Surprised at how many reviewers don't truly get Moana
Don't get me wrong, they are largely positive & there's not much to "get". But they're missing something pretty big.
A common complaint I've noticed is that they're saying the father is overprotective and comparing him to Triton. They say we've seen this father figure before. But actually, we haven't, at least not from Disney. Most of the time, such a figure is motivated by the gender of the one he's protecting. He sees their precious daughter as weak & she is supposed to prove herself worthy. And the comparison to Triton is unfair as well. He is simply a racist (specist?) that shows little inferest in teaching Ariel or his other daughters the responsibility that comes with their station.
This is what I think sets Tui and the movie itself apart. He is teaching Moana the responsibility she has to her people. He is protective because she is the next in line and his protectiveness applies to his whole people. He refuses to hear out the idea of going put on the ocean because he thinks it would endanger his people.
So no, he is not like other overprotective father. We are seeing a man acting out of a sense of duty to his people and trying to instill that sense on his daughter. And it even works. She decides to stay and take responsibility. She goes out on her adventure because she believes it will help her people and thus still holds to her duty to her village. I think everyone is so caught up in the romance they're missing another key difference: she is the first "princess" (despite the movie trying it's damndest to buck the title, I'm using it) to actually accept her duties and actually shown being trained as the future leader.