On Oct. 7, 2015, Disney revealed more details on its newest princess, Moana.
And, as expected, the Interwebs shook with joy.
Meet Moana and Maui. @DisneyAnimation
The film aptly titled "Moana," of course follows its leading gal on her search for a fabled island in the South Pacific, as E! News reported. It's set to be released in theaters Nov. 2016. *marks calendar*
Disney also introduced the world to the real girl who's bringing Moana to life on screen, 14-year-old Auli'i Cravalho.
In about a year, Cravalho's voice will be filling up theaters around the globe.
GIFs via Disney.
The film has already landed Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson (who better suited to portray a demigod named Maui in the film than he?), who shared how thrilled he was about Cravalho's casting on Instagram.
As Johnson explained above, Cravalho has virtually no big-time acting experience and was discovered by a casting agent in Oahu when she was singing at a charity competition. She went from an everyday teen to the buzz of the Internet overnight.
Maybe the coolest thing about Cravalho, though? She's actually Hawaiian.
To find Moana, Disney auditioned hundreds of girls throughout the Pacific Islands before deciding Cravalho who is native Hawaiian was the "perfect match."
I didn't think I would have a chance," Cravalho said. When I was little, I used to dance around the house singing at the top of my lungs. In my mind, that was performing, and I loved the feeling of it. But I never imagined being in a Disney movie, being Moana representing my culture in that way."
It's worth celebrating when films cast people of color as characters of color. Because, oddly enough, that doesn't happen nearly as often as it should.
If you haven't heard of it, there's this thing Hollywood does called whitewashing, where characters that should be played by actors of color end up being played by white actors instead.
And film studios have been doing this for quite some time now. Remember when Elizabeth Taylor played Egyptian pharaoh Cleopatra? Or when Jake Gyllenhaal portrayed the Prince of Persia? Yup.
.@auliicravalho finds her way as the voice of Disney
