The 1 Reason Moana Is Going to Be the BEST Disney Princess Yet
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Happily ever afters are what Disney is all about. But — more often than not — happy endings for the female leading ladies mean ending up with a man. There's nothing wrong with a sweet love story, and Disney certainly knows the magic formulas to melt our hearts. Still, the underlying issue with many Disney relationships is the portrayal of princesses as damsels in distress, a stereotype that's utterly ridiculous and completely antiquated. Luckily, Disney has been stepping up its game by giving us strong women whose journeys don't revolve around (or even include) men.
Moana, the newest Disney princess fans are counting down the days to meet, will officially have no love interest in the upcoming movie. Instead, her story will focus on the path she takes to find herself — not a significant other. And while we're still holding out hope that Disney does decide to give Elsa a girlfriend in Frozen 2, we're glad that she, Moana, and these other fierce princesses had more important things to worry about in their Disney movies than who to ride off into the sunset with.
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Elsa
Elsa's path to self-discovery is a difficult and lonely one. Frozen writer and director Jennifer Lee confirmed what many fans speculated about Elsa's journey — that it parallels the struggles many have with anxiety and depression. Her story is complex and moving, and the movie places emphasis on the relationship Anna has with her sister, Elsa. Despite Anna ending up with Kristoff, her story doesn't revolve around him either — her "act of true love," of course, being to save her sister's life rather than receive a kiss from a man.
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Merida
Like Frozen, Brave is about family and finding oneself. Merida shirks all suitors ("And I'll be shooting for my own hand!" being one of her most amazing lines), and the plot instead revolves around a mistake she makes and the lessons she learns along the way while trying to fix it. Merida is strong, resourceful, and hilarious, and the movie by no means feels like it's lacking anything despite the absence of a muscled prince riding in to save the day.
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Mulan
OK, technically, yes, Mulan has a love interest. But we're including her because her plotline in the movie is about her quest to save an entire empire. Literally — an entire empire is saved from being destroyed by an invading army of Huns. Yes, in the last three minutes of the movie, there's a little bit of romance, and yes, in Mulan 2, there's more. But Mulan's central story is completely separate from this, and because she is one of the most badass princesses created, she makes the cut for carving her own amazing destiny without waiting around for a love interest to do it for her.
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Moana
At 2016's San Diego Comic-Con, directors John Musker and Ron Clements shared some vital information about Moana. In the film, Moana will have a magical relationship with the ocean, and the movie will focus on her journey to find herself. Herself, not a significant other.