Three years after Disney’s Frozen was released, Moana makes a striking entrance into the world of Disney. The story begins in the South Pacific when teenager Moana, the daughter of the chief of the island, ventures on a journey to save her people. Moana reached second place in the box office over the course of all of Thanksgiving weekend, making a total of 82 million dollars, losing only to Frozen’s 93.5 million, according to forbes.com.

Auli’i Cravalho voices Moana and Dwayne Johnson plays Maui, Moana’s companion on her trip to restore prosperity to her island. Disney was sure to make it clear that the journey was Moana’s mission, and that Maui, a demigod, was her sidekick, if anything, enforcing the empowerment of young women.

Moana is based on multiple myths native to the Pacific islands. Instead of adhering to one particular myth, creators John Musker and Ron Clements chose to combine multiple stories because “it really sort of marries these different cultures,” as reported by npr.org

Sixteen-year-old Cravahlo says she “grew up with his (Maui) mythology and those stories of him literally pulling islands out of the sea and slowing down the sun.” Hawaii born and raised, Cravahlo spoke to hapersbazaar.com, “I love that Disney has taken the time and effort to do research about us and extensive research about our culture and find those wonderful stories about Maui.”

The other aspect of Moana that has made it such a success: no love interest. Every other Disney Princess movie has featured a love interest, and though Moana claims “I am not a princess!” (she’s the daughter of the chief), the film caters to the same audience as all other Disney movies.

Not having a love interest doesn’t make Moana lacking in any sense, it can be argued that letting Moana be her own woman adds to the integrity of the film. Moana is determined to explore the ocean and doesn’t let anyone stop her, taking her on a journey of self-discovery, a topic on which Auli’i Cravalho advises “Finding yourself is something you do all on your own and it’s for you—not for anyone else.”