Moana Waialiki/Relationships

This focuses on the relationships with the character Moana.

Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III
Both Hiccup and Moana are the children of chiefs, heir to their tribes and dream about the world beyond their island homes. Both of them were hesitant to accept their roles as leaders at first, wanting instead to explore the world. However, both soon learn to accept their roles and they mature. They would most likely get along well. Hiccup's sarcastic and serious nature combined with Moana's whimsical brashness would also make for an interesting dynamic. The two also have a ship called Moaniccup.

Jack Frost
Whether or not Moana would be able to see Jack is up for interpretation. Although she is a teenager, she has interacted with demi-gods, monsters and magical beings such as the ocean, so it is possible that she would be able to believe in a frost spirit.

Moana and Jack are both rebellious teenagers with a strong relationship to a certain elements. They would most likely get along well, though she might find him to be annoying at times. Although not widely popular, the two also have a ship called Moack.

Merida DunBroch
Merida and Moana are both rebellious, athletic princesses. Although Moana has much more of a sense of responsibility than Merida does, they would probably get along by talking about their respective passions and sharing stories of their magical adventures. Moana, though, deeply values her people and heritage more than Merida does, and this could either balance out their relationship or cause a rift between them. Although not widely popular, the two also have a ship called Moanida.

Rapunzel Corona
Moana's brash temper and Rapunzel's excitable girliness would make for a rather interesting relationship, but in general the two have a lot in common. Both share a love for exploring and discovering, and they both have dealt with magic. Moana would probably be intrigued by Rapunzel's powers, (perhaps believing her to be a demi-god like Maui, but later finding out that Rapunzel is human.) and Rapunzel would be fascniated by the legends of Moana's people and stories of her adventures. Although not widely popular, the two also have a ship called Moanunzel.

Tui
Since childhood, Moana and her father has a close and loving relationship. Tui had the utmost confidence that his daughter would grow to become the perfect chief, and always expressed pride in her skills. However, his strict adherence to tradition and refusal to journey beyond the reef led his opinion to clash with his daughter's. When Moana pointed out that the villagers should look for food beyond the reef, he refused to listen to her, accusing her of only wanting the experience of sailing. Later on, after she brought up the suggestion again, he threatened to burn the boats in his stubborn anger. However, it turned out that Tui's refusal to let anyone leave the island lay in his fear that Moana would drown if she ventured beyond the reef, like his friend. Tui's worst fears were realised after he lost both his mother and his daughter on the same night, and Moana most likely regretted their parting words upon suffering a nightmare that the darkness destroyed Motunui before she could save her parents. After she returned to Motunui triumphant, her parents were relieved to see her alive again, and proud of everything she had done to save them. Tui, indeed, was so proud that he revoked the old law and enabled the people of Motunui to return to the sea and become voyagers, like their ancestors.

Sina
Moana was very close to her mother as a child. Although Sina obeyed Tui's own rules against leaving the island to go beyond the reef, she was less strict about upholding this rule when it came to her daughter. She told Moana about Tui's tragic past with the ocean to show his more sympathetic side. In addition, although she never encouraged Moana to break the laws by going beyond the reef, upon finding Moana about to leave in the night, she did not stop her, but helped her pack up her supplies before she took a boat, realizing that her daughter must leave the island in order to get help. After Moana returned to Motunui, her parents ran to the coast to reunite with their daughter, overjoyed at her triumph and more proud of her than ever before.

