- “Sometimes, who we wish we were, what we wish we could do―it's just not meant to be.”
- ―Sina[src]
Sina is a character in Disney's 2016 animated feature film Moana. She is the wife of Chief Tui and the mother of Moana and Simea.
Quick Answers
What is the role of Sina in the movie Moana?
How does Sina from Moana support her daughter's dreams?
Who is Sina in Moana and what is her relationship with the main character?
What is the personality of Sina, Moana's mother, in the movie?
How does Sina, the mother of Moana, contribute to the story?
Background
Official description
- Sina always has her daughter's back. Playful, sharp, and strong-willed, Sina appreciates Moana's longing to be on the water, but also wants to protect her daughter from the fabled dangers beyond the reef.[3]
Personality
Sina serves as a supportive figure to both her husband and daughter. She does support Tui's ban of going far beyond the reef, but she does seem to appreciate Moana's love for the sea. Though Sina does not like Tui's strict laws on anyone traveling beyond the ocean, she does know her husband is only trying to protect their daughter and people. Sina even explains Tui's tragic past to Moana, in the hopes of her daughter understanding Tui's overprotectiveness come from a place of love.
Physical appearance
Sina is a middle aged woman with bronze skin, brown eyes and long, dark brown hair that she keeps in a side plait. She wears a woven headband with a pink hibiscus flower. In her ears, she wears a pair of white shell earrings, which match her woven necklace with a white shell pendant. Her tapa outfit in the first film consists of a pinkish underdress with purple and red flower motifs and topped with red fringe, covered with a woven pink outer skirt with red and flaxen fringe. On top of that is a flaxen bodice with long fringe that falls along her hips. She has a traditional malu (women's tattoo) on her left hand, extending a few inches above her wrist. Her malu depicts jellyfish, sea birds, and other symbols commonly used in Samoa.
In the second film, Sina's outfit changes very little. Her bodice lacks the fringe, which is replaced with a purple wrap that's tied at the back.
Appearances
Moana
Sina is first seen during the song, "Where You Are" as part of the loving community that makes up the tropical island of Motunui. Like her husband Tui, Sina encourages Moana to embrace her island home and follow Tui's law that prohibits anyone from sailing pass the reef. As Moana grows older, she accepts her parents' wishes, and Sina works alongside her husband in preparing Moana to one day become the next Chief of Motunui. As such, Moana takes part in solving problems throughout the village. One day, the villagers complain that the coconuts across the island are dying and that the fish are no longer in their waters. Tui and Sina see no apparent solution or cause, but Moana suggests they sail pass the reef to find fish elsewhere. This angers Tui, who confronts Moana and aggressively declares that no one is to ever leave the reef.
Moana, confused by her father's anger, laments that he simply doesn't understand her. Sina comforts her daughter and explains that her father was much like Moana at a young age. When he and his friend took a boat into the waters one night, the rough seas tipped them over. Tui managed to survive the disaster, but his best friend could not be saved in time. Sina further explains that Tui's aggression is out of love for his family and people.
Quite some time afterward, Sina and Tui gather the villagers to discuss their island's increasing crises. Moana arrives and claims that their ancestors were great voyagers, meaning they should venture into the sea and return the legendary heart of Te Fiti (as its removal is the cause of their island's plaguing curse) to save their home. This leads to another confrontation between Moana and Tui, but they are both horrified to receive word of Gramma Tala's failing health. Sina can hardly hold back tears as she watches her mother-in-law die before her, and as a final promise to her grandmother, Moana leaves the hut to pack her resources in preparation for her mission to return Te Fiti's heart. Though Sina is mortified to see her daughter leave, she supports her decision and helps pack, bidding farewell as Moana disappears into the night.
Sina briefly appears later on during Moana's nightmare, where she watches her parents die as the curse consumes the entirety of the island.
Sina is later seen after Moana returns home from her successful mission. Sina and Tui warmly embrace their daughter, and the family is reunited once more. Due to Moana's bravery, the villagers are free to voyage the open oceans once more, which Sina joins in. She is seen during the voyage helping Moana, who has succeed Tui as the next leader (Chiefess) of Motunui.
Trivia
- Sina is the sixth mother of a Disney Princess to be alive; preceded by Queen Leah (Aurora's mother), Fa Li (Mulan's mother), Eudora (Tiana's mother), Queen Arianna (Rapunzel's mother), and Queen Elinor (Merida's mother).
- The name Sina means "treasure; God is gracious."
- Though technically not the same character, Nicole Scherzinger voices the mother of "Mo" in the later Disney film Ralph Breaks the Internet. "Mo" reuses the model created for the toddler version of Moana in the original film, with Scherzinger's casting an intentional reference on the part of the directors.
- Given that Moana has a three-year-old sister by the events of the second film (which takes place about three years after the events of the original movie), Sina must've become pregnant sometime during the events of the first film (like when her oldest daughter was out at sea) or at least shortly thereafter.
Variants
- Sina (Moana 2026)
Gallery
Screenshots
.png "Moana 2 teaser (5).png (2.59 MB)")
.png "Moana 2 (76).png (1.68 MB)")
Miscellaneous
References
- ↑ "Moana: Here’s the Cast of the Upcoming Live-Action Film". The Walt Disney Company.com (June 12, 2024).
- ↑ https://www.thewrap.com/moana-2-footage-description/
- ↑ "New ‘Moana’ Photos and Character Details Introduce You to the Animated Cast". Screencrush (July 25, 2016).
