With its own unique style, from great music to beautiful visuals, Disney has certainly managed to touch people’s hearts over the last few decades.
There are hundreds and thousands of Disney movies. Fantasy to action, musical to animation, Disney has it all.
Many of us have grown up watching these Disney movies, especially princess movies, which hold a special place in our hearts.
Over the years, the image of princesses has changed. From needing a kiss from a man to wake you up to going on solo adventures and certainly not needing a man, the princesses are portrayed as strong independent individuals.
Giving continuation to its princess theme, as its 56th animated feature, Disney presented the audience with Moana, where a young woman uses her navigational skills and sets sail for a mythical island to save her people and the whole of humanity.
The movie was a hit among audiences, but as we know, Disney movies are not “Disney movies” if they don’t contain some dark theories about them.
The same goes for Moana too. One of the theories revolving around this delightful and adventurous movie is that the film’s main character, Moana, is dead.
Crazy! Right?
Now, don’t be too shocked; it is just a theory. But what really led to such assumptions? Is it really true?
Well, don’t you worry, we have looked into this matter and come up with some ideas that might shed some light on this topic.
But first, let us take you down memory lane and relive the movie once again.
Moana
The movie Moana is about a girl, Moana, and her adventurous journey across the seas to save her village and the whole of humanity.
The story unfolds on the Polynesian island of Motunui, with a little background on the Goddess of nature, Te Fiti, who is worshipped on the island.
She was the one that brought life to the ocean long ago, using a Pounamu stone as her heart and the source of her powers.
However, not so soon after the creation, a shape-shifting demigod of the wind and sea, Maui stole her heart to give to the humans so they could have the power of creation.
As soon as the heart was stolen, Te Fiti disintegrated, and Maui was attacked by Te Kā, a volcanic demon, causing him to lose his giant fishhook and the heart.
The Chosen One
This is when the real story starts when Moana is shown being chosen as the one to return the heart to Te Fiti.
After a thousand years, the heart was given to Moana, the daughter of Montunui’s chief, Tui, so she could return it to Te Fiti.
However, her parents, Tui and Sina, were completely against the idea of going further away from the seashore because of the intrinsic danger of the ocean.
They were preparing Moana to become the village chief after her father, Tui. But little did they know, Moana’s destiny was something bigger than just being the Village Chief.
Because the heart of Te Fiti was stolen slowly, her creations were being affected as well. The islands were poisoned, and nature was dying.
Even Moana’s village was starting to suffer from the curse. With no solution for their survival, Moana suggested going beyond the reef to find food as well as the real cause of the disaster.
However, Tui forbade Moana to do so. Defeated, Moana sought comfort from her grandmother, Tala.
Tala took Moana to a secret cave full of ships and revealed her people’s true identity. Once, great voyagers, the people of Motunui used to sail across seas and travel around the world until Maui stole the heart.
Concerned for her people and the island, Tala, on her deathbed, told Moana to find Maui and restore the heart of Te Fiti.
The Journey
Grieving over her grandmother’s death, Moana decided to fulfill her wish. Despite her Dad’s unwillingness to let her into the ocean, Moana listened to her heart and began her journey to find Maui, just as Tala suggested to her.
Taking her camakau, Moana went out into the sea, following the direction Tala gave her. However, her journey was not an easy one. With the dangers of the ocean and no sailing experience whatsoever, Moana was soon caught up in a big storm.
Miraculously, Moana survived and ended up on an island where she met the demigod, Maui. It was hard to convince Maui at first, but they developed a great bond with time, and he decided to help Moana in her quest.
Camakau are a traditional watercraft of Fiji made primarily for traveling between islands and for trade.
The Restoration of the heart
Together with Maui, they set out to restore the heart. On their way, they even retrieved Maui’s fishhook.
At the movie’s beginning, Maui’s intentions were just to use Moana to retrieve his hook. Nevertheless, seeing Moana’s determination, Maui decided to help till the end.
After days and days of sailing, they finally made it to Te Fiti but were confronted by the volcanic demon, Te Kā.
Maui tried to run away, but his conscience got the best of him. He distracted Te Kā; meanwhile, Moana reached face to face with Te Kā and successfully restored the heart.
After the heart was restored, Te Kā was defeated, and the curse spreading across the islands was lifted.
Moana went back to her village, became the chief, and decided to take her people beyond the reef, reviving the voyager’s blood in them.
So that’s the whole plot of the story. We hope it did refresh your memories. Now, without further ado, let’s get straight into the main topic.
