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Someone Asked Why Disney Dumbed Down Moana’s Rooster And One Tumblr User Gave The Perfect Answer

It’s no secret that Disney animated movies are enjoyed not only by the younger audiences but by adults as well. While for children the films offer many teaching moments and entertainment, older crowds can see much broader themes and various cultural or historical clues within the colorful film. One of the most recent Disney wonders to grace the silver screens was Moana, a 2016 film focusing on Moana, the daughter of the Polynesian island Motunui’s chief Tui. The girl’s journey involves an ocean goddess, a demigod voiced by Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson and many of her tribe’s traditions and prophecies.

People of Tumblr recently united to unveil why Moana’s sidekick Heihei appears to look completely different in promo posters and the actual movie

Someone Asked Why Disney Dumbed Down Moana's Rooster And One Tumblr User Gave The Perfect Answer

While Moana is not a typical Disney princess, compared to the likes of Aurora and Cinderella, she definitely has some similarities to the classic ladies. One of them is having a trusty sidekick by her side and while most of the original stories had helpful and intelligent creatures helping the princesses out, Moana is accompanied by a soft-minded rooster named Heihei. Some hated the poor creature, some adored his many rock-eating shenanigans, but what was shown on screen was only half of the animal’s story. Turns out, Heihei wasn’t always so… not-so-smart, he was originally a rather intelligent animal meant to be Moana’s watchdog and make sure she stays out of trouble. What made the creators change their mind? Well, Tumblr users discuss the issue in a lengthy thread, starting from Heihei’s development and ending up with commentary on his voice actor’s work.

Someone Asked Why Disney Dumbed Down Moana's Rooster And One Tumblr User Gave The Perfect Answer

Check out this video of Alan Tudyk’s performance as Heihei

Here’s how people reacted to the discussion

Someone Asked Why Disney Dumbed Down Moana's Rooster And One Tumblr User Gave The Perfect Answer

However, not everyone was happy with Disney’s decision

Someone Asked Why Disney Dumbed Down Moana's Rooster And One Tumblr User Gave The Perfect Answer

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Giedrė Vaičiulaitytė

Author, Community member

As a writer and image editor for Bored Panda, Giedrė crafts posts on many different topics to push them to their potential. She's also glad that her Bachelor’s degree in English Philology didn’t go to waste (although collecting dust in the attic could also be considered an achievement of aesthetic value!) Giedrė is an avid fan of cats, photography, and mysteries, and a keen observer of the Internet culture which is what she is most excited to write about. Since she's embarked on her journalistic endeavor, Giedrė has over 600 articles under her belt and hopes for twice as much (fingers crossed - half of them are about cats).