Dwayne Johnson’s performance as Maui in Disney’s Moana does a darn good job of stealing the show from the titular character with his catchy song and massive ego. It’s hard to stop listening to “You’re Welcome” on repeat much less hum to it throughout the day. This popularity hasn’t been lost on Johnson's daughter, yet despite his best efforts, he can’t convince her that he plays the character Maui.
Earlier this year we reported how Dwayne Johnson sings “You’re Welcome” to his daughter a lot, but that hasn’t done much to convince her. Now, Dwayne Johnson is at it again, showing on social media that his daughter still doesn’t believe he’s in Moana. Check it out:
As you can see, he’s point blank telling her that he’s Maui in Moana and she still isn’t buying it. Of course, he’s taken the disappointment in stride and added that at this point she probably thinks its also speculation that he is The Rock.
This isn’t the only time Dwayne Johnson has been shut down by fans of his performance as Maui. Through the Make-A-Wish Foundation, Dwayne Johnson dressed up as Maui and sang “You’re Welcome” to Ty, a five-year-old boy that came on the Skyscraper set to meet his hero. Unfortunately for The Rock, Ty was either in shock or just not that impressed.
Believe it or not, there’s a reason behind why it feels like Dwayne Johnson’s Maui hogs the spotlight in Moana. Originally, the movie was called Mighty Maui with the movie focused on Maui and Dwayne Johnson still set to play the hero. That all changed when the creators took a trip to the pacific islands and decided their original draft didn't really work.
The inspiration behind the character Maui also goes deeper than just The Rock playing him. Dwayne Johnson admitted a while back that the character was partially inspired by his grandfather, High Chief Peter Maivia. Dwayne Johnson is part-Samoan and his father and grandfather were also both wrestlers, which ties them even closer to the culture and mythology of Moana. We'll just have to wait for Dwayne Johnson’s daughter to actually believe all of that.
As it turns out, it was this deep connection to Maui and the movie Moana that may have caused Dwayne Johnson to consistently cry while watching the movie. He also noted that he has an older daughter that reminded him of the character Moana, which could have brought out more of those tears.
By now, unlike Dwayne Johnson’s daughter, you’ve likely worn out the song “You’re Welcome.” But if you’re itching for more, Dwayne Johnson shared a bonus clip called “Gone Fishing” and it's not bad, but it's no "You're Welcome." I’m going to bet his daughter won’t believe he’s in that clip either.
