LOS ANGELES – October 7, 2015 –(UPI) — Disney has announced Hawaiian actress Auli’i Cravalho, 14, will be the voice of the newest princess.
The Oahu native will voice Moana in the upcoming film of the same name after being discovered by a Disney casting agent at a charity competition. She will star opposite Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson in the animated flick set for release next year.
“From baby time to now, I wanted to be a Disney princess and then I wanted to be a singer or an actress,” Cravalho told People in an interview published Wednesday. At first, she felt she didn’t have a chance at landing the Moana role, but was pleasantly surprised when she was singled out over hundreds of other hopefuls by directors Ron Clements and John Musker.
“Moana is such an amazing character,” the young actress said. “She’s brave, she is so empowered, she knows what she wants and she’s not afraid to get it, and I think that’s something that I can relate to as well.”
Disney’s Moana is scheduled to hit theaters Nov. 23, 2016.
