MOANA Teaser Trailer
A new Disney princess is coming our way in Moana, and it looks like she’s continuing Disney’s efforts to make their female characters more reflective of modern women. The film is about Moana’s adventure to find a fabled island, and while she’s accompanied by her pet pig and the demi-god Maui, it’s her skills as a navigator that allow the journey to take place. This teaser, sadly, focuses more on Maui than Moana. This could be due to Maui being voiced by Dwayne Johnson, who seems to be receiving top billing over newcomer Auli’i Cravalho as Moana. Still, we get an action shot of Moana, and the clip of Maui sets up a lot of mythology and a strong sense of humor very quickly.
The big news about Moana is that she’s Disney’s first Polynesian princess, and directors Ron Clements and John Musker have spoken about their efforts root the story in that culture. The plot takes directly from their research into the history of Polynesian exploration, and Moana’s journey is a direct extension of that history.
Clements and Musker were already responsible for two of Disney’s non-white princesses, Jasmine from Aladdin and Tiana from The Princess and the Frog, but Moana takes them into the CG realm for the first time. Small parts of the film will utilize hand-drawn animation, including the dancing tattoo on Maui that makes an appearance in the trailer, but the prevalence of water in this story (which is very difficult to animate) pushed them to make the jump.
The duo are, however, remaining true to Disney’s history of using show tunes. The music is co-written by Lin-Manuel Miranda, the man behind the Broadway hit Hamilton, along with Opetaia Foa’i and Mark Mancina.
This mix of old and new elements in Moana highlights the changes Disney has been undergoing of late. The ‘90s renaissance is long gone, but the lessons learned from that era along with the influence of Pixar and pressure for more progressive storylines have coalesced into films about bunnies fighting discrimination, princesses saving the day, and boys confronting tragedy. They’re a better studio for it, and Moana looks like it will fit in with the best of their offerings.
Moana is directed by Ron Clements and John Musker. It stars Dwayne Johnson and Auli’i Cravalho. It will be released in the U.S. on November 23rd, 2016 and in the U.K. on December 2nd, 2016. For international release dates, click here.
How do you think Moana will compare to other Disney films? Let us know in the comments!
Does content like this matter to you?
Become a Member and support film journalism. Unlock access to all of Film Inquiry`s great articles. Join a community of like-minded readers who are passionate about cinema - get access to our private members Network, give back to independent filmmakers, and more.
