The line where the sky meets the sea is calling to the new “Moana.”
The first teaser trailer for the live-action Disney film released Monday features star Catherine Laga’aia singing a few lines of her character’s signature “I Want” song as the footage offers glimpses of the island and people of Motunui, the demigod Maui, the seafaring Kakamora and Moana’s clumsy rooster Heihei.
“I am a girl who loves my island and the girl who loves the sea,” Laga’aia as Moana sings in the opening moments of the trailer. “It calls me.”
Fans of the original animated movie will recognize the scene of a young Moana playing with the ocean after seeing a seashell on the shore. Speaking of the 2016 film, Dwayne Johnson, who voiced the shapeshifter demigod and hero of men in the animated “Moana,” will also portray the live-action version of the arrogant trickster. You’re welcome.
Directed by Thomas Kail, the live-action remake will follow Moana, who dreams of being a wayfinder and exploring the ocean. She leaves Motonui in search of Maui and the Heart of Te Fiti to help save her people.
In addition to Laga’aia and Johnson, the “Moana” cast includes John Tui as Moana’s father, Chief Tui; Frankie Adams as her mother, Sina; and Rena Owen as Gramma Tala.
The trailer ends with Laga’aia triumphantly singing, “I am Moana.”
The animated “Moana,” with Hawaiian actor Auliʻi Cravalho in the title role, grossed $643.3 million worldwide during its initial run. Its follow-up “Moana 2” was one of three films released in 2024 that crossed the $1-billion mark at the worldwide box office. Cravalho serves as one of the executive producers of the live-action film, along with Kail, Scott Sheldon and Charles Newirth.
The live-action “Moana” will hit theaters July 10.
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