A Few Quick Thoughts About Moana…

“The things you have learned will guide you”

– I Am Moana (Song Of The Ancestors)



The creation of Moana the animated film actually incorporated one of the film’s main themes: Moving forward and exploring new horizons w/out abandoning or forgetting the past, its traditions and those who came before.

Take for example the ending of Moana. (SPOILER ALERT!) Anyone who has ever seen Fantasia 2000’s Firebird sequence will surely get a sense of deja vu. The imagery is faaar too similar to be a coincidence. It MUST be an intentional call-back…a nod to the studio’s recent past.

Maui’s magical transformations are also reminiscent of the Genie’s transformations in Aladdin – right down to the self-referential Easter eggs!

Speaking of Aladdin, the Genie’s Lead Animator, Eric Goldberg, is responsible for the 2D animation of Moana’s Mini Maui – which ALSO feels like a loving nod to yet ANOTHER Disney film, Ward Kimball’s Oscar-winning short, Toot, Whistle, Plunk and Boom* (1953).

It’s pretty cool to see that while Walt Disney Animation Studios is drifting further and further away from the possibility of ever releasing another 2D feature, they are NOT forgetting – or even completely abandoning – that glorious part of their past.

Or, to quote another line from I Am Moana (Song Of The Ancestors):

“I am everything I’ve learned and more”

