Disney Have Found Their Newest Princess In Auli’i Cravalho

Disney has announced that they have cast their newest princess, Moana! 14 year old Auli’i Cravalho has been chosen as the voice of Moana in the upcoming film. Auli’i is a Native Hawaiian and was discovered while singing in a charity competition — which means she must have some pipes on her to get Disney’s attention! She didn’t think she had what it took for the part, so she didn’t audition until a local casting agent heard her in the competition and persuaded her to take part.

Dwayne Johnson was cast in the film earlier this year in the role of Maui, and he shared the casting news on his Instagram account yesterday:

 

IT’S OFFICIAL: After months and months of worldwide casting calls, we’ve finally found our next DISNEY Princess… #MOANA. I’m pumped to welcome 14yr old @AuliiCravalho of Mililani, Hawaii to our project. 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. Congratulations Auli’i! Can’t wait to work with you and watch you bring this new Disney Princess to life. #YesThatsMeOnTheRight #HisNameIsMaui #HesADemiGod #AndHePutsMoanaInHerPlace #SoHeThinks #DisneyAnimation #MOANA #TimeToSing

A photo posted by therock (@therock) on Oct 7, 2015 at 7:42am PDT

Check out the casting video released on the official Moana Facebook page, and make sure you mark your calendars for November 2016 for the film’s release!