History Awesome / Moana

* Maui himself. Think about it. He was [[spoiler:an orphaned child, left to die by his parents,]] but he managed to become the greatest hero in Polynesian legend. Heck, between all his amazing heroic feats, he practically SHAPED the world Moana lives in. In this universe, this guy is single-handedly responsible for ALL the MagicalUnderpinningsOfReality.

* [[spoiler:Moana asks the ocean to take back the heart, but then builds up her determination and changes her mind... only this time the ocean doesn't return the heart her! What does she do? Dives in, finds the heart at the ocean floor, grabs the thing HERSELF, and gets back on the boat, all in the span of 10 seconds! She will return the heart to Te Fiti even if Maui is no longer in the picture. Determination!]]

** Maui's actions during this scene should also be noted. [[spoiler:his fish hook is destroyed, and he wouldn't stand a chance against the lava monster. But he still challenges Te Ka, [[GeniusBonus even performing the Haka to try and provoke her]], [[CrowningMomentOfHeartwarming simply to protect Moana in any way he can]]]].

* Meta: Moana's Rotten Tomatoes score is sitting at 95%! In Clements and Musker's long and successful career at Disney, this still stands as by far their most critically-acclaimed picture. [[note]]And if the "Top Critics" button is pushed, the score goes ''up'' to 98%![[/note]] Looking at the box office numbers, it's displaced ''Aladdin'' as their top-grosser, at least when not adjusting for inflation.

* Moana [[spoiler:modifying the line her Grandmother gave her from a request into a personal mantra: “I am Moana of Motunui. Aboard my boat I will sail across the sea, and restore the heart of Te Fiti!” Up to now her entire quest was about getting ''Maui'' to complete the mission. Finally she realised that she brought everything about ''herself'', and that it would be her that saves the world when Maui ran away.]]

* Moana's CharacterDevelopment is second to none: a brave, stubborn {{Determinator}} used to fighting, stunting, persuading, or commanding her way around obstacles, her approach gets her in trouble when she follows her dream--voyaging onto the ocean--and faces forces she has no way to command or control, starting with ''the ocean itself'' and followed by a sequence of gods, monsters, and demons. What does Moana do? Learn to be a navigator: read the signs, use finesse and know-how to optimize her actions to the environment, and find her own way. Her {{Determinator}} tendencies get her in trouble during her first attempt to [[spoiler: breach the outer islands and deliver Te Fiti's Heart past Te Ka, when she tries to power through a gap under heavy fire.]] After everything goes disastrously wrong in her DarkestHour, what does she do? [[spoiler: Use the skills she learned as a wayfinder to work her way cleverly past Te Ka, despite being completely alone, a single powerless UnchosenOne with no demi-god and no ocean to back her up.]] Her compassion [[spoiler: is what saves Te Fiti]] but the intelligence and skill that she learned along the way in dealing with tremendous forces is what gets her there [[spoiler: and makes her the perfect one to re-awaken the traditions of her people as their voyager-chief.]]

* The following scene / lines near the end of the movie -- which is as {{Funny}} and {{Heartwarming}} as it is {{Awesome}}:

'''Maui:''' ''[Faux-enthousiastic / nervous tone]'' Te Fiti! Hey... How you been?\\

* [[HeroicSecondWind "I Am Moana"]], with AwesomeMusic to boot.

** [[spoiler:He still stands his ground against Te Ka even ''after'' his fish hook is destroyed, performing what appears to be a war haka.]]

* [[spoiler:Moana's parents coming out of the film alive. ''Both of them''. Usually, being a parent is the most hazardous occupation in a Disney film, and it's rare that both of a character's parents make it to the end without some horrible fate befalling them, or one of them being a horrible ass (like Jim Hawkins' father). The only other characters who can claim this distinction are Rapunzel and Judy Hopps.]]

* Meta: Moana's Rotten Tomatoes score is sitting at 95%! In Clements and Musker's long and successful career at Disney, this still stands as by far their most critically-acclaimed picture. [[note]]And if the "Top Critics" button is pushed, the score goes ''up'' to 98%![[/note]] Looking at the box office numbers, it's looking to be their most successful since ''Aladdin.''

** One can't help but cheer during her TriumphantReprise when she belts out "I AM '''MOANA!'''

* Moana [[spoiler:modifying the line her Grandmother gave her from a request into a personal mantra: “I am Moana of Motunui. Aboard my boat I will across the sea, and restore the heart of Te Fiti!” Up to now her entire quest was about getting ''Maui'' to complete the mission. Finally she realised that she brought everything about ''herself'', and that it would be her that saves the world when Maui ran away.]]

* Meta: Moana's Rotten Tomatoes score is sitting at 95%! In Clements and Musker's long and successful career at Disney, this still stands as by far their most critically-acclaimed picture, and looking at the box office numbers (as of its first weekend) it's looking to be their most successful since ''Aladdin.''[[note]]And if the "Top Critics" button is pushed, the score goes ''up'' to 98%![[/note]]

** Also a serious case of ShownTheirWork for the creators, as everything that Maui did in this movie are in fact deeds attributed to the Maui of Polynesian Myth.

'''Maui:''' Uh-hum... [SincerityMode Look -- What I did was... wrong. I have no excuse. I'm sorry.]]\\

'''Maui:''' Uh-hum... ''[SincerityMode]'' Look -- What I did was... wrong. I have no excuse. I'm sorry.\\

* ''Heihei'' catches the Heart of Te Fiti before it falls overboard, and returns it to Moana instead of trying to swallow it like he did before during the scuffle with the Kakamora.

* It's implied that Moana will be the first female chief of Motonui. ''Only'' implied, because [[FeministFantasy her gender is never even brought up, only her competence is treated as worth commenting on.]] And from what little leadership we see her partake in--her suggestions for dealing with the famine--her competence is top-notch; one villager even comments to Tui that she's really good at the job.

* Meta: Moana's Rotten Tomatoes score is sitting at 97%! In Clements and Musker's long and successful career at Disney, this still stands as by far their most critically-acclaimed picture, and looking at the box office numbers (as of its first weekend) it's looking to be their most successful since ''Aladdin.''[[note]]And if the "Top Critics" button is pushed, the score goes ''up'' to 98%![[/note]]