PACIFIC – Disney has withdrawn a children’s costume promoting its upcoming movie Moana, after it was accused of cultural appropriation.

The costume, a full-body suit featuring brown skin, traditional tattoos, a grass skirt and bone necklace is for the character Maui – considered a demi-god and reverred ancestor by many Polynesians.

Activists said it was promoting “brownface”.

Disney said it regretted the offence caused by the costume.

“The team behind Moana has taken great care to respect the cultures of the Pacific Islands that inspired the film, and we regret that the Maui costume has offended some,” it said in a statement.

“We sincerely apologise and are pulling the costume from our website and stores.”

Polynesian activists had accused entertainment giant Disney of promoting “brown face” with the dress-up costume which allowed children to dress up and pretend to be the tattooed, cartoon character Maui.

Before the costume was

withdrawn, the advertisement on the disneystore.com website promisedt that “your little one will set off on adventures in this Maui costume”.

Co-leader of New Zealand’s Maori Party Marama Fox, accused Disney of aiming to “make a profit off the back of another culture’s beliefs and history”.

“It’s no different to putting the image of one of our ancestors on a shower curtain or a beer bottle,” she told Fairfax Media.

On Twitter, @SamoaPlanet posed the question: “Is this cultural appropriation at its most offensive worst? BrownFace – or just a fun celebration of Pasifika?”

Others on social media described the faux-skin costume as “creepy” and called for its withdrawal.

The New Zealand Human Rights Commission called on Disney to take note.

“Right now Polynesian people from across the Pacific region are voicing their views about this costume and it’s their voices that are important right now,” it told the stuff.co.nz news website.

“We hope Disney listens to the views of the communities and people whose cultures their movie is based upon.”

However, the movie does have some defenders, including Madeleine Chapman, a New Zealand-based journalist of Samoan descent.

Writing on spinoff.co.nz, she admitted “my knee-jerk reaction was to recoil” upon first seeing the skin costume.

But she said she changed her mind after reflecting on the issue and discussing it with relatives.

“After years and years of seeing Samoan Spiderman and Maori Batman at little kids’ birthday parties, how incredible it would be to see white kids looking up to, and wanting to be, like the Polynesian hero in the movies?” she said.

It is not the first time Moana, a retelling of Polynesian mythology due for release later this year, has offended Pacific activists.

When a trailer was released in June, the Maui character voiced by Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson was slammed for being obese.

Critics said it “fat-shamed” Polynesians and reinforced stereotypes of the island nations, which have some of the world’s highest obesity rates.

- ABC/AFP