MovieChat Forums > Moana (2016) Discussion > Complaints about Maui's size

Complaints about Maui's size


About a week or so ago articles began popping up stating some people are critizing the look of demigod Maui by claiming his design is disrespectful to Polynesian culture and portraying negative sterotypes because he is fat. One such article is:

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/jun/27/disney-depiction-of-obese-polynesian-god-in-film-moana-sparks-anger

Variations offering different quotes can be found at other websites.

Personally, we I first saw him I thought he was just a big, strong guy like you sometimes see in real life. Maybe a bit exaggerated, but that is common in animation and large guyes are often supposed to be stocky strong not body builder strong.

Three points specificslly came to mind:

1. The professional bodybuilder physique like Dwayne Johnson maintains requires a very strict training regiment and diet. One most people who do work out do not bother to try and maintain let alone somebody without regular access to a gym or a way to measure calories. Maui no doubt gets plenty of exercise in his life, but not the type that creates the chiseled look. Should Disney really portray and idealistic body image most people do not have? Hasn't Hollywood been criticized for that?

2. Some of the world's strongest men when glanced at look fat. Look at photos of wrestler Andre the Giant or Mark Henry, professional power lifter and winner of the World's Strongest Man competition. Both were/are powerhouses who worked/work out a lot and both like large and not chiseled. Same with many people who are among the world's strongest men. Maui has that type of build.

Edit: For that matter also compare him to sumo wrestlers.

3. Many Polynesian men are large. That is a statistical fact. Hollywood itself is often criticized for not having diverse body types. Isn't having a large Polynesian serving as a positive role model a good thing? Isn't that bringing diversity to the screen? How is that negative?

thoughts/comments?

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I'm not completely sure, but he seems to have the same body type as Wreck-It Ralph. That, to me, is a pretty good indicator that that's just Disney's go-to way to portray someone as physically strong, and has nothing to do with Maui specifically being Polynesian.

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Maui is the same character-type as the genie in Aladdin: Funny, super-powered sidekick whose big, cuddly frame makes him endearing to small children.

Disney made the right call with his character design; the plushies will sell like hotcakes. And the controversy will blow over as soon as the movie hits theaters.

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If Disney' Maui is supposed to be a deity that personifies great physical strength, then his form isn't all that exaggerated relative to his real-life human counterparts. Consider world-record setting power lifter Eddie Hall: https://i.ytimg.com/vi/x5-mfOXF0i0/maxresdefault.jpg

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