Moana Hugging Pua With Heihei on Top coloring page

About this coloring page

Moana, Pua and Heihei make for one of Disney's funniest sidekick lineups. Pua is a sweet and loyal little pig, and Heihei is a clueless rooster who stumbles into trouble without ever noticing. They might look like typical cartoon pets, but both connect to real Polynesian history.

When ancient Polynesian voyagers set out for new islands, they did not travel alone. Their big canoes carried pigs, chickens and dogs, along with plants like coconut, taro and banana. That way they could raise animals and grow food on islands where none of those things existed yet.

Pigs were a source of meat and were especially prized at important feasts. Chickens provided eggs and feathers, which were used for decoration. Today, scientists study the bones and DNA of these animals to trace the routes those early voyagers took across the Pacific.

So it makes sense that Moana has a pig and a rooster by her side. In the movie, Pua stays home on the island while Heihei ends up stowing away on the canoe, just like the animals that rode along on real ocean journeys long ago.

• moana
• pua
• heihei
• disney princess
• animals