#disneydoesitagain

SPOILER ALERT.

Let’s talk about Moana’s grandmother, Tala. The mother of the chief. The self-proclaimed “village crazy lady.” She is a true hero of Moto Nui. 

Let’s start by paying attention to the age of the population on Moto Nui. 

There are few elderly people. There are a few with greying hair, but they are still fit and capable and contributing to society. 

This doesn’t surprise me with how “off the land” the society is; I presume they have no medicine or great hygiene and childbirth is dangerous/deadly and therefore lifespans aren’t that great. (Note: I slept through my Anthropology 101 class so don’t quote me on this.) Why is Tala one of the few with white hair and a cane and yet dances with the water? At first glance it’s not that important. Here’s my theory: 

At the beginning of the movie, Tala (an early grandmother and therefore probably at the end of the typical islander lifespan) teaches the children and Moana about monsters and the prophecy of the returning of the heart of Te Fiti. Moana then goes to the ocean, proves her selflessness, and then receives the heart. But she’s an infant and is quickly swept up by her father. Meanwhile, we are to assume the ocean took the heart back. But two growing-up songs later, we find out later Tala had been keeping it safe all along. Tala offers the heart to Moana. 

The heart. The heart of Te Fiti. The heart of the first living island. The stone stolen by Maui so the humans could create life itself. 

Tala. Had. The. Heart. She lived beyond the normal lifespan of any islander. Who knows how long she could live for with that stone. She could be immortal. 

The following events prove it. She offers the stone to its rightful bearer, the person who was destined to take it to Maui and return it, thus saving her people and the whole world. As soon as Moana takes the stone, Tala turns to the ocean and sighs. SHE KNOWS. She knows she just gave up her own life, her own immortality, to save her own people. Not five minutes later, Tala is breathing her last breath and using it to urge Moana further down her destined path.