Moana was designed to have the physicality of 'an action hero'

The creators of Moana have revealed they specifically designed the Pacific princess's body type to stand out from her predecessors.

Directors Ron Clements and John Musker told Buzzfeed it was "a deliberate attempt, partly inspired by wanting her to be different".

The women involved in the film - including the producer - pushed the idea of "Let's not have her be a wasp-thin woman. Let's have her be a more realistic body shape and feel like she's not going to be blown over by a strong wind".

Rather than being "wasp-thin" Moana had to look like an "action hero". Photos / Disney

Musker and Clements agreed. They wanted her to be "an action hero, capable of action".

They based the drawings of the character on drawings of people in the South Pacific and said, "it just seemed right for this character to have her look like she could physically hold her own for what kind of stunts we wanted her to do, and the physicality of the role.

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"[Moana] goes through a lot, one thing after another," Clements said, adding that Moana has to "hold her own" against the demigod Maui (Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson) who joins her on her adventure.

Moana had to be able to go toe-to-toe with Maui. Photo / Disney

Moana also differs from her predecessors in that she doesn't have a prince or love interest.

Clements and Musker told a Comic-Con panel earlier this year that the film is less focused on finding Prince Charming, and more about Moana finding herself.