Disney's "Moana" update! The animated film's casting directors have found the perfect actress to play Disney's first Polynesian Princess! This comes after the huge success of "Frozen," which set a $400 million box office gross in the U.S. alone.
Auili' Cravalho, a 14-year-old soprano from Oahu, Hawaii was recently chosen to voice Disney's newest Princess, "Moana," a fierce young girl set to fulfill her ancestor's quest.
Cravalho joins Dwayne Johnson in the Disney animated film, which is set to be released on Nov. 23 nextyear.
"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.com.
Holding on to that dream, when Cravalho found out about an audition for a Disney Animated film, the Oahu-born singer and actress wasted no time.
"I was getting through my freshman year, and there were already so many great submissions over YouTube," she said of her online audition.
"Moana is such an amazing character," says Cravalho of her Disney character. "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. I just love watching how she goes along in this wonderful movie and grows as a person and helps her culture along the way."
In recent "Moana" updates from Disney, it was revealed that the film will be the first explicitly female-centric Disney project there is, according to Forbes. Although the hugely successful animated film, "Frozen" had some feminist undertones, it was only after the movie was released that this came into focus.
Meanwhile, film critics are curious to see how Disney's "Moana" will fare in the box office and whether it would reach the "Frozen bump."
"I am very curious to see to what extent Walt Disney's next big female-centric fairy tale/fable adventure can do considering it's the first of its sort from the Mouse House since Frozen changed the game and created an unending merchandising bonanza," wrote Scott Mendelson for Forbes Magazine.
Will Disney's periodic updates on "Moana" and its year-long promotion for the film play well with fans and dethrone "Frozen"? Only time (and the box office records) will tell.