Gramma Tala
Moana has much in common with her grandmother. When she was a toddler, she was the only child not to be scared or traumatised by Tala's story about the spreading darkness caused by the loss of Te Fiti's Heart. In contrast to most of the villagers, she didn't see Tala as the "village crazy lady" for her love of the ocean, and Tala in turn encouraged Moana not to let her father's stubborn adherence to tradition deprive her of her desire to cross the seas. After Merida briefly swore off voyaging beyond the reef after her disastrous first experience with it, Tala used reverse psychology to motivate her into uncovering the cave in which the boats of Motunui's ancestors were kept, and help her realise that crossing the sea would save all of Motunui. Even as she died, Tala encouraged Moana to find Maui and restore the Heart, reassuring her that she would always be with her. True enough, after Moana left Motunui, she saw Tala's spirit following her in the form of a manta ray. Later on, after Maui abandoned her following the failed fight with Te Kā, Tala's spirit assumed human form to comfort Moana. She apologised to her for placing the burden of being chosen on her shoulders, and reassured her that she wouldn't abandon her if she chose to return to Motunui without completing her quest. After helping Moana realise that she wasn't only the daughter of the chief or a wayfinder, she was both, and encouraging her to complete the quest, Tala's spirit accompanied Moana and her people as they set off on their first voyage in centuries, alongside Maui flying above them.

Pua
Pua has been Moana's pet and closest friend since she was a child. After she complimented the taste of pork at one point, right in front of Pua, she immediately regretted it upon seeing his shocked expression and tried to change the subject. Pua was sympathetic to Moana's conflicting desires, and decided to go with her on her first voyage beyond the reef. After the boat became wrecked and Moana almost drowned, Pua reflected her fear, and ultimately refused to go with Moana a second time. After she returned to Motunui, Pua happily reunited with his friend, and joined the people of Motunui as they returned to voyage beyond the ocean in search of new lands.

Heihei
As an exceptionally stupid chicken, Heihei was at best put up with by Moana. She refused to let one of the villagers eat him, believing that he must have some hidden depths, although his stupid antics undermined this opinion. After discovering he stowed away while she left Motunui, she immediately found herself having to protect him from a lot of things, mainly due to his own idiocy getting him in trouble. Later on, she learned that his habit of swallowing and regurgitating rocks could help her protect the Heart of Te Fiti from Te Kā, she developed a greater respect for him, and ultimately Heihei and Moana became true friends.

The Ocean
Moana's love for the ocean stemmed from her childhood, when she walked out to the beach to see the tide retreating, revealing a chain of shells leading out into the waves. As a secret test, Ocean repeatedly retreated, revealing more shells, while also letting baby Moana notice a baby turtle heading towards the sea, attacked by frigatebirds. Instead of continuing to pick up shells, Moana went back to protect the baby turtle and help it get to the sea and swim away. As a result, Ocean respected her, and gave her the Heart of Te Fiti for safekeeping. That said, the ocean remained a dangerous force, as Moana found out after trying to sail beyond the reef once, only to nearly drown after a wave wrecked her boat. The night after she left Motunui to discover Maui's island, a storm broke out and Ocean pushed her boat aground. Moana fiercely berated it upon first finding out, only to realise that the ocean had in fact helped her by guiding her boat to Maui's island. Later on, it took more direct action on her behalf, returning the Heart of Te Fiti after Maui threw it out to sea, paralysing Maui with a Kakamora dart after he started irritating her, stopping Heihei from falling into it again, and physically shielding her from Te Kā. After Maui's hook nearly got destroyed, however, he criticized Moana for putting both their lives in danger with Te Kā and said that the Ocean shouldn't have chosen her. The devastated Moana begged Ocean to choose someone else to save the world, and threw the Heart of Te Fiti back into it. Ocean subsequently refused to return the Heart afterwards, prompting Moana to dive into it and reclaim the heart herself. Later on, during the battle with Te Kā, the ocean parted itself to help Moana walk across the sand towards Te Kā, soothe the lava demon's fury, and reunite it with the Heart to make it return to its true form as Te Fiti. In recognition of all the help the Ocean gave her, Moana and her village returned to a life of voyaging and exploring the seas.

