The film stars Dwayne Johnson (HBO’s “Ballers”, “Central Intelligence”) as the demigod Maui and newcomer Auli’i Cravalho voices the title character, Moana. The project is in the hands of long-time Disney Animation collaborators John Musker and Ron Clements, who are both directing Moana, and have previously helmed the likes of The Little Mermaid and Aladdin.
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Although Moana is a fantastical adventure, Disney Animation took great pains to ensure the film would depict the South Pacific authentically and respectfully. The film also features the voices of Jemaine Clement, Rachel House, Temuera Morrison, and Nicole Scherzinger, and music by Lin-Manuel Miranda, Mark Mancina, and Opetaia Foa’i. As their history suggests, ancestors who roamed and explored the seas for three thousand year suddenly stopped, and no one knows why. During her journey, Moana (voice of Auli’i Cravalho) meets the once-mighty demigod Maui (voice of Dwayne Johnson), who guides her in her quest to become a master wayfinder. It’s a tried-and-true blueprint that’s done gangbusters for Disney in animated movies like Tangled, Frozen, and even this year’s Zootopia (minus the musical element)-and now it looks like it’ll be the same operating principle behind Moana, the studio’s splashiest fall release.
“Moana” hits United Kingdom cinemas just in time for Christmas on 2 December, with the U.S. getting it a few weeks earlier on 23 November.
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Moana arrives in theaters November 23. During her incredible journey, she teams up with her hero, the legendary demi-god Maui, to traverse the open ocean on an action-packed voyage, encountering enormous sea creatures, breathtaking underworlds and ancient folklore.
