Moana has already been the protagonist of two films, and throughout both Moana movies, she has managed to avoid a signature aspect of classic Disney princesses. The Disney Princess line is almost as iconic for Disney as Mickey Mouse himself, with the collection of princess characters dating back as far as the company’s first feature-length animated film, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. Moana is one of the latest new additions to the Disney Princess line, and while she has had two movies to be developed, Moana and Moana 2 haven’t given her this one Disney Princess staple.
2016’s Moana kicked off an all-new franchise for Disney, with it being ripe for expansion when Walt Disney Animation Studios decided to start giving a greater focus to sequels. 2024’s Moana 2 proved that this was a good idea, and while the film wasn’t as critically well-received as its predecessor, Moana 2 was a mᴀssive box office hit. Now, a live-action Moana remake is in the works, and more Moana film’s will undoubtedly come based on the sequel’s post-credits scene. Moana 2 has already offered some major developments for the character, but it has avoided this obvious one.
Moana 2 Avoided Giving Moana A Love Interest
Despite Adding Even More Characters
Throughout the Moana franchise, the тιтular protagonist has never had a love interest, something that is quite surprising after two films. It made sense for Moana not to have a love interest in the first film. The story of Moana mostly focuses on Moana on the sea with nobody else except Maui and Hei-Hei, meaning that there aren’t a lot of options. In 2016, it was refreshing for a Disney Princess to not have a love interest, as even more recent films like Tangled and Frozen were centered on romance stories. So, while Moana didn’t have a love interest, it seemed obvious that Moana 2 would.
In the marketing for Moana 2, it was made clear that Moana would be creating a wayfinding team, with it being speculated that one of these members could be her love interest. However, when Moana 2 was finally released, it was again revealed that Moana did not have a love interest. Moana’s changing position in society and the expanded cast of Moana 2 means that it would have made a little more sense to introduce this type of character. However, it still has not happened, with the next opportunity to give Moana a love interest not coming until Moana 3.
Disney Princesses Almost Always Have A Love Interest
Ever Since Snow White
The Disney Princess line has 13 official members, and one common theme throughout them all is that they almost always have a love interest. Snow White falls in love with a prince in Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, but this romance isn’t as central to the film’s conflict of the Evil Queen going after Snow White. The same can be said for Sleeping Beauty, in which the romance is more of a B-story. However, Disney Princess movies like Cinderella, The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, and Aladdin are all entirely hinged on their romance stories.
During the Disney Renaissance, Disney began making more complex female characters. However, many of these still came with love interests, although they tended to be relationships that were developed throughout the film rather than love at first sight situations. Pocahontas and Mulan have their protagonists facing much grander struggles and just happening to find love along the way. Tiana almost resents Prince Naveen in The Princess and the Frog, with it taking a while for them to fall in love, while Rapunzel doesn’t think much of Flynn Rider at all in Tangled.
Every single Disney Princess had a love interest from Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs in 1937 to Tangled in 2010, showing how linked the princesses were to their love interests. There has been a lot of commentary on this trend, as it can definitely be argued that some of the earlier Disney movies define their female protagonists by their relationship to a man. Thus, Disney attempted to make these relationships more complex in their later outings, before stopping entirely with Brave.
Moana Not Having A Love Interest Continues A Modern Disney Princess Trend
After Brave & Raya And The Last Dragon
Moana not having a love interest isn’t new for Disney, as it actually continues a modern Disney Princess trend. After Rapunzel, the next official member of the Disney Princess line is Merida. Brave doesn’t give her a love interest, and Raya doesn’t have one either in Raya and the Last Dragon. Anna and Elsa from Frozen aren’t official Disney Princesses, but this trend can be seen in them too. Elsa doesn’t have a love interest, and Anna’s first love interest turns out to be a villain, with her ending up with Kristoff.
Some modern Disney movies with female protagonists that aren’t Disney Princess movies have also neglected adding love interests. Encanto and Wish are the main two, with neither of these films giving their protagonists romantic subplots. While love interests are often given to the side characters in these movies, they very rarely play a part in the main story anymore. Thus, Moana and Moana 2 is only continuing this trend, with the Moana franchise not standing out among its contemporaries.
Love Is A Key Part Of The Moana Movies, Just Not Romantically
She Loves Her Family & Culture
Although Moana doesn’t have a love interest in the Moana movies, love is still a key part of the franchise. Moana is all about Moana’s love for her family, with her being motivated by her family’s survival in the second film. Moana’s relationship with her grandmother is also a major aspect of both Moana films. Moana’s love for her culture is also another type of love that is seen in the movies, with this especially being seen in Moana 2.
Thus, the Moana movies are just highlighting another type of love. Romantic love has been examined in all kinds of Disney Princess movies, so it is refreshing to see Moana look at a different side of it. It is possible that Moana 3 or another future Moana project could change things by giving her a love interest, but in the first two movies, it isn’t missed.
