‘Moana’ Trailer: Disney Sets Sail for the South Pacific
As promised, Disney has debuted the first official trailer for Moana, the studio’s new musical adventure featuring the voices of Dwayne Johnson as a demi-god — as if you could cast him any other way. The Rock already played Hercules, now he plays a guy who kind of looks and sounds like Hercules’ South Pacific cousin Maui, who boasts of his great deeds, his magical fish hook, and his apparently magical dancing tattoos.
Here’s the official synopsis:
Three thousand years ago, the greatest sailors in the world voyaged across the vast South Pacific, discovering the many islands of Oceania. But then, for a millennium, their voyages stopped – and no one today knows why. From Walt Disney Animation Studios comes Moana, a sweeping, CG-animated adventure about a spirited teenager who sails out on a daring mission to prove herself a master wayfinder and fulfill her ancestors’ unfinished quest. During her journey, Moana (voice of Auli’i Cravalho) meets the once-mighty demi-god Maui (voice of Dwayne Johnson), and together, they traverse the open ocean on an action-packed voyage, encountering enormous fiery creatures and impossible odds.
The animation in this trailer looks absolutely stunning; the characters are cartoonish, but the magic-hour sunlight and sparkling ocean waves are gorgeous. Plus Maui gets Johnson’s trademark eyebrow raise and he can turn into a bird like something out of a heavy metal album cover. So put us down as “excited.” for this one.
Moana was co-written by Taika Waititi (What We Do in the Shadows, Thor: Ragnarok) and features music by Lin-Manuel Miranda. The film also stars Alan Tudyk and Miranda’s Hamilton co-star Phillipa Soo, and hits theaters on November 23.