DVDizzy Forum

PatchofBlue wrote: ↑Mon Oct 27, 2025 1:40 pmI am curious to imagine, though, how a film named after its heroine would afford any space for its second-lead character. Like, way back in like 2010 when this movie was just a piece of concept art, it still seemed like Moana was always the centerpiece.

I think Musker wanted to develop Maui a bit further and give him more to do in the story. That doesn't mean Moana wouldn't still have been the film's centerpiece. You can develop your co-lead without taking focus away from the lead. That was something the story trust didn't understand.

I get that in theory. I'm just personally not sure how much more space Maui could have taken up without taking away the spotlight from Moana. I think Tangled is about the closest you can get to having the two leads as "the leads" while still letting one sit in the driver's seat, and Moana and Maui already fill a similar space. I could maybe see them introducing Maui's character a little earlier, but then a major steppingstone of Moana's quest has been done away with.

Not saying someone else couldn't figure it out. Just that I'm not sure how to do it.

You know, since originally the concept of Moana was based on Mighty-Maui, it would`ve been definitively interesting to see it if it was centered on him alone. It would`ve been interesting if it would be a musical and executed in the formula that Disney are known for. Or if it would`ve been executed in a non-musical way, like most of the male-centered films from Disney has been lately.

Moana is one of the handful of titles to have crossed a billion hours streamed on Disney's streaming services and one of the only two movies to do so.


Source: https://thewaltdisneycompany.com/2025-s ... g-numbers/