After directing The Princess and the Frog, John Musker and Ron Clements tried to adapt Terry Pratchett's Mort, but could not get the film rights, so they pitched three original ideas. In 2011 Musker, reading about Polynesian mythology, learned of the demigod Māui and thought it would suit an animated film. In 2012 the pair travelled to Fiji, Samoa and Tahiti and met people of the South Pacific. Their research changed the story: they added a young chief's daughter, which became the lead role in Moana, released in 2016.

Hampi is a UNESCO World Heritage Site in Karnataka, India, with more than 1,600 surviving remains spread over 4,100 hectares. It was the capital of the Vijayanagara Empire from 1336 to 1565. Travellers from Persia and Portugal described it as a prosperous, wealthy and grand city with temples, markets and farms along the Tungabhadra River. By 1500 it was estimated to be the world's second-largest city after Beijing, and probably India's richest at the time. In 1565 a coalition of Muslim sultanates defeated the Vijayanagara Empire, its capital was conquered and destroyed, and the city was left in ruins. Hampi remains a religious centre, with the active Virupaksha Temple at its heart.