Disney has officially announced their next princess, Moana, "a born navigator, sets sail in search of a fabled island and teams with legendary demigod Maui to traverse the open ocean on an action-packed voyage." She will be voiced by fourteen-year-old actress Auli'i Cravalho, a native of Oahu.
The crowning of a new Disney princess is always a great time for fans. Over the last decade, we have been graced with a few new princesses to the Disney club, including Elsa and Anna, Tiana and Rapunzel. There is nothing that fuels excitement in children like a new Disney movie, and we now have our next official Disney princess.
Cravalho told People.com a little about herself, saying, "From baby time to now, I wanted to be a Disney Princess and then I wanted to be a singer or an actress. Moana is such an amazing character." Disney's newest princess movie will be set in an ancient South Pacific world called Oceania, and will also take place on the water. Cravalho talked a minute about what Moana is like, saying, "She's brave, she is empowered, she knows what she wants and she's not afraid to get it, and I think that's something that I can relate to as well. I just love watching how she goes along in this wonderful movie and grows as a person and helps her culture along the way."
Moana is a film that will follow in a string of Disney films that focus on a culture, allowing children to embrace an area of the world and a people that they otherwise would have a hard time learning about. We first saw this with Princess and the Frog, allowing viewers to experience life in New Orleans and Cajun lifestyles. This is a shift from the previous films that Disney makes that set their characters in far away kingdoms and fairytale lands.
Cast as the demigod Maui is Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, a human raised by the gods. He told the audience at the Disney fan expo, "This is my heritage," according to Entertainment Weekly.
Taking over the music writing for the film is Disney veteran, John Musker (The Little Mermaid) and Ron Clements.
Check out a video, courtesy of Disney Animation Studios, of Cravalho getting the role:
Be sure to vote for your favorite celebrities at the 2015 MT Buzz Awards. If you share your vote on Twitter, using #MTBuzzys, then you will be automatically entered in our contest to win a $25 Amazon gift card.
