As Disney returns to the sea nearly two decades after The Little Mermaid, the animation studio's newest heroine feels a whole world away from Ariel.
In the 1989 undersea film, of course, the young heroine pines for a man from afar, literally losing her voice in the process. In the
new Moana, by contrast - which also, like Mermaid, includes Ron Clements and John Musker as directors - the seafaring title character embarks on a Polynesian journey of self-discovery that does not involve a romantic lead.
Moana is no Disney princess.
"Disney does have a legacy of female heroines," says Bill Schwab, the film's art director for characters, "but I feel like Moana is unique". Historically, of course, Disney's classic storytelling formula has included landing a love interest, from Sleeping Beauty and Cinderella right up through Frozen and Tangled. To find a strong Disney princess who is an exception, you have to look toward such films as Pixar's Brave. At the centre of Moana's individuality is the Disney team's focus on creating a teenage adventurer.
"From even the early versions of the script, she was going to be an action hero," Schwab said.