Maui
Moana's first impression of Maui wasn't a good one. Originally hailed as a hero, when Moana first met him, she only knew him for the part he played in stealing Te Fiti's Heart and causing the spreading darkness that encroached upon her island. His boastful, arrogant nature didn't endear him either, especially since the first thing he did upon meeting Moana was trick her into a cave and make off with her boat. As soon as she caught up with him, he further enraged her by throwing her in the sea repeatedly, but Ocean kept throwing her back. Upon learning that Maui was terrified of the Heart of Te Fiti attracting dangerous forces to it, she teased him mercilessly, right up until the Kakamora arrived. After fighting her way through the little pirates to save Heihei and reclaim the Heart, she developed more respect for Maui after seeing him use his way finding skills to sink the Kakamora's ships. Maui, after getting paralyzed by Ocean, reluctantly agreed to teach Moana how to sail, though he took time to enjoy himself at her expense, regularly asking why the ocean would choose someone who'd never sailed before to save her island. Maui became more worried about Moana after they were both nearly killed by Tamatoa and she stopped the monster from eating him, and fell into depression upon learning that he couldn't change shape properly with his hook. After opening up to Moana about his childhood, when his parents threw him into the sea and he became brought up by the gods, leading him to define his own self-value by the hook, Moana sympathized with him, and told him that the hook didn't make him Maui, and that the gods must have felt he was someone worth saving. Maui became more friendly towards Moana and she helped him re-learn how to use the hook's powers. After they first came across Te Kā, however, Maui berated Moana after he damaged his hook trying to stop her going near the lava demon, refused to help her any further, and said that the Ocean chose the wrong person to save her people. Later on, Maui regretted his parting words, and came back to help Moana, knowing that he didn't need his hook to be a hero. He distracted Te Kā long enough for Moana to return the Heart to Te Fiti, and finally they parted company as friends, after Maui reassured Moana that she was the master wayfinder who would lead her people to new lands.

Although Moana's relationship with Maui never extends beyond the platonic level in the film, and although he is a 1,000-year old demigod and she is a 16-year old human, a lot of fans of the film like to put her and Maui in a romantic pairing known as Hooked Wayfinder.

Te Fiti
As a child, Moana loved to hear about the stories of Te Fiti and how the life the goddess used her power to create many islands. As a result, she agreed to go in search of the Mother Island and return her Heart to save Motunui. After she came across Te Fiti in her enraged aspect as Te Ka, she was initially horrified, but quickly overcame her terror and devised a plan to manoeuvre around Te Ka, using her vulnerability to water to get past her and reach Te Fiti. However, the plan was ill-thought out, as Maui quickly pointed out after his fish hook was nearly destroyed shielding Moana from Te Ka's fury. After Moana realised that it was up to her to return the Heart, rather than Maui, she bravely steered towards Te Ka once more, only for Maui to return at the last minute and distract the lava demon while Moana went ahead to Te Fiti. Moana, upon discovering the Mother Island was gone, and spotting the matching pattern on Te Ka's chest and the Heart, realised that the demon and the goddess were one and the same, walked towards Te Ka, singing to soothe her fury, and reminding her of who she truly was. Moana then replaced the Heart in Te Ka's chest, and she reverted to her true form as Te Fiti, holding Moana up against her head in thanks for saving her and restoring balance to the islands. Te Fiti and Moana hold a deep and close friendship.

Kakamora
Moana originally thought the Kakamora were cute- but then they applied war paint to their masks and drew their weapons. Moana quickly learned that the coconut-wearing pirates were far more dangerous than she thought, after they strafed her boat with harpoons and blow-darts before finally kidnapping Heihei for the Heart of Te Fiti contained in his stomach. Once she got around their reputation, though, they were still wearing coconuts, so Moana quickly overpowered them using her oar as a bat to deflect her assailants, and finally escaping back to the boat. If Moana ever meets the Kakamora again, she'll be merciless to them.

Tamato
After Moana met the giant coconut crab, he quickly antagonised her by lifting her off the ground with his pincers and taunting her grief over Tala, stating that he ate his own grandmother. Although terrified and hurt by the massive crustacean's jibes, Moana stayed composed enough to distract him into talking about himself, later using his obsession with shiny objects to distract him from eating Maui, finally flipping him onto his back using the force of a geyser. Moana and Tamatoa both show each other only pure hatred.