Disney is adding another princess to its rank. Princess Moana will bring diversity to Disney in more ways than one: The first Polynesian princess will also be the first Disney Princess to be voiced by a teenager.
Auli’I Cravalho, who is 14 years old, will provide the voice for 16-year-old Moana, whose dad in the movie will be voiced by Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson.
A piece by Vox outlined just how noteworthy Cravalho’s age is when it comes to princess history. According to the article, all those who have voiced previous princesses have been as young as 21 and as old as 37, not close in age to the young girls and teens they’re portraying.
Johnson celebrated the casting announcement by sharing the news on Instagram and adding a small anecdote as well.
His Instagram reads in part: “What’s amazing about this story is that she didn’t think she was good enough so she never auditioned. Fortunately, one of our Oahu casting agents discovered her singing at a charity competition and the rest is history. An awesome lesson to all young kids out there…work hard, have confidence in yourselves and never think you’re not good enough because you never know what the future holds.”
Needless to say, we’re looking forward to seeing the film!
Cover image courtesy of Vox.
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