The Eight-Eyed Bats are characters that are featured in the 2016 Disney animated feature film, Moana.
Background[]
The eight-eyed bats, as their names imply, are bat monsters who live in the underwater realm of Lalotai. Hence their name, they are large monstrous bats that have more than two eyes that have gray skin all around their bodies. They show a hostile personality to those whom they encounter, showing that they have a dislike against humans who enter the realm of Lalotai. They are also capable of flying, like all bats do in real life. However, despite their name, they actually have six eyes instead of eight.
Appearances[]
Moana[]
Prior to physically appearing, an eight-eyed bat was featured in the background as tapa clothing during Gramma Tala's story.
An eight-eyed bat first appears during the "You're Welcome" musical sequence where Maui fights against it and wraps it into the form of a basketball and dunks it into another monster's mouth. Later when Maui and Moana enter Lalotai together, Moana encounters a flock of eight-eyed bats after escaping from a frog monster that was consumed by a carnivorous plant where Moana sees a flock of them flying in the background which the bats furiously fly towards Moana as they attempt to kill her only for Moana to duck to avoid getting hit just as she hides behind some life-sized barnacles. The bats are later seen flying past a giant spiky creature which walks past by the bats just before Moana encounters a sloth monster.
Deleted scene[]
There was a deleted scene an earlier version of Moana during the part where they arrive at Lalotai, Moana and Maui enter the lair. As Moana tries to catch up with Maui, the two encounter an eight-eyed bat sleeping upside-down. As Maui tries to sneak past, he accidentally wakes up the bat which Moana tries to back away from the bat which it goes back to sleep all of a sudden. As Moana tasks Maui to follow her lead, the bat suddenly wakes up while Maui follows her as the two both use potteries used as horns, irritating the bat. The eight-eyed bat descends down, pursues Moana and attempts to attack her and eat her. Maui then throws a pottery at a stalactite, distracting the bat and finally losing it, just as they continue exploring Lalotai together. Had this been in the final version of the film, this would have been the first time an eight-eyed bat would have played a major part in the film.
Other appearances[]
- An emoticon version of an eight-eyed bat appears in the Moana installment as part of the As Told by Emoji series. It is the third monster that Moana encounters in the installment after the frog monster and the sloth monster.
- An eight-eyed bat was an unlockable character in the discontinued Disney Crossy Road game during the second Moana-themed Weekend Challenge where it was placed as the second milestone prize. If the player moves backwards or remains idle in the Moana hub, a larger eight-eyed bat captures the player, ending their game.
Trivia[]
- The eight-eyed bats originate from Hawaiian folklore in the original myth centered around Maui. In the original myth, Maui fought an eight-eyed bat to rescue his wife.
External links[]
