coarse language

There is some mild coarse language in Moana.

Ideas to discuss with your children

Moana is an inspiring animated adventure musical about a Polynesian girl learning to follow her dreams and stand up for herself. This movie might inspire children to learn more about Polynesian myths and culture. Additionally, Moana the character is a good role model for girls as she shows leadership skills, strength and independence.

Moana isn’t suitable for children under the age of 8 years. We recommend parental guidance for children aged up to 10 years because of the movie’s violent and scary scenes.

The main messages from this movie are to follow your dreams and be true to yourself.

Values in this movie that you could reinforce with your children include bravery, perseverance and teamwork.

This movie could give you the chance to talk with your children about the real-life consequences of running away. You could also talk about ways of dealing with grief after the death of a loved one, like Moana’s grandmother.