See How Far You’ll Go With These Moana Secrets

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Imagine Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson playing Maui from Moana in a live-action movie, complete with his long, flowing hair! It’s a fantastic idea.

While Auli’i Cravalho passed the role of the determined main character to Catherine Laga’aia, Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson is returning as her demigod companion for the live-action version of the popular Disney movie, coming out in July.

A recent trailer, released on March 23rd, shows Dwayne Johnson in impressive physical shape. He flexes his muscles as the scene transforms, and famously repeats his line, “You’re welcome,” to Moana. Johnson joked to Extra in 2024 that the costume took a significant amount of time to get into.

I’ve always admired Auli’i Cravalho, and I completely understand her decision about not reprising her role as Moana. She was so young – only 14 – when she first voiced the character, and she recently explained on Instagram why it’s so important to her that casting is done thoughtfully and authentically. She believes, and I agree, that the people portraying characters should truly represent the stories they’re telling, and that’s why she’s stepping away from the role.

This meant Auli’i Cravalho would be working behind the scenes as an executive producer, rather than appearing on screen. While she did return to voice Moana in the 2024 animated sequel, she’s excited to help cast the next actress to play the character, looking for someone who embodies Moana’s bravery, humor, and emotional depth.

They dove deep to bring 19-year-old Australian actress Laga’aia to the surface. 

In a statement released in June 2024, she expressed her excitement about celebrating Samoa and all Pacific Islanders, and about being a role model for young girls who share her background.

Similar to the original movie, the aim is to encourage a new generation of girls to realize their full potential.

In November 2024, Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson told TopMob News that a key theme of Moana is female empowerment, and the film explores the idea of looking beyond familiar boundaries – asking, ‘What’s out there?’

That core message resonated with audiences, leading the 2016 film to earn $687 million worldwide and become the most-streamed movie of 2023. Disney fans watched it for an incredible 11.6 billion minutes!

Now that a live-action adaptation is coming, we’re revealing some interesting behind-the-scenes details.

What can we say except, you’re welcome? 

Disney princess movies start with directors presenting three different story ideas to John Lasseter, the head of story. From these, they choose one to develop further. The idea for Moana came about because directors John Musker and Ron Clements – known for films like The Little Mermaid, Aladdin, and Hercules – were fascinated by the culture and islands of the South Pacific.

Researchers exploring Polynesian myths found many stories about Maui, a character known for being able to change shape. Although the details vary from island to island, Maui is commonly believed to have taught people how to make fire, slowed down the sun, and used a magical hook to raise the islands from the sea floor.

Originally, the script centered around Dwayne Johnson’s character, Maui – they even had a nickname for him, calling him ‘Mighty Maui,’ according to Ron Clements in an interview with Entertainment Weekly.

I was so excited when the script introduced a strong female character! Apparently, the story started with this really beautiful myth – a girl whose sweetheart was taken, and she asked Maui for help getting him back. That was the core idea, pretty simple at first. But John, one of the directors, felt it needed more. He really liked the dramatic possibilities – the ‘arena’ as he called it – but he pushed us to flesh it out and add more depth.

One concept that didn’t make it into the final film featured Moana, the chief’s daughter, as someone out of place in a traditional setting.

The initial story idea involved time travel, with a modern kid finding out about their family history,” the directors explained to EW. “It featured things like an iPhone, contrasting with this ancient culture. Ultimately, we decided not to pursue that direction.”

A first research trip to the Pacific Islands significantly shaped the film’s direction. Producer Osnat Shurer explained to Tribute magazine in 2017 that the team spent time connecting with local people – elders, children, and experts – and experiencing life alongside them. This immersion fostered a profound respect for the culture, its history, and its people. As a result, the team decided to focus on celebrating this rich culture, highlighting its beauty, nuance, and historical significance.

She shared that one elder in Mo’oera deeply impacted her, saying, “For years, we’ve been overshadowed by your culture. Could you, just once, experience what it’s like to be immersed in ours?” She explained that they considered this request with great seriousness.

Shurer shared that a key takeaway from this experience was realizing nature – especially the ocean – is a living, aware entity that connects everyone. She also emphasized the importance of understanding history and your surroundings – ‘knowing your mountain’ – to understand your present. Ultimately, she believes that connecting with nature can guide you, and that many cultures hold valuable, yet often overlooked, wisdom. This realization fills her with optimism.

Okay, so you HAVE to hear about this! The movie is based on this incredible true story – it’s called the Long Pause. Basically, for around 1,000 years, people in places like Fiji and Tonga just…stopped sailing east! Can you believe it? They paused their exploration of Polynesia for a millennium and then finally started heading out again. It’s the most fascinating thing ever, and the movie really tries to capture what might have happened during that long, mysterious break!

I’ve always been fascinated by the story of why our ancestors stopped voyaging! The filmmakers explained it by saying Maui took Te Fiti’s heart, and honestly, it makes sense within the legend. After that, fewer and fewer explorers came back from their journeys, and it really scared people away from venturing beyond the reef. It became a time of fear and uncertainty for our people.

