It’s been ten years since we first met Moana, and next week, Disney’s is debuting a live-action adaptation of the animated classic.
Breathing life into the story means putting a real face, and real Polynesian traditions front and center on the big screen.
I sat down with the new Moana, Catherine Laga’aia, in Oahu, Hawaii, about her journey to becoming Moana.
The 19-year-old Samoan Australian breakout star is making her feature film debut.
She’s bringing to life one of Disney’s most beloved animated characters: the adventurous voyager Moana.
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“It’s just so cool,” says Laga’aia.
Catherine was just nine years old when the first animated film hit theaters.
“To me, Moana was an icon,” says Laga’aia. “She was an idol.”
Hawaiian breakout star Auli’i Cravalho was also a teenager when she first voiced the role for not one, but two animated films. She’s now an executive producer on this live-action film.
Cravalho is an only child who says she now gets a sister.
“This is a sisterhood,” says Laga’aia.
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And now, Laga’aia is bringing the iconic original soundtrack famously written by Broadway legend Lin-Manuel Miranda to live action.
“I know this music like the back of my hand,” says Laga’aia. “I couldn’t forget it if I tried.”
Of working with Miranda, she says: “That was insane. Getting to work with theater legends Tommy Kail, Alex Lacamoire and Lin-Manuel Miranda, you know they’re only going to produce greatness. I was very excited to work with them.”
Miranda wrote a brand new song for this film called “Along the Way,” which features Catherine alongside Auli’i, and their demigod Maui, played by Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson.
“It’s like knighting the next generation with the same passion and feeling and fervor,” says Laga’aia.
Moana is in theaters on July 10.
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