Not too long ago I was lucky enough to attend the press conference for Disney’s latest work, Moana. This new adventure takes place in the Pacific Islands, a colorful place filled with the culture that is beautifully represented in the film.
While I attended, I gather a few fun facts about the movie itself, here are Five Fun Facts About Moana:
1. Lin-Manuel Miranda won a dance competition in New Zealand upon meeting the crew of Moana.
Director John Musker spoke about the Pacifica Music Festival and how that inspired the soundtrack to Disney’s Moana. Shortly after that, Lin-Manuel Miranda stated there was a dance competition during the festival, adding ” Luckily Puerto Ricans can shake their hips, too. ”
2. The voice of Moana, Auli’i Cravalho, grew up in Hawaii where Polynesian mythology is part of their curriculum.
During the press conference, Auli’i stated ” I am deeply rooted to my culture. I actually go to an all-Hawaiian school where the mythology and folklore of Maui ( voiced by Dwayne Johnson ) is in our curriculum, and I’ve listened to his stories at bedtime.
3. Lin-Manuel Miranda watched videos from Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson’s WWE days to get a good sense of what his vocal range would be for the Moana soundtrack.
Lin stated ” I went to Youtube where all the answers lie, and you know, I’m a big fan of his wrestling days. There was a time during his heel turn era where he would pull out a guitar and taunt whatever town he was in, singing things like ‘ can’t wait to get out of Chicago. ‘ And so I got a really good sense of what his vocal range would be from those 10-minute videos and went on to write the lyrics for his songs. ”
4. Auli’i Cravalho’s mother has a speaking role in Moana.
While discussing the difficulties for Auli’i to emphasize her character’s relationship with her grandmother in Moana, it was noted that her mother had a line in the film. Stating ” Her mother plays the woman with the coconuts who brings up the problems about the island, but says ‘She’s doing great,’ which is how she really feels about her daughter’s role. ” So keep an eye out for that when you see the film for yourselves.
5. Of all the movies that drew inspiration towards the creation of Moana, The Lion King was the biggest.
Later into the press conference, directors Ron Clements and John Musker stated ” We were inspired by the way The Lion King wove music together from languages other than English. ”
Disney’s Moana is slated to hit theaters November 23rd on Wednesday and has the potential to be a fun night out with the family.
Until Next Time
JJ King sd
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