Singapore-born artist is behind Moana's hair

Vancouver-based Francis Leong helped make the hair and clothes of Moana 2's characters behave naturally in the hit film

- John Lui

You have seen his work in the cult comedy Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World (2010), Batman blockbuster The Dark Knight Rises (2012) and animation feature Spider-Man: Across The Spider-Verse (2023).

Born and raised in Singapore, Walt Disney Animation Studios artist Francis Leong can now be seen applying his craft in the animated musical Moana 2, currently showing in Singapore cinemas.

The way protagonist Moana's lustrous locks flutter in the sea breeze and how her skirt billows as she runs through the forest is down to the efforts of a team that includes Leong.

In live-action films, the Vancouver-based artist worked in visual effects. For animated projects such as Moana 2, he handles character effects, ensuring that the characters' hair, clothes and fur look and move as they should.

In an e-mail interview with The Straits Times, Leong, 41, explains that he helped make the hair and clothes of Moana 2's characters behave naturally while fitting within the film's artistic universe.

"Creating appealing shapes and silhouettes of a character's hair while maintaining the organic motion produced by physical simulation is a challenge in Disney's very stylised animated worlds," he says.