If you have kids, you've probably seen Moana … at least 15 times. While it's fairly obvious that Dwayne 'The Rock" Johnson has a big part in it (he voices Maui), younger children might not be as quick to place his voice. Sure, The Rock is one of the top actors in the world. But kids are more focused on the characters the actors play.
Sadly, even Dwayne's children have a hard time believing that he was actually in the movie. The film, which was critically acclaimed, also starred the talented voices of Auli'i Cravalho, Rachel House, and Jemaine Clement. It has heavy roots in Polynesian folklore and tales, which also made it stand out from any other Disney film.
The movie was truly a big deal for Dwayne. Even though he's been a leading actor in many films, this is one that the entire family can enjoy over and over again. He's likely seen it countless times, but there's still a bit of a disconnect when watching with his daughter Tia.
Even though Dwayne sings Maui's notable song "You're Welcome" to his daughter, Tia still doesn't believe that her father actually is Maui. In a cute video on Instagram, Dwayne explained why.
"Could this be the glorious day my sweet baby Tia, finally accepts that her daddy is the demigod, Maui from MOANA?" he wrote. "After repeatedly requesting, 'sing to my doggies daddy' I have a good feeling about this one." Tia just turned 2 this April.
The Rock is notably a "girl dad." Aside from Tia (whose full name is Tiana), he also has Simone and Jasmine. This year, he made a point to give a special tribute to all three of them for International Women's Day. Each girl got her own post, and his fans were so touched to see the kind words he had to say.
Simone's on her way to becoming a WWE wrestler just like her dad. In doing so, she'll actually be the first fourth-generation superstar in all of WWE history. That type of accomplishment is huge — and of course, Dwayne is so proud of her. His tribute touched on her wrestling successes.
For Jasmine, his middle daughter, he posted a stunning picture of the two of them. Jasmine's blue eyes shine brightly, which fits her father's message for her. "Pōmaika'i," he wrote. "Blessed, strong and the world will hear from you one day."
Tiana's message at the time was similar. "The world will one day hear from you too, my strong little love," he wrote. "And I can't promise you I'll love you for the rest of your life, but you have my word I'll love and protect you for the rest of mine."
But that wasn't it. He also gave a great tribute to his aunt Dorothy. "89 years young and still handling business like a boss," he wrote. "What a life. She blessed us today with her presence." It's obvious that Dwayne loves and respects women, and he sees great things from each of his family members.
Moana was personal for Dwayne for yet another reason. While watching the film after recording his parts, he realized more and more that the heroine of the film reminded him a lot of his oldest daughter. "Ambitious and has a really strong point of view. Wants to tackle the world," he said to ABC News.
That may have been one of the reasons why the movie led Dwayne to tears. "I have never cried consistently…through a movie more than I have with this movie," he admitted. "Just to be clear, they're all manly tears though." He also revealed that while the character of Maui looks like him, he wasn't necessarily based on him.
Instead, he was based on Dwayne's grandfather. "He looked like that," Dwayne stated. "He was a Samoan high chief who had high chief tattoos all over his body." Just like Dwayne and his oldest daughter, his grandfather was also best known for being a wrestler with the WWE.
The voice-acting opportunity was fairly new to Dwayne. He had starred in a lot of pictures, but this was the first time where he really needed to depend on his voice to help lead the film. "It was exercising a different muscle and it was a great challenge," he stated.
Although he was filmed while speaking the part (since the animators wanted to pay close attention to his body and facial movements), he knew that the footage wasn't going to be directly used in the film. The art of voice acting may seem simple to those outside the field, but it's much more advanced than you'd realize.
The movie meant a lot to The Rock for yet another reason. And no, it wasn't because he imagined singing the movie songs to his children some day. Dwayne, himself, is Samoan. And being able to bring his own culture to a children's movie was a big deal. Representation always matters.
As he stated to ABC News, it was "an opportunity to showcase Polynesian culture to the world on the big screen in a way that it had never been showcased before." That means that many of the scenes of the film hit home for Dwayne. Between the culture and seeing his own daughter in the eyes of Moana, it was an emotionally rewarding film for him.
He even has a favorite part — and it's a memorable exchange between Maui and Moana. It's the part where Maui refers to her as a princess, and Moana denies it. "And she’s very adamant, 'I'm not a princess. I'm the daughter of the chief, but I'm not a princess,'" Dwayne recalled. It's truly a movie he'll always be able to share with his family, just like everyone else has.
