Mafatu's mother dies after a hurricane drives their canoe beyond the reef, leaving him traumatized and afraid of the sea.

Mafatu grows up unable to fish or join ocean activities, shamed across the village as the Boy Who Was Afraid.

Kana calls Mafatu a coward the night before the village bonito fishing trip, crushing what little comfort Mafatu had.

Mafatu takes a canoe and paddles out through the reef into the open ocean in the dark of night.

A violent storm strips Mafatu of his paddle, knife, spear, sail, and food, leaving him completely helpless at sea.

Kivi appears overhead and leads Mafatu's gaze toward a distant island just as his strength is nearly gone.

Mafatu's canoe shatters on the reef and he and Uri barely swim ashore to the island beach.

Mafatu discovers a jungle clearing with a towering idol and human bones at its base—a cannibal sacrifice site.

Mafatu grabs a spearhead from the base of the cannibal idol and flees back through the jungle.

Uri falls into the water near a circling hammerhead shark and Mafatu dives in and kills it with his knife.

A wild boar charges Mafatu in the jungle and impales itself on the spear he braces against the ground.

Mafatu launches his finished canoe for the first time, reciting the traditional Hikueru prayer for new ships.

Mafatu dives deep to retrieve his knife and kills a giant octopus that seizes him from a reef cave.

Cannibals discover Mafatu on the island and pursue him across the open sea in six black canoes.

Mafatu approaches Hikueru's beach and Tavana Nui recognizes his son, proudly announcing his brave return to the village.

Mafatu grows up on Hikueru as the chief's son who fears the ocean, shamed by his people after his mother's death at sea. When Kana calls him a coward, Mafatu resolves to leave and not return until he has proven himself. A fierce storm leaves him helpless at sea, but he reaches a distant island and begins building a new life. He faces and defeats a hammerhead shark, a wild boar, and a giant octopus, transforming himself through each act of courage. When cannibals arrive on the island, Mafatu flees in his completed canoe across the open ocean. He returns to Hikueru changed, and his father proudly welcomes him home as a courageous son.

Tavana Nui gives his son the nickname Stout Heart, creating expectations of courage that Mafatu fears he can never meet.

Mafatu rescues a misfit albatross named Kivi, who has one small foot, and feeds it until it learns to fly.

Kana kindly invites Mafatu to join the village boys' bonito fishing trip, but Mafatu cannot find the words to agree.

The Old Ones sing of voyages and heroes in the night as Mafatu quietly gathers supplies and prepares to leave.

Kivi guides Mafatu through a break in the reef, leading him from safe lagoon waters into the open ocean.

Morning arrives and Hikueru has completely vanished behind Mafatu, leaving nothing but endless sea in every direction.

Mafatu treats a poisonous coral wound on his leg using lime juice to cauterize it and purau leaves as bandages.

Mafatu climbs the island plateau and spots a second island across the water where the cannibals may live.

Mafatu finds banana clusters sliced from a tree with a knife, revealing that humans regularly visit the island.

Mafatu builds a shelter from coconut fronds, fashions rope, and marks a tamanu tree to use for his canoe.

Mafatu finds a whale skeleton on the beach and hauls the valuable bones back to his camp for tools.

Mafatu grinds whale bones against a basalt slab to fashion a usable knife and ax for island survival.

Mafatu strips inner fibers from a mulberry tree and weaves clothing to demonstrate his skills upon his return home.

Mafatu cooks the slain wild pig by layering it over heated stones and sealing it with plantain leaves.

Mafatu uses the star constellation representing Maui's fishhook to steer his canoe toward Hikueru through the dark ocean.

Before Mafatu leaves Hikueru, his father names him Stout Heart and Mafatu forms a bond with Kivi, the misfit albatross he rescues and feeds. As Mafatu sets out, Kivi guides him through the reef, but morning brings only the sight of empty water where home once stood. On the island, Mafatu methodically applies survival skills—treating wounds, building shelter, watching for danger from the plateau, and crafting tools from a whale skeleton. He fashions a knife and ax, makes clothing from island fibers, and cooks the boar he kills in a stone oven. On his homeward voyage, Mafatu navigates by the stars, using the constellation of Maui's fishhook to guide him back to Hikueru.

The skills, companions, and details behind Mafatu's island survival

Mafatu watches the other village boys sharpen their spears for the bonito fishing trip, powerless to join them.

Mafatu resolves to leave Hikueru and not return until he has conquered the sea and made his father proud.

A storm rises on the open sea and Mafatu cries out a desperate prayer to Maui as waves batter his canoe.

Uri gives a weak wag of his tail at sea, giving Mafatu the will to face possible death with dignity.

Mafatu spots a green volcano-shaped island on the horizon just as his last hope of survival is fading.

Mafatu wakes on the island beach with Uri and Kivi beside him and credits Maui with keeping him alive.

Mafatu spots a wild boar through the trees and vows to Maui he will hunt it and earn his father's pride.

Mafatu stands in the cannibal clearing and wonders whether Moana—not Maui—brought him to the island as a deadly trap.

Mafatu reaches the plateau safely after snatching the spearhead and realizes the jungle only seemed to claw at him.

Mafatu sings the hero-god Taaroa's song aloud on the plateau in celebration of his first true act of courage.

Mafatu fights the urge to run and instead braces himself to face the charging wild boar head-on.

Mafatu paddles the reef after his victories over the shark and boar and feels, for the first time, at peace with the sea.

Mafatu decides to dive for his dropped knife despite knowing the dark reef hole may shelter a giant octopus.

Mafatu is woken before dawn by drumbeats and rushes to the plateau to see the cannibals' fires blazing below.

Mafatu shouts at the sea that he no longer fears its power as he nears death from thirst and despair.

Mafatu's journey begins not with a storm but with a moment of paralysis—watching the village boys prepare for a fishing trip he cannot join, and then making the defining choice to leave. A desperate prayer during the storm at sea and a dying dog's tail wag mark the emotional depths of his voyage. Once on the island, each confrontation brings a new revelation: discovering the cannibal shrine, questioning whether Moana led him there, and realizing his jungle terror existed only in his mind. Killing the boar by standing firm rather than fleeing, and choosing to dive for his knife despite the threat of an octopus, represent further acts of will over fear. The arrival of the cannibals and Mafatu's defiant shout to the sea on the return journey bookend his interior transformation from shame to hard-won courage.