Disney previews its new princess, Moana

(Walt Disney Pictures)


1 photo
Save Story
Leer en español

Estimated read time: 3-4 minutes

This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.

LOS ANGELES (CNN) — Watch out, Elsa and Anna!

The next Disney princess to travel on a voyage of self-discovery will be arriving next year, and the head honchos at Disney hope their Polynesian princess is as popular as the Snow Queen-inspired duo.

Moana's movie isn't scheduled to debut until late 2016, but Disney recently shared details at its industry expo in Anaheim. Here's what we know about her.

1. She's Polynesian!

Though she's not the first Disney princess to break out of the traditional fair-skinned mold (see Mulan, Tiana or the upcoming television series about Princess Elena of Avalor), she is the first Polynesian princess.

DISNEY NEWS: New art work released for #Disney's #Moana Say hi to Moana and her father, Chief Tui! pic.twitter.com/8RrxfxJOi1 — Daniel Gonzales (@dannyanimator) August 21, 2015

2\. She's got some sailing chops ===============================

Moana is a young woman with exceptional navigational ability who sets sail on a journey to find a legendary island in the region of Oceania.

3. She's got some cute friends

Joining her on the journey are her pet pig, Pug, and Hei Hei the rooster. Like Olaf in "Frozen" and Dory in "Finding Nemo," we'll count on them for assistance and comedic relief as Moana meets the evildoers who would stop her from succeeding.

4. The Rock will be her rock

Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson has been cast as the demigod Maui, who was born human but was raised by gods. "This is my heritage," an emotional Johnson told the audience at the Disney fan expo, according to Entertainment Weekly. "I am proudly half-Samoan and half-black."

[At DISNEY STUDIOS signing contracts to play the male lead in their next big classic animated musical, #MOANA. Just had an amazing 2hr presentation and it's easy to see why they're the greatest story tellers in the world. Im excited. And in the background my homies Fred & Wasabi from #BigHERO6 are jumpin' for joy joy cause they heard I'm gonna sing in the movie. #WeTrulyKnowWhereWereGoing #WhenWeUnderstandWhereWereFrom #NeverForgetHome #MOANA](https://instagram.com/p/08SDulIhz7/) A photo posted by therock (@therock) on

5\. The Rock will also sing ==========================

Johnson will go beyond his "Saturday Night Live" monologue bits to share his voice with all ages, Billboard reports. 'Nuff said.

The-CNN-Wire ™ & © 2015 Cable News Network, Inc., a Time Warner Company. All rights reserved.

Photos

Related stories

Most recent Family stories

Related topics

EntertainmentFamily
Katia Hetter

    STAY IN THE KNOW

    Get informative articles and interesting stories delivered to your inbox weekly. Subscribe to the KSL.com Trending 5.
    By subscribing, you acknowledge and agree to KSL.com's Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.

    KSL Weather Forecast