Disney films are great, and fan theories that link one Disney film to another are even better. Recently, a theory that involves “Moana” and “The Little Mermaid” has been going around the internet. The Tumblr user called ‘intergalactic-ashkenazi’ has noticed that Moana’s and Ariel’s story mirror each other but in reverse.

Intergalactic-ashkenazi listed the comparisons found between the two films. The Tumblr user first shared the discovery eight months ago. It has since convinced many fans of the film and has continuously gained popularity.

The films

“Moana”, released last 2016, focuses on the daughter of a Polynesian island chief. Moana learns that her people were once voyagers but stopped when a demigod named Maui stole the heart of Te Fiti and cursed the land. Years later, the ocean chose Moana to return the heart of Te Fiti. She travels across the ocean, meets Maui, encounters villains and frees the land from the curse.

Released in 1989, “The Little Mermaid” focuses on Ariel – one of the seven daughters of King Triton. Ariel falls in love with Prince Eric, a human. She trades her voice to Ursula the Sea Witch for legs to be with the Prince.

Both films were directed by Ron Clements and John Musker. Lin-Manuel Miranda, one the songwriters in “Moana”, is a very big fan of “The Little Mermaid” and that it was a dream come true to work with the film’s directors.

Miranda revealed on his Twitter account that the shiny people-eating crab Tamatoa’s song was inspired by Sebastian the crab.

The connections

First is the very obvious, “The Little Mermaid,” which is about a princess in the ocean who wants to be on land.

Meanwhile, “Moana” is a “princess” (the chief’s daughter) on land who wants to go to the ocean. In “The Little Mermaid”, the big scary lady (Ursula) pretends to be a friend but is actually an enemy, and in “Moana”, the big scary lady (TeKa) first appears to be an enemy but is actually a friend (Te Fiti).

The villain in “The Little Mermaid” wears a magical necklace, while in “Moana”, the heroine wears the magical necklace (or the necklace that holds a magical stone).

In “The Little Mermaid”, a man (Chef Louis) sings about eating a crab and in “Moana”, a crab (Tamatoa) sings about eating people.

Another Tumblr user called ‘asterlunanova’ added one more reference point. Ariel sings "Part of Your World" on a rock, while Moana is sung to by The Rock, which is a reference to Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson who voiced Maui in the film.
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