Deleted 'Moana' reveals Maui was bald — and the heroine had six brothers 

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Deleted \'Moana\' reveals Maui was bald — and the heroine had six brothers

Maui wound up with flowing locks for Polynesian authenticity.

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Deleted 'Moana' reveals Maui was bald — and the heroine had six brothers

Bryan Alexander , USA TODAY Published 2:23 p.m. ET Feb. 12, 2017 |

An adventurous teenager sails out on a daring mission to save her people. Joining her on the adventure is her hero, the legendary demigod Maui.

Maui started out bald (often with face tattoos) in \'Moana.\'

Once upon a time, the demigod Maui did not have the beautiful locks of hair he proudly flouts in Disney\'s

Concept art shows Maui (voiced by Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson) as a bald hero, often with face tattoos. The hairless sketches are revealed here at usatoday.com as

Directors Ron Clements and John Musker point out that Maui\'s perfect head of hair was one of many key changes to the story that occurred during the five-year process of bringing

Exclusive images: Unseen \'Moana\' characters, plus a bald Maui

Early art from \'Moana\' reveals that the demigod hero voiced by Dwayne Johnson was originally bald. The sketches are being shared exclusively at usatoday.com before the movie arrives in home digital release Feb. 21. 

Maui (voiced by Dwayne Johnson) had long hair in the hit holiday film. \'Moana\' is nominated for best animated feature at the Oscars. 

Maui started out bald (often with face tattoos) in \'Moana.\' 

Maui lost the face tattoos he wore in an early version of \'Moana\' to better show his facial expressions onscreen. 

Maui teams up with Moana to save the people of Motunui in \'Moana.\' 

Maui even had a topknot in many scenes, such as this moment in \'Moana.\' 

Moana (voiced by Auli\'i Cravalho) dodged an eight-eyed bat in early sketches. 

Moana (right) and her older brother in a sailing competition in an early version of \'Moana.\' 

Moana\'s older brother had screen time with Chief Tui in a previous incarnation of \'Moana.\' 

Moana\'s older brother in early versions of \'Moana.\' His younger sister was always the superior sailor. 

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Heroine Moana (Auli\'i Cravalho) also lost a brood of brother characters, while a villainous eight-eyed bat character had his screen time cut significantly. 

"It’s a long voyage making these movies. Sometimes, you go off course for a time," says Clements of story changes. "Maui was bald for so long that when we first saw him with hair, it was a little hard to wrap our brains around it. But now, I couldn’t imagine him bald. Hair was definitely the way to go."

Maui was bald like Rock in 'Moana,' but wound up with silky, expensive hair

While the bald look was appealing, Polynesian cultural advisers working with Disney pointed out that their legendary Maui\'s rich hair is crucial for his "mana" (spiritual energy). The directors decided to bring in the bodacious mop, requiring an expensive and time-consuming process to animate intricate, moving strands for the duration of a feature film.

In the end, both directors believe it\'s a much better Maui look.

"It helped with Maui\'s swagger and his narcissism a little bit with the way he flipped his hair," says Musker. The face tattoos were eliminated to better show Maui\'s facial expressions onscreen.

Abundance of quality animation means tough Oscar fight

The eight-eyed bat character, a hideous foe in Maui\'s mythology, was created as part of a group of supervillains (including a giant eel) who united and ganged up on the demigod in early story versions.

"And certainly an eight-eyed bat would be a natural for animation," says Clements. "We had an extended plan for that character."

Moana (voiced by Auli'i Cravalho) dodged an eight-eyed bat in early sketches.

But as the story condensed, the bat disappeared from all but fleeting scenes, such as when Maui turns him into a basketball during the song 

. A group of eight-eyed bats also flurries past Moana and Maui in their journey.

Family size, too, was cut down. The young heroine Moana wasn\'t always the only child seen onscreen. She had six brothers, including one brother who tormented her and another who was wise and supportive. In these versions, Moana was the best sailor among her brothers, but still overlooked by her father, Chief Tui.

"She got lost in the shuffle a little bit," says Musker, who says cutting those characters made the story simpler and more effective. "Like many things about animated films, the story just keeps evolving."

Moana (right) and her older brother in a sailing competition in an early version of 'Moana.'

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