Question: If Quinn and Robin had no idea what island they crash landed on AND the plane's navigation system and radio had been knocked out by the lightning, how were they able to navigate straight back to Makatea once they retrofitted the plane and eluded the pirates?
Answer: Once they were in the air, Quinn would be able to navigate by sight. He was an experienced pilot and and was familiar with the territory and the different islands' configurations. He would also be looking for ship traffic, and he had a general idea which of several islands they were on. Once in the air, he would easily know which direction he was heading based on the position of the sun.
But he passed out. And the ocean is a big expanse, not a lot of landmarks to navigate by.
Question: I noticed that the island they crashed on was "Mata nui." It sounded familiar to me, and Google told me Mata Nui was a Lego Bionicle figure. Since the movie is from 1998 and Bionicle from 2001, Lego must have been inspired by the movie, or what?
Answer: Motu Nui is a real life island, the name means "large island" in Maori. Most likely that is the source of Lego's inspiration for the name. While it is certainly possible that whoever came up with Mata Nui first heard the name Motu Nui in this movie, it is unlikely. Motu Nui is a fairly well known island and also shares its name with a settlement in New Zealand. A fictionalized island called Motu Nui is also the home of Disney princess Moana, which obviously came out after Bionicle but speaks to how well known the name is.
Answer: Thank you. I must have misheard the name in the movie! I will Google Motu Nui now.
Answer: They were on the run from the pirates at that point, he didn't have his tool bag with him. I presumed he found it on the Japanese WW2 plane but I'm not so sure a hacksaw was standard issue to a Japanese WW2 pilot but eh who cares, love the movie anyway.