Why Moana Should Be Everyone’s Favorite Disney Princess

First of all, SPOILER ALERT! You probably already figured that, but just in case you haven’t seen Disney’s Moana yet and want to, you have been warned.

With the latest string Disney Princess movies, my favorite by far has to be Moana. It features a new actress, Auli'i Cravalho, and long-time favorite Dwayne “the rock” Johnson. It follows Polynesian princess Moana on her quest to find the demigod Maui, restore the heart of Te Fiti, and save her village. The songs aren’t half bad, either. You’ll be singing along in no time! Here are several reasons why Moana should be everyone’s favorite new princess.

There is NOT ONE love interest.

Some may say that Merida from Brave and Elsa from Frozen didn’t have legitmate love interests. But Elsa’s sister Anna absolutely did, and Merida spent almost the entire movie trying to avoid getting married. Of course, she didn’t exactly have a love interest, but the suitors were definitely there! Moana had neither suitors nor a love interest at all. Way to go, Moana!

She teaches young girls about self-empowerment and loyalty

When Moana finds out her village Motonui is in trouble, she sets sail on her own to track down Maui, a mischevious demigod, to restore Te Fiti’s heart. Along the way she battles monsters, helps her friends and family, and finds herself. She is definitely a role model for young girls.

Moana is not a Soprano!

Sorry if you do not understand music for this one! Nearly all Disney princesses are high sopranos, except Moana. The altos and mezzos, such as myself, can rejoice in singing along to Disney music without straining our voices. Just another reason those songs will be irresistible and may be the only thing one hears from excited nieces for a while!

At least something new is better than listening to Frozen again, no matter how much I love that movie as well.

She is a strong, independent woman.

All she needs in her journey is her pig Pua, her boat, her crazy chicken Heihei, and of course the sentient-like water! She doesn’t need a man’s help, in the end, to rescue her or restore the heart of Te Fiti.

Did anyone else think Pua would be a bigger part of the story by the way, or was that just me? He is such an adorable little pig that I hoped to see him more in the film. Especially after seeing the trailer, I thought he would be in the film more. Moana didn’t even take him on her journey to find and restore the heart of Te Fiti.

Moana doesn’t lie.

Yes she does leave Motonui in the middle of the night, but she doesn't sneak off or pretend to be someone else. Moana's mother actually helps her pack for the boat journey across the ocean to find Maui, as if she knows that this is something only Moana can do alone.

She is also very humble.

Moana knows that she has no idea how to sail, yet she doesn’t whine because she also knows it's her task to save the village of Motonui. She admits this to Maui and asks to learn sailing from him.

And does she boast about how she is "the chosen one" or a princess? Not at all! She even dismisses the idea of herself as a princess, which Maui argues.

The best line of the whole exchange has to be Maui’s declaration that, “If you wear a dress, and have an animal sidekick, you're a princess.”

Plus there’s Te Fiti!

This doesn’t have much to do with Moana as a person, but with the movie as a whole. Who wouldn’t like this beautiful, life-giving island goddess? She is basically a personification of life, Mother Earth, island goddess, or whatever else you wish to call her, but this beautiful animation does her justice!

I would watch Moana a thousand times just to watch the ending scene where Moana splits the ocean and returns Te Fiti’s heart.

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