Moana
The story interweaves mythological tales from diverse cultures
EST V ACT domestic box office revenue
$212 – 259 V $249MM
Mythosis universal quests used
3
Audience appeal
7.57%-9.25%
Script Score
0.26
Moana an animated movie follows a girl chosen to journey through the ocean to lift a curse that threatens to destroy everything. The story explores basic human desires of Preservation, Expedition, Honour and Status. The plot structure interweaves mythological tales of Jason from Greek mythology, Hanuman from Hindu mythology and Joseph from Abrahamic mythology. Mythosis, extracts the unique plot structure of a movie to estimate & unlock its potential.
1. The invisible plot structure of Moana
1A. The script of Moana borrows 94% of its events from 4 mythological tales
Moana’s quest is driven by the desire to find an elusive person/object and mirrors the tale of Jason from Greek mythology. Argos builds a ship for Jason and the Argonauts for their journey to retrieve the Golden Fleece. Similarly, Moana is given a canoe by Tala and she recruits Maui to help her locate the island of Te Fiti.
Moana has another quest of Preservation and mirrors the tale of Noah from Abrahamic mythology. Both Noah and Moana are chosen to save the world and guided since they are clueless.
Maui’s quest is driven by the desire for honour and mirrors the tale of Hanuman from Hindu mythology. Both Hanuman & Maui demonstrate loyalty, showing a willingness to sacrifice themselves. However, Maui becomes self-centered, even to the point of sacrificing Moana which is out of-character.
Te Fiti’s quest is driven by the desire for respect and mirrors the tale of Joseph from Abrahamic mythology. Both Joseph & Te Fiti are betrayed by their own yet they choose to forgive.
Chief Tui has an underdeveloped quest that mirrors events from the tale of Demeter.
NOTE: Detailed mirroring of each character’s primary quest to their respective mythological tales is in section “3A. Quests of characters in Moana and their mythological counterparts”
Mythosis plot structure
#9,260
Tales interweaved
Hanuman, Joseph & Jason
I. How does interweaving mythological tales lead to infinite story plots?
II. Can the pursuit of a Desire have more than one quest?
2. The potential of Moana’s plot structure: $212 – 259MM
The interweaving of 32 mythological tales can generate a billion unique stories. By using these 32 tales, we can extract the plot structure of any story across various genres. Our study of blockbuster, hit, and flop plot structures led to the discovery of the Mythosis Code, a set of principles for creating compelling stories. The plot structure of a story is analyzed to see how well it adheres to these storytelling principles.
2A. Plot structure evaluation of Moana
- All Blockbusters have at least 3 universal quests. Moana uses 4 universal quests of Status, Expedition, Preservation and Honour.
- In Blockbusters, each universal quest is mirrored by ONLY ONE character. Te Fiti mirrors the universal quests of Status. Moana mirrors the universal quests of Expedition & Independence. Maui mirrors the universal quest of Honour.
- Every Blockbuster character borrows at least 35% of the universal quest. Te Fiti borrows 28% of events from the quest of Status. Moana borrows 48% of the events from the quest of Expedition and 10% from the quest of Preservation. Maui borrows 18% from the quest of Honour.
- Blockbusters have a quest interweaving threshold of 0.5. Interweaving occurs when events of 2 quests occur simultaneously in the story. The quest interweaving score of Moana is 0.67 and is above par.
An example of interweaving the quests of Maui & Te Fiti:
2B. Box office revenue estimation of Moana
The plot structure of Moana reveals 3 characters with well-developed quests but Moana’s character is inconsistent. She pursues two desires of preservation followed by expedition. However, this error is overshadowed by giving her a very powerful quest of Expedition.
The Script Score measures a plot structure’s adherence to the four principles of Mythosis Code. We use the Script Score to estimate a movie’s audience appeal & revenues. Blockbuster plot structures have a score of at least 0.64 and appeal to 20% of the audiences.
Script Score
0.26
Audience appeal
7.57% - 9.25%
I. How is Mythosis Code used to estimate revenues?
II. Aren’t box-office revenues influenced by several factors beyond just the story plot?
3. The ideal plot structure of Moana
We have identified 32 mythological tales, the superset of all tales across cultures. The quests of these tales have also recurred over time periods. They represent human behaviours that are deeply embedded in our shared memories. Each tale is the richest expression of the pursuit of a human desire. The tales have a unique pattern of events spread over 5 major arcs.
Mapping a character’s quest to the relevant mythological tale reveals the gaps in their quest, if any. Plugging these gaps with the missing events deepens the character quest. The missing events also provide an opportunity for interweaving the various quests. These events strengthen the story and unlock its hidden potential.
3A.Quest of characters in Moana and their mythological counterparts
Quest 1: Moana mirrors the universal quest for Expedition
Moana’s desire for Expedition stems from the need to find an elusive person/object. The tale of Jason from Greek mythology is the universal quest for Expedition.
Quest 2: Maui mirrors the universal quest for Honour
Maui’s desire stems from the need to be loyal to one’s clan/order. The tale of Hanuman from Hindu mythology is the universal quest for Honour.
Quest 3: Te Fiti mirrors the universal quest for Status
Te Fiti’s desire for Status stems from the need for respect and social standing. The tale of Joseph from Abrahamic mythology is the universal quest for Status.
3B.Gaps in the current plot structure
The plot structure of Moana suffers from the inconsistent quest of Moana at the beginning.
The story misses an opportunity to deepen Maui’s quest.
3C.Unlocking the hidden potential
Contact: anandshiv@usemythosis.com
Contact us for Moana’s plot structure #9,260
Tags: Jason, Hanuman, Joseph, Status, Honour, Expedition, Noah, Preservation, John Musker, Ron Clements, Chris Williams, Don Hall, Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures, 2016