Kicking ‘some serious butt’
Teen making movie debut in Moana talks about what makes this Disney princess so special
Hawaiian native Auli’i Cravalho is the voice of the latest Disney heroine in Moana, playing a 16-year-old who embarks on a perilous ocean journey against her father’s wishes to save her island and her people.
The Star spoke with Cravalho during a recent press tour for the film, which opens Nov. 23.
Let’s talk about how you got the role.
I definitely had an interesting audition process, which is probably different from many others. I wasn’t initially planning on auditioning for the role . . . I was focusing on my freshman year of high school. Schooling still is really important to me.
So, after seeing so many wonderful auditions on YouTube and having my friends try out, as fate would have it, my friends and I decided to audition for something separate. As a group, we auditioned to become the entertainment at a non-profit event . . . so, we put together an a cappella mash-up of great songs, dancing, acting, singing, the whole works.
We didn’t get in, but the woman who was going through those auditions, Rachel Sutton, is also the casting director for Disney. She saw our audition and asked if I wanted to audition for Moana and I said, “Yes.”
I’m still really happy I said “Yes.”
How would you describe the character of Moana?
Moana is a 16-year-old young woman and she’s strong and beautiful, inside and out, selfless, tenacious, bold. She’s the heroine of her own story, really, and she inspires me.
Something that’s kind of hit major media is that Moana doesn’t have a love interest. Insert gasp and shock. But in actuality, the main theme and message of Moana is the journey that she goes on . . . and the fact that she journeys to figure out who she is and to find herself. And she doesn’t need a love interest for that.
Do you see Moana as a role model?
I think Moana is an amazing role model. She’s an inspiration to me and to others as well, young women and young men. For young people in general, it’s so important that we figure out who we are. The world will change . . . but I really want to stress that we shouldn’t change ourselves; that’s something that’s so important and I think that’s something (people) will get from this film.
What’s your favourite Disney film?
Can I say Moana? I love Moana but, before this, my favourite film was Mulan (1998). I guess I’ve just kind of subconsciously loved heroines in Disney films and she really was one to me.
Mulan is strong and beautiful and bold and she broke a gender norm, I realized at a young age. She (Mulan) chose to . . . go to war for her family and she was selfless and she honoured her family like that.
And in Mulan II, she was like, “I don’t want to wear pointy shoes, I want to climb trees.” And so, I really connected with her and I think her and Moana would be pretty good friends. They both kick some serious butt.
What do you think of show business so far?
Showbiz is pretty cool. I’m not going to say that I’ve gotten used to the glitz and the glamour or Hollywood in general. I’m not used to this whole scene of being “famous,” I don’t see myself as that.
But it is really cool to meet wonderful people . . . and to travel around the world to these amazing places and also to be able to promote this film, which sort of promotes and inspires people to learn more about my culture. The Polynesian culture is incredible and I hope through this film, people are inspired to learn more about it.
Any thoughts about the future?
I love this industry and I love film and singing and acting.
But I’m still planning . . . on finishing high school. That’s really important to me. I’m also going to go to college and hopefully to continue in this industry.
I understood how difficult it was to get in, but now that I’m in, I don’t want to get out. I’m also interested in microbiology, as different of a career path as that might be. They both will take time and energy, but they’re both equally rewarding.