What’s a Disney movie without a good ol’ sing-a-long? Earlier in the year, the House of Mouse had moviegoers enthralled by the bear necessities and Jon Favreau’s redo of The Jungle Book, but a new adventure is looming over the horizon, and it involves a trip to the wondrous paradise of Oceania.
We are, of course, referring to Moana, the all-new animation hailing from The Little Mermaid dream team, Ron Clements and John Musker. Anchoring the coming-of-age tale is the dynamic between Moana (newcomer Auli’i Cravalho) and Maui, a boisterous, larger-than-life demigod brought to life by Dwayne Johnson. He’s the arrogant companion to Cravalho’s wide-eyed explorer. How do we know? Well, because he’s even got his own self-aggrandizing song to prove it, aptly titled “You’re Welcome.” Penned by musical maestro Lin-Manuel Miranda (Hamilton), you’ll be able to hear Johnson belt out the original tune via the clip above.
Joining Cravalho and Johnson for the Pacific quest are Temuera Morrison as Moana’s father, Chief Tui – a father who essentially wraps out title heroine in cotton wool – and Nicole Scherzinger as Moana’s mother, Sina. Meanwhile, Rogue One star Alan Tudyk lends his voice to Heihei, the clumsy village idiot among the quaint Polynesian settlement.
Moana sets sails on November 23. Clements and Musker’s adventure will then make its way across the pond in time for its UK release on December 2.
Inexplicably drawn to the ocean, Moana (voice of Auliʻi Cravalho) convinces the mighty demigod Maui (voice of Dwayne Johnson) to join her mission, and he reluctantly helps her become a wayfinder like her ancestors who sailed before her. Together, they voyage across the open ocean on an action-packed adventure, encountering enormous monsters and impossible odds, and along the way, Moana fulfills her quest and discovers the one thing she’s always sought: her own identity.
