She’s adorable, inspiring, and the youngest Disney Princess to grace the big screen. Walt Disney Studios is introducing 16-year-old (her birthday was yesterday!) Auli’i Cravalho to the big screen in Moana.  Auli’i Cravalho interview. 

I’ve already told you my review about this movie, you’ve seen bits of my interview with Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson and Lin-Manuel Miranda. Now to let you in on how our Auli’i Cravalho interview went.

I was excited to meet Auli’i because in her videos she seems so bubbly and sweet. I had a few questions for her and was excited to hear everything she had to say.

On culture

I told her how proud I was for her and her culture after watching the film and wanted to know what that was like from her perspective.

Q: How does it feel for you and how do you think everyone’s gonna react to it?
A: I’ll admit, I was a little wary before I got put into this role. Because I think anyone who hears that a movie’s going to inspired by their culture, they want it to be done right. And we don’t want any misrepresentation, we want to make sure that what we feel our culture’s about, that it’s portrayed correctly on the screen.

Auli’i said she loved how Disney did their research and paid close attention to details.

“That every single component, whether it was just a small little dancing scene in there, that was choreographed by a Polynesian dancer,” she said. “But just the little details, even just listening to the palm trees swaying in the background, that they got all of that. Because that’s what it’s about, it’s in the fine details that I think make just the large production that much more special.”

On finding your way

I have a 6-year-old daughter who is in love with Disney princesses and decoding the messages within the story. In her own words Moana is about “following your heart.” Beyond that I think it’s about following your path in live, and discovering what you were born to do. The story behind Auli’i and Disney crossing paths is pretty inspiring. She didn’t audition at first when she heard about the casting call because she didn’t think she had a chance. So I asked her what advice she has for kids in this regard.

Q : What advice do you have for kids trying to find their way?
A: I put myself down. I thought, you know what, it’s fine. What could I possibly give that the directors haven’t already seen? But happened. And I thought to myself, why don’t I just try?  I hope that anyone else just goes out on that limb because they don’t know what life has in store for them. And please, please don’t put yourself down. Because there is so much more potential than you even know.

Wise words from a talented and beautiful young lady who surely has so much more of her gift to share with the world. I’ve seen it three times and my kids can’t wait to see it a second this weekend when we bring their daddy along. Moana is now in theater’s everywhere!

More about the film

From Walt Disney Animation Studios comes Moana: A sweeping, CG-animated feature film about an adventurous teenager. She sails out on a daring mission to save her people. During her journey, Moana (voice of Auli‘i Cravalho) meets the mighty demigod Maui (voice of Dwayne Johnson). He guides her in her quest to become a master wayfinder.

Together, they sail across the open ocean on an action-packed voyage, encountering enormous monsters and impossible odds. Along the way, Moana fulfills the ancient quest of her ancestors and discovers the one thing she’s always sought: her own identity.

Voice Cast: Auli‘i Cravalho, Dwayne Johnson, Jemaine Clement, Rachel House, Temuera Morrison, Nicole Scherzinger, Alan Tudyk.

Find out more by following the hashtag #MoanaEvent on Facebook and Twitter.

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Tags: Auli'i Cravalho, disney, Moana