To accurately represent the culture of the Pacific Islands, the filmmakers created the Oceanic Story Trust. This group included specialists like anthropologists, teachers, language experts, traditional tattoo artists, choreographers, haka performers, and master navigators – all people they connected with during their research trips. The Trust’s job was to provide guidance on every detail of the region’s culture shown in the film.

One change made at the request of cultural consultants involved Maui’s hair. Initially, the character was designed without any, similar to Dwayne Johnson. However, consultants explained that Maui traditionally has long, flowing hair which is connected to his spiritual power, or ‘mana.’ As a result, the filmmakers decided to give Maui hair.

The change caused quite a bit of stress in the finance department. As Clements pointed out, creating realistic hair is expensive, and the sudden doubling of hair in the animation caused a bit of a budget crisis. Hair and water are notoriously difficult to animate, so the team faced some significant hurdles.

Although Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson’s character, Maui, didn’t have a perfectly smooth appearance, the actor revealed the character was partially based on his grandfather, High Chief Peter Maivia of Samoa.

Originally, the idea for Maui’s popular song “You’re Welcome” was that Moana would sing it, attempting to jog his memory about all he’d done.

Musker told EW that when the woman first met the man, she put him on a pedestal. Seeing him later, defeated and discouraged, she felt compelled to lift his spirits, so she sang him a song reminding him of all his past accomplishments.

According to Musker, giving Maui a boastful personality—and having him openly brag—didn’t just alter the narrative, it also provided lyricist Lin-Manuel Miranda with much richer material to work with.

While actress Auli’i Cravalho looks remarkably like the character she portrays, it’s just a happy accident. The design for Moana was actually completed before Auli’i was chosen for the role – it seems like fate!

Interestingly, Auli’i Cravalho, who was just 14 years old at the time and from Hawaii, was the very last actress to audition. Casting directors had already seen hundreds of potential candidates across the Pacific Islands before she came in.

During a callback, Auli’i Cravalho was asked to act as if she’d been offered the role of Moana. Casting director Rachel Sutton explained, “They wanted me to react as if I was actually getting the part.” Cravalho admitted, “That was a bit of a trick!” However, it created a really heartwarming moment and a nice look behind the scenes of making the film.

Nicole Scherzinger, who was born in Hawaii, landed the role of Moana’s mother, Sina, through persistent effort. In a 2016 interview, she explained her eagerness, saying, “I really wanted to be involved in any way I could!”

The characters Pua and HeiHei were created after the filmmakers noticed many pigs and roosters during research trips to the South Pacific. Interestingly, their voices weren’t entirely created by voice actors. Pua’s sounds came directly from a real pig, while HeiHei’s voice is a mix of rooster sounds and voice work by Alan Tudyk.

While Heihei the rooster ended up being a scene-stealer, the original plan called for him to have a friend or sidekick.

Oh, Pua! It still breaks my heart that they almost didn’t leave him behind! I read that Ron Musker actually wanted Pua to go on the whole journey with Moana, but someone convinced them it would be better if she was more… alone. Can you believe it?! They thought having just Hei Hei, that silly rooster, would be better than Moana having her best friend with her? Apparently, they filmed some really sweet scenes with Pua that never made it into the movie, and I’m honestly devastated we didn’t get to see them! I just NEED those Pua scenes! It would have been so much better with him there, honestly.

Directors Ron Clements and John Musker, known for hiding animated versions of themselves in their films – as townspeople in Aladdin and muscle-men in Hercules – planned to include a similar cameo in Moana.

According to Clements, the initial idea for the joke was that the grumpy rooster character was inspired by John, while he based the pig character on himself. However, the rooster wasn’t meant to be unintelligent in the first place.

I’ve been a huge fan of Heihei since Moana came out, and I always found him so endearing! It’s fascinating to learn that he wasn’t always that lovable, though. Apparently, the writer, Jared Bush, said at Comic-Con a while back that Heihei actually started out as a bit of a troublemaker with a real attitude! They showed the movie to audiences a lot, and people just weren’t connecting with him. So, little by little, they started tweaking his personality, making small changes until he became the sweet, slightly clueless chicken we all adore.

When they tested an animated scene with a sillier version of the rooster, it got a great reaction from the audience. Bush commented, “Pua is the most adorable Disney character, and Heihei is definitely the most clueless.”

Keep an eye out for quick cameos from other Disney favorites in the movie! You can spot Flounder from The Little Mermaid swimming by during the colorful “You’re Welcome” sequence, Wreck-It Ralph appearing on a cloth Chief Tui displays to baby Moana, and even Baymax from Big Hero 6 as one of the Kakamora who try to stop Moana and Maui.

The film also includes references to characters from Frozen. Viewers can spot Sven, one of the creatures Maui’s hook briefly changes into, and Marshmallow appearing on a traditional tapa cloth. There’s even a fleeting glimpse of a broken-down Olaf inside Moana’s boat.

Viewers who stayed after the credits finished got a special bonus scene: a funny moment showing Tamatoa, the crab Moana and Maui fought, trying to shake them off his back after their battle.

“If my name was Sebastian,” he said, “and I had a cool Jamaican accent, you would totally help me!”

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2026-03-24 18:49