In 2016, Disney’s Moana took the world by storm, capturing the hearts of children everywhere. One of the characters in the movie is Maui, and he is voiced by Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson. This character represents a combination of both Maori and other Polynesian narratives, and he is known for heroic tasks such as slowing down the sun and fishing the Pacific Islands out of the sea.
Like most kids, Rella Rivera’s two daughters were enamored with Moana and its characters. Eight-year-old Ryley and five-year-old Rylyn from Kapolei, Hawaii, “search for the real-life Demigod, Maui” every time they go to Costco, Rivera explained. In a video that has been viewed over 2.3 million times, this time the girls finally found him.
During their routine shopping trip, as the family was cashing out, Ryley and Rylyn spotted one of the cashiers and began to yell, “That’s Maui!” Surprisingly, the employee, with his long hair and tattooed arms, decided to play along.
“It brought so much joy to my face to see how excited the girls were,” Rivera told People. “Before I could get my phone out to video, he had already let out a loud ‘chee-hoo’. And the girls lit up even more.”
This isn’t the first time the employee, William Va’ana, has been told he looks like Disney’s Maui. Pictures on his Facebook page reveal that he has dressed as the character before—complete with a tooth necklace, grass skirt, and fish hook.
He told HawaiiNewsNow, “I’ve grown out my hair just to try something different and then after the movie, I was like, ‘Wow, I kinda look like that guy.'” Rivera also noted that “Will […] does character appearances as Maui for parties and previously at Aulani Disney resort.”
Va’anna told HawaiiNewsNow the attention can be overwhelming, “but it’s cool just to see the kids smile. They light up, they come screaming. It’s awesome.”
As mentioned, Rivera’s video of Maui meeting the girls ultimately went viral, being viewed over 2 million times in the just past few weeks. In an interview with HawaiiNewsNow, Va’anna explains, “I’m not that great on phones honestly. I’m barely on social media. I came to work yesterday and everybody was like, ‘Eh, you went viral.’ I’m like, ‘Okay. What does that mean?'”
By all accounts, Va’anna’s perfectly content just making kids smile with an enthusiastic “chee-hoo!”
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