Disney's newest movie, Moana, being released on November 23, 2016, is being called out by critics who claim Disney is fat-shaming the main character's sidekick. The heroine's sidekick is known as the demigod Maui. Maui is a very popular historical ancestor who was a strong man and a skilled navigator. Moana is the first Polynesian princess in Disney history.

Jenny Salesa, a New Zealand politician, says "the body shape of Maui is causing a concern because looking back 100-200 years, Polynesian men and women were not overweight." Salesa claims that this negative stereotype of the demigod is unacceptable. Salesa as well as other critics believe this is going to give children the wrong message about how to treat their bodies. That if a Disney character is depicted as obese, then children may think it is okay to mistreat their bodies. As many know, Disney movies have a great impact on children and their families.

What I have gotten from reading many critics reviews on the character Maui, is that they are basically the ones fat-shaming the character, it is not Disney. Fat-shaming is when people do and say rude things to try and show people who are overweight that the way they look and who they are is not acceptable, thinking it will make them more willing to do something about their weight. For example, I recently saw a meme that depicted Maui as half pig half hippo while comparing him to popular celebrities of the Polynesian descent such as Dwayne Johnson. It is almost unfair to compare someone who is overweight to someone as built as Johnson because society has taught us that looking like Maui is unhealthy and repulsive and looking like Johnson is what some may refer to as "goals."

The way that the Disney creators decided to depict the demigod were not in a negative way. People come in all shapes and sizes, people are skinny, people are normal weight, people are overweight, no one in this world is exactly the same. Children and family movies should be able to have characters that don't fit to the norm. I feel that having characters of different races, ethnic groups, and weight categories will teach children how to accept people for who they are and to not judge them for what they see on the outside, because you should never judge a book by its cover.

When I look at the demigod Maui, I don't see an obese man who doesn't take care of himself, to me he appears as a very strong hunter gatherer. He may not depict a typical Polynesian man, but there is nothing wrong with the way that Disney chose to depict this strong character. When parents see this new animated character, it may give them a sense that Disney is willing to branch away from the normality of what we are used to seeing, so their children are able to learn to accept people for who they are and that the way a person looks has nothing to do with what they are capable of.

When this movie is released in theaters, I believe that the viewers will be very pleased with the choice to have the Polynesian descent included in their line of characters from multiple ethnic groups. It should have a strong impact as well on Polynesian kids who are used to seeing their race shown as people who are less worthy on the screen, and being shown as strong, hardworking, and worthy people to young audiences and their families.