Moana is an upcoming 2016 American 3D computer-animated musical fantasy adventure film produced by Walt Disney Animation Studios and the 56th film in Disney’s animated features canon. The film is being directed by Ron Clements and John Musker. Auli’i Cravalho and Dwayne Johnson provide the lead voices. It is scheduled to be released by Walt Disney Pictures on November 23, 2016
In ancient Oceania, in the South Pacific, the young Moana, a born navigator, sets sail in search of a fabled island. During her journey, she teams up with her hero, the legendary demi-god Maui
After directing The Princess and the Frog, Clements and Musker started working on an adaptation of Terry Pratchett’s Mort, but rights problems prevented them from continuing with the project. To avoid similar problems, they pitched three new ideas, and in 2011 started developing the film based on an original idea.
Moana will be Clements and Musker’s first entirely computer-animated film. One of the reasons to use the computer animation was that the environment, including the ocean, benefited more from the CG instead of a two-dimensional technique. They also found that the three-dimensional characteristic of computer animation is naturally good at generating sculpted faces of the people of the South Pacific.
Taika Waititi was writing the script for the film. Eric Goldberg worked on the animation. The film will feature music by Opetaia Foaʻi, Mark Mancina, and Lin-Manuel Miranda.
Pop star and Fifth Harmony’s member Dinah Jane Hansen was an early contender for the role of Moana. However, it was eventually announced that the role would go to 14-year-old high school freshman Auliʻi Cravalho, who will voice the lead character of Moana Waialiki, a young girl who sets sail with Maui
