Watch The Rock perform a haka for new Disney film

The Rock is really getting pumped for his latest role.

This week Dwayne Johnson posted a video to Instagram of him performing a haka for his part in Disney's animated musical, Moana, where he voices the character Maui.

"It's my DNA, but hard to explain the "mana" (spiritual power) that comes out when I perform the haka," Johnson commented on the Instagram video.

The 44-year-old San Andreas star, who is of Samoan heritage, revealed that performing the haka is "highly intense and emotional" for him.

"I always need a few minutes to calm down after I do it," Johnson added, explaining that performing a haka takes a lot out of him physically.

"I also have to do this last 'cause I blow out my damn vocal chords."

Johnson will star alongside Hawaiian actress 15-year-old Auli'I Cravalho, who will be voicing the movie's title character Moana. The animated feature is set in the South Pacific as Moana sets sail for a new land. She is joined by Maui, a legendary demi-god, on her adventure across the ocean.

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Kiwi film-maker Taika Waititi (Hunt For The Wilderpeople) helped write the script. He shares a writer's credit with the film's directors John Musker and Ron Clements, who were responsible for Disney classics The Little Mermaid (1989) and Aladdin (1992).

Moana is to be released this year.

- nzheral.co.nz