6 Reasons to See Disney’s Moana

Image courtesy of Walt Disney Animation

Hey, Hei-Hei

Actor Alan Tudyk is Disney’s go-to man for voicing silly characters. Having voiced the likes of King Candy, the Duke of Weselton and Duke Weasleton, the man’s voice is nearly as distinctive as Walt Disney’s himself. But unlike his past performances, Tudyk’s character in Disney doesn’t say much because he’s a chicken.

Hei-Hei is cited as one of the “dumbest” characters in a Disney movie, and that’s a disservice to the fine art of slapstick. Hei Hei’s humor is derived from how he’s animated, dumbly yes, but still hilarious. He’s the film’s Dopey, humorous because his humor falls into the world of pratfalls and slapstick. Though many will compare him to Finding Dory’s Becky, another bug-eyed bird with simplistic tendencies, from the minute Hei Hei screams you’re hooked. Maui’s continual attempts to make Hei Hei eat, only so the god can have a “boat snack” are fantastic.

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Although there are questions as to how Hei Hei ends up on Moana’s boat when her far smarter pet, a pig named Pua (the Polynesian word for “pork”), doesn’t. I can’t wait for the DVD when we see what Tudyk did in the voice booth, recording clucks. Either way, your kids will want plush of both Pua and Hei Hei before the credits roll.