‘Moana’ Under Attack for Fat-Shaming Controversy Over Obese Demi-God, Polynesian Communities Displeased with Disney Film

‘Moana’ is set to feature the legendary demi-God Maui but Disney is under attack for a fat-shaming controversy over Maui’s alleged obesity. Polynesian communities expressed displeasure over the upcoming animated musical film.

According to The Telegraph, Disney’s upcoming animated film has sparked some online controversy over the depiction of an allegedly obese Polynesian demi-God. Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson’s Maui was highly criticized by Polynesian communities.

During an interview with ABC News, president of the Pacific Islands media association Will Ilolahia said, “Congratulations to Hollywood for actually wanting to tell a story of our area, of the Pacific, but unfortunately ... the slightly obese character kind of upset me because that does not depict the character that we understand in our folklore as Maui.”

He added, "They've picked a deity that's quite important to our culture — Maui is very significant — and then to depict him in that character in regards to his physical appearance is actually an insult for our communities." The film has been criticized for depicting Polynesians as stereotypically overweight.

Maui is popular in Polynesian mythology. The Hawaiian island of Maui was named after the legendary demi-god, who reportedly pulled the island out of the ocean.

Jenny Salesa, a member of the New Zealand Parliament, expressed her disappointment with Maui on a Facebook Post. She wrote, "When we look at photos of Polynesian men and women from the last 100 to 200 years, most of our people were not overweight, and this negative stereotype of Maui is just not acceptable." 

Despite the backlash, the upcoming Disney film still had its supporters. According to another article on People.com, Samoan comic book artist Michel Mulipola came to the film’s defense by explaining that the process of animation called for distinct “shapes” for its various characters.

Mulipola said, "If you study animation, you'll notice that each character has a distinctive 'shape' to their design to not only distinguish who is who, but also to portray personalities through their look… It's a simple yet effective illustration device. I'm not fazed by the way Maui is designed in this film." He added that Maui’s build portrayed strength and power.

In the upcoming film, Johnson’s Maui comes to the aid of Auli’i Cravalho’s princess Moana Waialiki as she navigates the open seas to find a fabled island. Johnson is an American-Canadian semi-retired professional wrestler-turned-actor with Samoan heritage.

‘Moana’ is an upcoming 3D animated fantasy-adventure film featuring Disney’s first ever Polynesian princess. It is directed by Ron Clements and John Musker. Osnat Shurer serves as producer while John Lasseter serves as executive producer.

The film is scheduled to premiere on November 23, 2016 in the United States.