This year has been AMAZING for movies and Disney isn’t done yet! The new Walt Disney Animation Studios’ movie MOANA comes out November 23rd, and we can’t wait! Check out this beautiful new MOANA poster that they just released. This movie has a beautiful story line and the graphics are stunning. I can’t wait to see it from start to finish with my family. My oldest girls need another great role model to look up to, and I know that MOANA will show them how important it is to be strong and brave.
Three thousand years ago, the greatest sailors in the world voyaged across the vast Pacific, discovering the many islands of Oceania. But then, for a millennium, their voyages stopped – and no one knows exactly why. From Walt Disney Animation Studios comes “Moana,” a sweeping, CG-animated feature film about an adventurous teenager who sails out on a daring mission to save her people. During her journey, Moana (voice of Auli‘i Cravalho) meets the mighty demigod Maui (voice of Dwayne Johnson), who guides her in her quest to become a master wayfinder. Together, they sail across the open ocean on an action-packed voyage, encountering enormous monsters and impossible odds, and along the way, Moana fulfills the ancient quest of her ancestors and discovers the one thing she’s always sought: her own identity. Directed by the renowned filmmaking team of Ron Clements and John Musker (“The Little Mermaid,” “Aladdin,” “The Princess & the Frog”), produced by Osnat Shurer (“Lifted,” “One Man Band”), and featuring music by Lin-Manuel Miranda, Mark Mancina and Opetaia Foa‘i, “Moana” sails into U.S. theaters on Nov. 23, 2016.
Watch the trailer for MOANA
Walt Disney Animation Studios’ new feature film “Moana” is about an adventurous teenager who, with help from demigod Maui, sails out on a daring mission to prove herself a master wayfinder and save her people.
Maui (voice of Dwayne Johnson) and Moana (voice of Auli‘i Cravalho) ©2016 Disney. All Rights Reserved.
Notes:
- Filmmakers auditioned hundreds of talented young women throughout the Pacific Islands before finding the gifted Native Hawaiian Auli‘i Cravalho, who did not initially pursue the coveted role. The film’s Hawai‘i-based casting director recalled her singing performance from a video submission for a fundraiser/talent showcase and asked Auli‘i to come in and try out. Three auditions later, including her first trip to Burbank, Calif., she earned the title role, thanks to raw talent.
- Dwayne Johnson stars in the critically acclaimed “Ballers” for HBO, directed by Peter Berg. Last year, he starred in the blockbusters “Furious 7” and “San Andreas.” Johnson appears in “Central Intelligence” opposite Kevin Hart for New Line, the big-screen adaptation of “Baywatch” and “Fast 8.”
- The diverse and dynamic team behind the film’s inspired music includes Tony®- and Grammy®-winning lyricist/composer Lin-Manuel Miranda, who’s behind Broadway’s Pulitzer Prize-winning and multiple Tony-winning “Hamilton” and the Tony-winning “In the Heights,” and is a 2015 MacArthur Foundation Award recipient. Three-time Grammy®-winning composer Mark Mancina created memorable scores for films like “Speed,” “Tarzan” and the Oscar®-winning “Training Day,” and also co-wrote songs, produced and arranged the score for Broadway’s musical production of “The Lion King.” Opetaia Foa‘i, the founder and lead singer of Te Vaka, is a winner of numerous world music awards, including the Senior Pacific Artist award for his contribution to Pacific music.
- Directors Ron Clements and John Musker made their writing-directing debut on the 1986 feature “The Great Mouse Detective.” They went on to write and direct some of Disney’s most beloved animated classics, including the undersea adventure “The Little Mermaid” in 1989, the hilarious hit “Aladdin” in 1992, 1997’s epic comedy “Hercules” and, most recently, 2009’s “The Princess and the Frog.”
- Producer Osnat Shurer served as the executive producer of the shorts group at Pixar Animation Studios, responsible for Pixar’s short films, as well as all DVD bonus materials. While at Pixar, Shurer produced or executive produced a host of hit shorts, including the Oscar®-nominated “Lifted” (2006), “One Man Band” (2005) and “Boundin’” (2003).
AULI‘I CRAVALHO lends her voice to the title character, MOANA, a teenager who dreams of becoming a master wayfinder. ©2016 Disney. All Rights Reserved.
DWAYNE JOHNSON (HBO’s “Ballers,” “Central Intelligence”) voices MAUI—half god, half mortal, all awesome. ©2016 Disney. All Rights Reserved.
PUA is Moana’s loyal pet pig with puppy energy and an innocent puppy brain. ©2016 Disney. All Rights Reserved.
TEMUERA MORRISON (“Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones,” “Once Were Warriors,” “Six Days, Seven Nights”) voices Moana’s father, CHIEF TUI, the gregarious and well-respected leader of the people of Motunui Island. NICOLE SCHERZINGER (Grammy®-nominated singer, West End’s “Cats”) voices Moana’s mother, SINA, who always has her daughter’s back. Playful, sharp and strong-willed, Sina appreciates Moana’s longing to be on the water, but also wants to protect her daughter from the fabled dangers beyond the reef. ©2016 Disney. All Rights Reserved.
ALAN TUDYK, Walt Disney Animation Studios’ lucky charm (“Zootopia,” “Wreck-It Ralph,” “Big Hero 6”), is behind the voice of HEIHEI, a dumb rooster who accidently stows away on Moana’s canoe. ©2016 Disney. All Rights Reserved.
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Visit the official MOANA website here: http://movies.disney.com/moana
Moana (voice of Auliʻi Cravalho) and Maui (voice of Dwayne Johnson) ©2016 Disney. All Rights Reserved.