The breakout star of Disney's 'Moana' was almost a totally different character
Walt Disney Animation Studios
Disney's "Moana" includes a colorful cast of characters, though a dumbwitted chicken stands out as maybe the most absurd animal sidekick we've seen from the animation studio.
Heihei follows Moana, a 16-year-old Pacific Island teen, on a journey across the ocean. It's unclear how Moana and her featherbrained friend became acquainted, though the pair are inseparable throughout the movie.
At this year's San Diego Comic-Con, a panel featuring the film's cast and creators revealed that Heihei (voiced by Alan Tudyk) started out as almost an entirely different character.
"Heihei the animal went through a bit of a character evolution," the movie's writer Jared Bush ("Zootopia," "Big Hero 6") said. "He started out as kind of a jerk. Heihei had a lot of attitude."
The Comic-Con audience then watched a brief animation test (not from the movie) that showed Heihei trying to steal food away from the movie's other beloved animal sidekick, Pua. People sighed, feeling sorry for the pig.
"Over the course of many different screenings, [we learned] the character wasn't resonating," Bush said. "We started to change just one little thing about Heihei."
How did Disney decide to make Heihei more likeable?
They dropped his IQ.
Moments later, panelists showed a clip of Heihei as he appears in the movie - not-all-there. The audience giggled at a second animation test in which Heihei tries to eat a snack, but keeps missing the morsel and nose-diving into the floor. It was funny, if not ridiculous.
"Pua is the cutest Disney character, Heihei is the dumbest character," Bush continued.
"Moana" is in theaters now, so you can see Heihei's makeover for yourself.
- A centenarian who starts her day with gentle exercise and loves walks shares 5 longevity tips, including staying single
- A couple accidentally shipped their cat in an Amazon return package. It arrived safely 6 days later, hundreds of miles away.
- Colon cancer rates are rising in young people. If you have two symptoms you should get a colonoscopy, a GI oncologist says.
- Having an regional accent can be bad for your interviews, especially an Indian one: study
- Dirty laundry? Major clothing companies like Zara and H&M under scrutiny for allegedly fuelling deforestation in Brazil
- 5 Best places to visit near Darjeeling
- Climate change could become main driver of biodiversity decline by mid-century: Study
- RBI initiates transition plan: Small finance banks to ascend to universal banking status
- JNK India IPO allotment date
- JioCinema New Plans
- Realme Narzo 70 Launched
- Apple Let Loose event
- Elon Musk Apology
- RIL cash flows
- Charlie Munger
- Feedbank IPO allotment
- Tata IPO allotment
- Most generous retirement plans
- Broadcom lays off
- Cibil Score vs Cibil Report
- Birla and Bajaj in top Richest
- Nestle Sept 2023 report
- India Equity Market