Did Moana actually die?
Well, now that you know the whole story, there is not much to think about. I mean, just look at it; it’s just a simple, adventurous tale of a girl, who, despite her family’s opposition, goes beyond the reef, meets the demi god, restores the heart, and saves the world.
But thanks to some creative fans, there was a buzz in the town that the movie’s main character, Moana, was dead the entire time.
The whole audiences were shocked, and so were we. But as we looked into this matter, we found some interesting things that left us thinking.
First and foremost, let’s discuss how this assumption came into existence. Here we have prepared some ideas that might have started this whole “Moana is dead” trend.
Why did fans assume Moana was dead?
As crazy as it sounds, once you see these ideas and theories, you will certainly have to put on your thinking cap for this one.
Since it was just a fun and bright movie, specially targeted for the younger audiences, Disney fans were soon to notice small details in the film and come with such assumptions.
So, what actually was the thing that made fans see the movie in such a darker light? Here are some details that might have checked the list of suspicious and ringed the death bell.
- Moana survived the big storm.
- She met with the Demigod.
- She was the Chosen One.
- She could talk with supernatural beings
- Moana could interact with her dead grandma.
- She parted the sea as if she was Moses!
We might have overexaggerated the last point, but how would she even do that if she was just a normal human? She must have been a goddess or dead to get such superpowers.
Well, getting back to the topic, fans are faster than the speed of light, so while we were re-watching the movie for clues, they already came up with proofs!
Not actually proofs but theories that made people think twice and even thrice. So let’s get right into them and start from the very beginning of the movie.
Proof why she was believed to be dead
Her Grandmother, Tala, and the necklace
The theory that Moana was dead the whole time she was on her journey through the Pacific Ocean must be true and very much possible.
If you remember the time, her grandmother, Tala, was on her death bed, and she gave Moana the necklace with the heart of Te Fiti and asked her to return.
So, what were are trying to get into is that hypothetically, it is very much possible that Tala, on her death bed, saw Moana, who had been dead all this time, and was able to physically give her the necklace, which brought Moana back to life and deliver Maui across the great ocean.
The Big Storm
Defying her parents, carrying her grandma’s will, and following her heart, Moana went beyond the reef in search of Maui and to restore her heart.
With guidance from her grandmother to follow the constellation of fish hooks to find Maui, Moana took on the challenge and began her journey.
However, it was no easy feat, as she encountered a huge storm on her way. With no sailing experience, she got caught up in the shower.
This is the part where she was supposed to be dead, which is very believable, as no ordinary human would have been able to survive such a storm, on top of being an inexperienced sailor.
Her encounter with Maui
After the big storm, the island that Moana ended up being washed off to was the one the Demigod, Maui, called his home.
According to this theory, since there was a barrier between the real world and the world of the supernatural, one had to die to cross the border.
After the storm, Moana met Maui because she died and crossed the barrier, and the island was heaven.
She survived some Outlandish Stuff.
Throughout the movie, Moana survives some ridiculous kinds of stuff that is no ordinary feat for any normal human being unless you are dead and become a ghost with supernatural powers.
While still at home, Moana had hurt her feet. Despite that, she survived the storm, and also, a fall in the Realm of monsters barely scratched her.
And do we need to talk about her touching the volcanic demon, Te Ka? She should have burned down to crisp, but she didn’t, meaning she was not one of us.
Her journey to the underworld
The theory that she is indeed dead can be proved by this next theory.
Assuming Moana did die in the storm, she could cross the barrier and go into the Realm of the dead.
Speaking of realms, there was some talk in the town regarding the early script of the movie. The script called the Realm of the Monsters, the underworld, filled with the spirits of the dead instead of monsters.
So, it is very possible that Moana was dead, making it easier for her to travel through the underworld. This idea did strike many fans but was not really discussed much.
Her interaction with the Supernatural
Considering she was indeed the chosen one, her interaction with other supernatural beings was not much to be considered.
However, even though she was chosen, she was still a normal human being. Throughout her journey, she encountered many supernatural beings.
Such as the demigod, Maui, and beings in the Realm of monsters. Moreover, she could also interact with her deceased grandmother, who merged her spirit with a giant stingray.
She was also able to interact with other spirits after the storm, which added more proof to the fact that she was indeed dead.
Her journey to the afterlife
Brace yourselves for this one, as this one is by far the most interesting and shocking.
So you know how we were talking about the big storms, Maui, and the afterlife?
Well, there is a possibility that the whole movie was Moana’s journey to the afterlife. Shocking, isn’t it?
