D23 Expo Wows with Pacific Islander Epic Moana
Legendary Disney directors John Musker and Ron Clements (The Little Mermaid, Aladdin, The Princess and the Frog) revealed their latest feature about a young woman striving to honor her heritage by returning to her people’s roots and navigating the turbulent oceans in Moana.
Making a surprise appearance, Dwayne Johnson (Furious 7, San Andreas, HBO’s Ballers) energized the crowd with his towering presence and divulged info on his character, the boastful and powerful demi-god Maui. Based on Polynesian legend and traditions, Musker and Clements intend to showcase the beauty and proud history of the Oceanic cultures in their film.
To fully immerse the Expo audience into the world of Moana, Musker and Clements introduced renown musician Opetaia Foa’i (founder and lead singer of Te Vaka), who will provide traditional Oceanic music within the film, in addition to Tony® Award winning singer Lin-Manuel Miranda and Grammy® winning composer Mark Mancina. The presentation concluded with an amazing musical performance by Te Vaka complete with traditional dancing.
Given how impressive and epic in scale the test footage appeared in the exclusive screening for D23 attendees, Moana will quickly become another feather in the cap for Walt Disney Animation Studios.
Moana will be in theaters November 23 2016.
Be sure to follow @ProjectFandom on Twitter this weekend for D23 Expo updates and exclusive content!
Courtesy: Disney/Pixar/Getty Images
