Mililani teen is Disney princess in ‘Moana’

Auli‘i Cravalho’s starring role in Disney’s upcoming animated film “Moana” has made her a budding celebrity, but it didn’t get her out having to study for a big test in her Advanced Placement world history class at Kamehameha Schools-Kapalama.

And that is the heart of Cravalho’s charm: Even at 14, she’s disarmingly real.

At her first press conference Monday, the Mililani teen told a room full of reporters at Disney’s Aulani resort in Ko Olina that she’s thrilled to be providing the voice for Moana, a young navigator in a story set 3,000 years ago.

“She’s someone you can root for,” Cravalho said in an interview after the press conference. “She’s very determined. There is a part of her that is naive and so sweet. There is a part of her where she is not certain and I think that keeps her real.”

Cravalho was selected from hundreds of young women who auditioned, and the film’s directors, John Musker and Ron Clements, both on hand at the press conference, said they could not have been happier. The Hawaii girl was among the last who sought the part.

“She’s the youngest lead actress we’ve worked with, but she is really remarkable in a lot of ways,” Clements said in an interview. “She feels a lot older. She seems very smart and very mature and very grounded.”

Cravalho, who is a sophomore at Kamehameha, took her new-found celebrity in stride as she handled interviews for the first time.

“It’s a little bit overwhelming, I’ll admit, but I’m really excited and happy,” she said, amid praise that she was fearless and perfect for the part of a young navigator in ancient Oceania.

“I try not to let it get to my head. I don’t want to be big-headed. I got this wonderful opportunity for being myself.”

According to Disney, Moana is “a spirited teenager on an impossible mission to fulfill her ancestors’ quest.” Against the wishes of her father, a chief, she sets sail for a fabled island. During her journey, Moana teams up with the demigod Maui, and together they encounter “enormous sea creatures, breathtaking underworlds and ancient folklore.”

Maui will be played by Hollywood heavyweight Dwayne Johnson, who spent part of his youth in Hawaii.

Cravalho has already done several recording sessions, including a long day on Saturday. The directors plan to arrange the recordings around the teenager’s school schedule, working on weekends and during school breaks. (She took that world history test Sunday.)

She said she’s had a blast working with the directors, who bring a wealth of experience to the movie. Musker and Clements have worked together on several films, including “The Little Mermaid,” “The Princess and the Frog” and “Aladdin.”

“They are constantly talking,” Cravalho said, grinning. “One will start a thought and the other will finish it. They both mean well. They are always adding to each other’s stories.”

During the press conference, the directors screened early footage from the movie, including a scene with Maui, whose body is covered with tattoos that sometimes move, and a scene in which the ocean comes to life and plays with a young Moana.

Musker said the filmmakers started thinking about how they could tell a Polynesian story in early 2011 and pitched it to John Lasseter, Disney’s chief creative officer. Lasseter told them to focus the story more, and that sent the directors on a research trip to Fiji, Samoa and Tahiti, where they learned about wayfinding — the practice of navigating by using the stars, ocean currents and other natural features as guides.

By early 2012 their pitch was successful, in part because they ditched a romantic subplot to focus on navigation, Musker said. They knew they had an adventure, too.

“The South Pacific was the source of the greatest voyagers the world has ever seen,” Musker said. “They found their way across great oceans, from west to east, the greatest act of navigation the world has ever seen.”

“Moana” is set around the period of migration from Southeast Asia and New Guinea west to the remote islands of Oceania.

Finding the right Moana took about a year. They wanted someone who would be able to act as well as sing. In Cravalho, they found a newcomer who could do both, despite no professional training outside of her school glee club.

“We were almost at the end of our rope,” Musker said.

On top of that, Cravalho had not initially auditioned. She was recommended by a casting director. When the directors saw her in person, they were smitten.

“She was so sweet and so honest,” Musker said. “There is almost a storybook quality to the way this worked out.”

“Moana” is expected to be released in November 2016.