This Christmas I took my children to see Moana. One was thoroughly engaged; the other lost interest midway. It is family entertainment that works on multiple levels.
The film follows a determined young protagonist who becomes a master wayfinder and completes her ancestors’ mission. Along the way she encounters Maui, a former demigod, and together they face enormous fiery creatures and impossible odds while crossing the ocean.
The Unexpected Conversation
After the film I drew a parallel for my daughter between the movie’s central element — Te Fiti — and the Earth itself. The idea that extracting the island’s “heart” mirrors what we are doing to the planet’s resources. She immediately understood.
Without any prompting, she generated her own recommendations:
- Reduce consumption rates, starting with something concrete like conserving water
- Minimise waste
- Restore what has been taken from the world
If a seven-year-old watching a Disney film can independently arrive at meaningful sustainability recommendations, the argument that these concepts are too complex for ordinary people is thoroughly refuted. The knowledge is accessible. The will is the variable.