According to this theory, Moana died in the storm at the very beginning of the movie. Maui was her guardian angel who was supposed to take her to Te Fiti, which stood for heaven in the film.
So, this whole finding Maui and restoring the heart was nothing more than Moana’s journey to the afterlife.
Because of all these twists and turns, fans could come up with such conspiracy theories. And what can we say? We do love them. But on a serious note, honestly speaking, these theories about Moana’s death are pretty convincing.
But it still won’t sit right if Disney were to kill the main character considering it is mainly targeted to younger audiences. But to older audiences, Disney movies are far from anything normal and bright.
From hidden messages to dark themes, Disney sure has their way of messing with our brains, and the fans do love being teased.
So, after reading this article, we are certain you will re-watch the movie once again and look for the clues, and who knows, you might come up with some interesting theories of your own.
But whether Moana is actually dead or not is not much important as it is still one of the most popular and loved movies Disney has ever made.
So theories or not, Moana is a beautiful movie, and if you haven’t watched it, what are you waiting for?
Now that we have covered the main topic of Moana’s Death, some frequently asked questions might pique your interest.
How did Moana get the heart of Te Fiti?
Moana got the heart of Te Fiti from her grandmother, Tala. She kept the “heart” safe for her granddaughter ever since she was chosen by the sea.
It was also believed that Tala was supposed to be dead a long ago, but the heart kept her alive for a long time.
Why didn’t the ocean return the heart itself?
Many fans debate over this topic as to why the ocean chose Moana to restore the heart, which it could have done itself.
Well, it is true to some extent, but if we watch the fight between Te Kā and Moana closely, the ocean was able to inflict damage to the volcanic demon.
If you remember, the volcanic demon was none other than Te Fiti herself. So taking that into account, it could have been possible that the ocean didn’t want to hurt her, so it chose Moana to do it.
Why does Moana never gets hurt?
As unreal as this may sound, Moana never gets hurt. From getting caught up in the big storm to falling into place full of monsters, she doesn’t get hurt at all.
One popular theory is that she is already dead, which is the only explanation that can explain her superhuman ability.
Maybe she is just built differently, or probably she got the “princess privilege” from Disney.
Was Moana the children of Te Fiti?
It was believed that during the creation of life, Te Fiti also created humans. Some of the humans became voyagers and traveled from island to island.
Considering this, Moana’s ancestors were voyagers as well. So if not the direct children, she could still be considered Te Fiti’s children.
Why does Moana look similar to Te Fiti?
Taking the assumption that Moana’s ancestors were Te Fiti’s children would make Moana related to Te Fiti.
Over the year, the genes must have passed down, which is the best possible explanation we could come up with to describe the similarity between Moana and Te Fiti.
Is Te Fiti a real legend?
The answer to this is a Yes and a no. No, because Te Fiti doesn’t exist in Polynesian mythology. However, there is a goddess of fire, lightning, wind, and volcanoes called Pele.
Many believe that Pele is Te Fiti’s real-life legend counterpart.
Is Moana a demigod?
Since we have already covered the fact that Moana could very much be dead, it leaves a high possibility for fans to think that she became a demigod.
In the movie, Moana fights with over a hundred coconut people, pushes a stone statue, and even dives to the bottom of the ocean to regain the heart.
Because these things are next to impossible for an ordinary human to accomplish, Moana could have become a demigod after she died in the storm.
Who was the real demigod?
Maui was the real demigod in the movie. A master trickster and shapeshifter, Maui was the boisterous demigod of the South Pacific legend.
Sporting a giant fishhook, Maoi served as the audacious guardian of humanity.
How did Maui become a demigod?
As a baby, Maui was abandoned by his parents. However, the gods took pity on him and made him a demigod and also gave him a magical fishhook that gave him the ability to shapeshift.
Did Maui get his fish hook back?
Maui lost his fish hook long ago when he stole Te Fiti’s heart. Later he was able to get it back with Moana’s help.
During the fight with the Volcanic demon, his fish hook was again destroyed. However, after restoring Te FIti’s heart, Maui apologized to Te Fiti.
Accepting his apology, Te Fiti recreated the fishhook and gave it to Maui.
Does Moana come back to life?
The answer to this question is very simple. No, she doesn’t come back to life because she was never dead, to begin with.
Just because some theories killed her doesn’t mean she is dead.
Moreover, there is still a possibility that there might also be a sequel to the movie. So, she won’t die anytime soon, so rest assured.
