She convinces him to accompany her on her voyage to recover his magical fish hook and restore the heart stone that he stole from the goddess Te Fiti.

[2] Ron Clements said that Māui was the inspiration for the film, being a mythic demigod and larger than life figure who is found in many cultures of the South Pacific in different variations and therefore seemed like the perfect focal character.

[3] Their early story concept was based on a myth and involved a supporting female character enlisting the help of Maui to help her save her kidnapped lover.

[4] Musker and Clements wrote and pitched the story concept to Disney animation chief John Lasseter, who asked them to conduct research in Polynesia for the project to progress.

[2] Although Musker and Clements originally intended Maui to be the film's protagonist, they were inspired by the "beautiful, powerful women in Polynesia" and decided to instead focus the story on the daughter of a chief.

Musker explained that in an early draft Moana idolised Maui, so she sang a song to motivate him into action by reminding him of his many great feats.

This led to the establishment of a group named the Oceanic Trust that was formed of cultural advisors from various islands such as Samoa, Tahiti, Mo'orea, and Fiji.

Early character art depicted Maui with a shorter stature and a bald head but this was abandoned following feedback from the trust, which resulted in a broader frame and thick, flowing hair.

Upon seeing the original sketch, Tahitian cultural practitioner Hinano Murphy advised that it was important for Maui to have hair because this was his mana, his power as a demigod.

[5] Character art director Bill Schwab wanted to push his design creatively to make him "both funny and powerful simultaneously", while also balancing the contrasting proportions of Maui's and Moana's sizes.

They visualised Maui as a demigod with matching superhero proportions who would be capable of pulling islands from the sea and battling monsters so they designed him as a strong, larger than life caricature: "a big, solid man-mountain kind of a guy".

[16] Musker said that although the character of Maui was conceived before considering Johnson in the role, he was suggested early on in the process by a contact on their first research trip.

Musker described Maui's tattoos as a "a walking billboard of all his exploits" allowing him to recount his deeds simply by turning his body and showing his back.

She finds the vain demigod Maui and convinces him to accompany her on her sea voyage so that they can recover his fish hook and restore the heart of Te Fiti.

[27] On the announcement, Johnson remarked that he was "deeply humbled and overcome with gratitude" to develop a live-action Moana and that he was inspired by his grandfather, Peter Maivia.

[5] In a BBC critique, Arieta Tegeilolo Talanoa Tora Rika commented that for many people of the Pacific, Māui is "a hero, ancestor, demi-God and a spiritual guide" and felt that it was disrespectful to make money from such a significant aspect of Polynesian culture.

[38] She explained that while conducting research on Māui, it was apparent that different islands had different ideas about him, but in all versions he was larger than life, thus the animators ensured he was big and strong.

[38] Justin Chang of the Los Angeles Times called Maui a "boisterous agent of show-stopping supernatural chaos" and opined that while opposition to him for being a stereotype of over-sized Polynesian males was valid, it failed to recognise the comedy in Johnson's performance.

He thought that Disney's Maui appeared to be more powerful than obese and had a "remarkable sense of dexterity and elastic grace" despite his large size.

[41] Eric Kohn of IndieWire praised the "enlightened" casting of Johnson and the underlying joke that Maui's macho image as an invincible hero deteriorates once Moana realises that she cannot rely on him.

[42] Christy Lemire writing for RogerEbert.com praised the charm and charisma of Johnson's performance and commented that the film also allowed him to showcase his abilities within its dramatic and intimate moments.

[43] In his Empire review, Nick de Semlyen thought that Johnson singing "You're Welcome" was "an ode to egotism that is simultaneously a perfect storm of delightfulness".

[44] Christopher Orr writing for The Atlantic considered Johnson's performance as Maui to be "charming" and "witty", describing it as the most joyous part of the film.

[45] Jake Wilson of The Sydney Morning Herald described Maui as "the film's key triumph" and likened him to an older brother who is bigger but not smarter.

He also opined that Johnson "exudes the kind of charisma not seen by animated Disney characters since the days of Robin Williams and Eddie Murphy".

[49] Vadim Rizov writing for Sight and Sound magazine highlighted that the moment in which Maui dismisses Moana and declares "If you have a dress and an animal sidekick, you're a princess" acts as a self-reflective nod to Disney's past "retrograde formula".