Moana Plot Summary
Moana relays the tale of its protagonist, Moana, the heir to the Motunui tribe who embarks on a perilous journey across the seas, beyond the realm of monsters to restore the heart of Te Fiti, the goddess of creation, with Maui, the demigod of the wind and the sea to help her and her dimwit rooster, Heihei. In this article, we explain how the film ends, so sit back and hold on tight for a voyaging adventure!
Who is Te Fiti?
Moana’s grandmother tells the story of creation to a bunch of young Motunui children. Te Fiti is the goddess of creation in the Motunui culture. The legend has it that prior to Te Fiti, the earth was only ocean. With Te Fiti’s arrival, also called the Mother Island, being a benevolent goddess, she began to share the power of creation with the world leading to islands, animals, trees and all living beings.
What is Te Fiti’s heart?
Te Fiti’s heart is an ancient green gemstone. It is the source of Te Fiti’s power of creation. As the heart is the most powerful thing on the Earth, having the power of creation itself, it is coveted by many evil creatures. After Maui stole the heart from Te Fiti and loses it in his battle with Te Ka, the ocean has been the protectorate of the heart. When Moana is only an infant, the ocean chooses her to deliver the heart across the ocean and return it to Te Fiti.
Why did Maui steal Te fiti’s heart?
In the Motunui village, Moana’s grandmother relays the story about Maui and the theft of Te Fiti’s heart. Maui is the shapeshifting demigod of the wind and the sea. He is portrayed as a trickster and one amongst the creatures wanting to covet Te Fiti’s heart for its power. However, when Moana meets Maui, he tells her that he took Te Fiti’s heart for the benefit of humanity, so that the heart’s power would bring them prosperity and give them the power of creation itself. Unlike the legend, Maui had good intentions behind the theft of Te Fiti’s heart.
Why does Moana need to restore Te Fiti’s heart?
Te Fiti’s heart is the source of her creation. Without the heart, Te Fiti started crumbling, descending into a deep darkness. With Te Fiti’s powers diminished, all her creations are bound to die – the fish, the sea, the trees and their fruits. Without the fish and the fruits that the people of Motunui gather from their island, they would all eventually die of starvation. Therefore, Moana as the daughter of the Motunui chief and a future protector of her tribe, needs to restore Te Fiti’s heart to save her people.
Why does Maui refuse to help Moana?
Maui’s fish hook is the source of all his powers, including his ability to shapeshift. Without the fish hook, he is as good as an ordinary human. After Moana and Maui are successful in getting his fish hook back from Tamatoa, a giant crab who hoards shiny objects, in the Lalotai, the realm of monsters, they sail towards Te Fiti. However, the only way is to get past Te Ka, a demon of earth and fire.
Te Ka is too powerful for Maui. He tells Moana to retreat but Moana refuses, making a start towards the narrow passage between Te Ka’s Island. Te Ka tries to hit the boat but Maui protects it with his fish hook which develop cracks. He refuses to help Moana, angry at the state of his fish hook and leaves her.
What happens to Moana after Maui leaves her?
Moana, feeling dejected after Maui’s refusal to help her, asks the ocean to take back the heart and choose someone else. At this moment, her grandmother’s spirit visits her and motivates her to keep moving forward by telling her to remember who she is.
Does Moana make it past Te Ka?
Moana, inspired by her grandmother’s words, fetches the heart from the bottom of the ocean and sails towards Te Fiti. She decides to sail past the barrier islands but Te Ka attacks her and blocks her way. Just when Te Ka reaches out to her, Maui returns and protects Moana. He distracts Te Ka by incessantly shapeshifting while Moana passes through the island. Upon realising that Moana is way past itself, Te Ka throws a fireball but the ocean protects Moana and helps her get to Te Fiti’s island. However, she finds that Te Fiti is nowhere to be found.
Who is the real Te Fiti and How does Moana restores her heart?
Looking for Te Fiti, Moana realises that Te Ka is, infact, Te Fiti. Te Fiti, the benevolent goddess, who lost her power of creation had transformed into the demon Te Ka. Te Ka as an alter ego of Te Fiti is a punitive spirit, punishing the world for the theft of Te Fiti’s heart. It can also be understood as Te Fiti’s wrath.
Moana grabs Te Ka’s attention just when it is about to strike Maui. Te Ka sees the shining heart. The ocean makes a passage for Te Ka to come towards Moana and Moana reminds Te Ka, “who you really are”. Te Ka allows Moana to restore the heart and transforms into Te Fiti as the islands bloom with flowers and trees and the sky regains its blue hue.
Moana and Maui greet Te Fiti as Maui apologises to her. Te Fiti returns Maui’s now brand new Fish hook, gets Moana a new boat and proceeds to return to her sleeping state as the pair take her leave. Moana returns to her village and Maui says goodbye to Moana.
Why did Moana leave the island at the end?
Moana returns to her island to find it thriving again but the Motunui’s reclaim their voyaging heritage as they set sail for the unknown. Earlier, with Te Fiti’s heart lost, the sea had become dangerous for the tribe to go on voyages and so, they settled on the island, never to go beyond the reef.
However, with Te Fiti’s heart restored, they are able to reclaim their culture as the oceans are calmer and inviting.
Read More: Moana Review