Disney has already done traditional superheroes with Big Hero 6, now it’s time for a more mythical approach. The trailer for Moana just dropped last night, giving us our first real look at Dwayne “No Longer The Rock In Title Sequences” Johnson as the Polynesian demigod. Maui is a popular figure in South Pacific cultures, using his mighty hook to rip the sun out of the sky or islands out of the ocean. In the trailer, he even transforms into an eagle. If Johnson call pull off the herculean task of portraying someone so powerful in a Disney movie, we might actually start referring to him as an actor instead of a wrestler turned actor.
In the trailer, we also see newcomer Auli’i Cravalho as Moana, a 16-year-old girl on a mission to finish her ancestors’ quest. Like all Disney “princesses” of the last decade, she will be a kick-ass fighter who can handle trouble on her own. She can throw a spear and fish with the best of them. She’s got her pet pig Pua, who is actually Maui in disguise, helping her along in this journey.
Disney has been on a roll recently, with Zootopia grossing over one billion dollars worldwide . In order to keep this gravy train going, the animation studio needs to keep innovating, which Moana looks like it might do.
Still, Moana might be among Disney’s most ambitious films to date.The 3D animation style mixed with the 2D animation of Maui's tattoos blends perfectly well together, allowing Disney to still use some of it’s traditional methods while still moving head first into the future of drawing pretty stuff. Disney already taught me everything I know about Hawaii in Lilo and Stitch, though knowing Ohana means family probably won’t help me in this new movie.
Get ready for Moana this Thanksgiving, November 23.
