Whale Rider connection
Watching this movie, I cannot help but compare it to one of my beloved films of my youth, http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0298228/?ref_=nv_sr_1. In this award winning film, it features a young girl of Polynesian descent trying to claim her rightful place as the chief of her tribe. Does that sound in any shape or form familiar?
Looking back, I view Whale Rider as the predecessor to all these strong female characters in recent years, so it could be safe to say that without Paikea Apirana, there would be no Merida or Moana.