Disney's Moana is Cast! - Wordless Wednesday

So super excited to see that they got a new teen voice actress from Hawaii for the title role in Disney's upcoming animated feature, Moana!  14-year-old Auli'i Carvalho's debut film will be Walt Disney Animation's 56th --check out the announcement video below.



Due to release November 23, 2016, we finally got more official information about film at the official Disney expo/convention D23. The following description from the panel is from Disney's Insider Blog:
"Moana is a young woman who sets off to discover her destiny on the open ocean. She encounters a demigod named Maui (voiced by Dwayne Johnson, otherwise known as The Rock) and battles ancient creatures, including an incredible character made out of molten lava. Oh, and she has a couple of adorable sidekicks in the form of a pig name Pau and an uppity rooster name Hei-Hei. It’s a story that’s totally new and yet utterly timeless, and the presentation, which included a pair of animated sequences (including one where Maui recounts his epic past and another where a young Moana wades into the ocean, who plays back with her), left us speechless (and a little weepy). After the presentation, there was a musical number from the film (composed by the team of Tony-winner Lin-Manuel Miranda, composer Mark Mancina (The Lion King) and Opetaia Foa’i (founder and lead singer of the world music award-winning band Te Vaka)."
The directors, John Musker and Ron Clements, have previously worked on beloved Disney films such as The Little Mermaid, Aladdin, and The Princess and the Frog.  Excited yet?  I can't wait for a full trailer.  You can read more and see some exclusive images in this people.com article as well.

Obviously, the title role in a Disney animated feature would catapult whoever got selected onto Hollywood's radar (especially if they did a spectacular job), so I'm glad Disney chose to highlight an actress of Polynesian descent (like Moana herself).  I honestly don't think ethnicity should be that much of an issue in voice acting in animation (it's animation, you don't see the actors). In my opinion, Caucasian actress Daveigh Chase did a great job as Lilo (presumably Native Hawaiian, I don't recall it being stated) in Disney's Lilo & Stitch. However, there are not often many opportunities or roles available for Native Hawaiian or Polynesian actresses, so due to this, I really applaud Disney for Cravalho's casting. 

What yet-to-be-released animated films have you excited and why?  Let me know in the comments!
[Edit: Added more info!]

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