'Moana' trailer shows Polynesian setting: Will it be Disney's new hit?

A trailer has arrived for the upcoming Disney animated film 'Moana,' which stars Auli'i Cravalho, Dwayne Johnson, Alan Tudyk, and Phillipa Soo. The movie will be released this November.

Studio Disney has released a trailer for their upcoming animated movie “Moana,” which stars Dwayne Johnson, Auli’i Cravalho, Alan Tudyk, and Phillipa Soo. 

“Moana” centers on a young girl who decides to look for a mysterious island and who is accompanied on this journey by the demigod Maui.

One of the people working on the music for the film is Lin-Manuel Miranda, who wrote, composed, and stars in the Tony Award-winning musical “Hamilton.”

Always a well-known name in the world of animation, Disney is currently coming off a string of smash hits, with the most recent being this year’s film “Zootopia.” The movie, which told the story of a rabbit police officer and fox criminal who must combine forces, was well-received by critics and is currently the fourth-highest-grossing film of the year domestically.

Other recent successes by the studio include the 2014 film “Big Hero 6,” 2012’s “Wreck-It Ralph,” and in particular 2013’s “Frozen,” which is now the highest-grossing animated movie of all time internationally. 

“Moana” looks like it could be another financial success for Disney with its Thanksgiving release date – apart from “Zootopia,” that’s when the studio’s past several movies have been released and Thanksgiving is usually seen as a time when a film aimed at all ages has a good chance of succeeding if it also receives positive reviews or has built-in awareness, as the name Disney does. (This will also be the first November in a few years that a new “Hunger Games” film has not been released, which leaves room for another film to dominate the Thanksgiving weekend. The “Hunger” series concluded this past Thanksgiving.) 

“Moana” also represents a move into new geographical territory for Disney. While the studio has stated in the past that its protagonists do not come from real-world areas, Moana is the first main character who hails from a Disney locale that is based on Polynesia. 

“Moana” is scheduled to come to theaters this November.