Moana

[Disney's Divinity]

Strange that they're not announcing the music team when they just confirmed---finally---that it's a musical

They wouldn't dare saddle them with Randy Newman again, would they? No... No, no, they wouldn't.

Pele? She's known through the legend of Hi'iaka as a volcano goddess.

I don't know if it's true or not, but I'd love Musker & Clement to finally give us another villainess. I doubt another villainess of theirs would match Ursula--especially in 3D--but I'd like to see them at least attempt it. Plus, I've been missing magical Disney villains.

The lead character is a tribal princess who is headstrong and musically talented

That doesn't sound familiar at all... Actually, a lot of this makes me wonder if Lasseter threw them in a direction to create something closer to TLM. The ocean as a character, headstrong and rebellious teenager princess who's vocally gifted, a possible villainess-goddess nemesis for Maui that stole his magic staff... Even the grandmother v. father dynamic sounds like the TLM tale, even if not present in the Disney version.

Anyway, this film better be as beautiful visually as I'm hoping it will be. I hope it's a success so M&C can still work at Disney if they want.

[DisneyFan09]

That doesn't sound familiar at all... Actually, a lot of this makes me wonder if Lasseter threw them in a direction to create something closer to TLM. The ocean as a character, headstrong and rebellious teenager princess who's vocally gifted, a possible villainess-goddess nemesis for Maui that stole his magic staff... Even the grandmother v. father dynamic sounds like the TLM tale, even if not present in the Disney version.

Not implausible at all. Although all the Princess films post 1989 have taken cues from "Mermaid", so it's safe to say that "Mermaid" is indeed influential. Several has said that Rapunzel's personality is exact as Ariel's (despite Rapunzel being blonde of course). "Brave" took indeed cues with Merida being a redhead and having a parent/child conflict. And what about "Frozen", being the second full-length feature based on a H.C. Andersen story and Anna having orange/strawberry blonde hair (which is close to a redhead)?

Well, at least Moana's emotional core will be her grandmother. While Disney has given grandmothers before, perhaps this will take that dynamic to a new level. Perhaps it could be like "Anastasia", where the Grandmother is a pivotal character.

[unprincess]

anyone notice theyve given their new female lead magic powers to control a natural element? Sound familiar? Guess this is gonna be their new gimmick with princess films now...

All the stuff with Maui being a demigod and him having an evil nemesis reminds me of Hercules. Im really curious about the villain, though I guess it wont be Pele. My guess is he will be male b/c they are very careful these days to balance the stuff that appeals to girls with stuff that will appeal to boys. Maui fighting a badadss male villain sounds like them trying to make sure those little/big brothers want to see the movie too.

[Disney's Divinity]

anyone notice theyve given their new female lead magic powers to control a natural element? Sound familiar? Guess this is gonna be their new gimmick with princess films now...

I didn't notice that. But, you know, I'm fine with it, tbh. It's nice for there to be a few heroines with powers rather than just the villains. Plus, water powers would be just as beautiful to look at as the snow in Frozen.

All the stuff with Maui being a demigod and him having an evil nemesis reminds me of Hercules.

I know you're talking about Hades as a nemesis figure, but something about Maui also reminds me of Phil. A washed-up figure who'd lost hope that the protagonist reinvigorates.

Im really curious about the villain, though I guess it wont be Pele.

Yeah, making a goddess one of the villains might be a little offensive, possibly? (I don't know.) Either way, the idea of a lava villainess probably got my hopes too high--I kept imagining a mixture of the Lava Titan in Hercules with Eris from Dreamworks' Sinbad.

But I can see the villain being male for the reasons you described, too. Almost every movie made under Lasseter seems to be very demo-focused that way.

[disneyprincess11]

Dinah Jane from Fifth Harmony might be the voice of Moana

http://holymolymeohmy25.tumblr.com/post ... y-princess

I'll be so disappointed in Disney if this is true. Millions of unknowns and they just choose a pop star (maybe)

[DisneyEra]

Dinah Jane from Fifth Harmony might be the voice of Moana

http://holymolymeohmy25.tumblr.com/post ... y-princess

I'll be so disappointed in Disney if this is true. Millions of unknowns and they just choose a pop star (maybe)

Wouldn't be the first time

[Disney's Divinity]

For now, I'll keep faith that M&C would choose based on how good they are. They did pass on Beyonce and Jennifer Hudson for Tiana, after all, so they aren't the type to be swayed. And, besides, she can't be worse than...

[disneyprincess11]

Wouldn't be the first time

Yeah, but she was an actress. Her voice fitted the character.

I'll be happy for Dinah if it's true, but this does NOT sound like a 14/16 yr old:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gVp0_m_cHaU

I won't judge Dinah just yet, but her voice is too mature for her. I do hope J&MC keeps choosing people on their talent like they usually do

[DisneyEra]

Wouldn't be the first time

Yeah, but she was an actress. Her voice fitted the character.

I'll be happy for Dinah if it's true, but this does NOT sound like a 14/16 yr old:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gVp0_m_cHaU

I won't judge Dinah just yet, but her voice is too mature for her. I do hope J&MC keeps choosing people on their talent like they usually do

I keep wondering how the auditions for these 2 went.

[DisneyJedi]

Dinah Jane from Fifth Harmony might be the voice of Moana

http://holymolymeohmy25.tumblr.com/post ... y-princess

I'll be so disappointed in Disney if this is true. Millions of unknowns and they just choose a pop star (maybe)

And they had Miley Cyrus (a pop star) voice Penny in Bolt, Rihanna (a pop star) voice Tip in Dreamworks's Home and Avril Lavigne (another pop star) voice Heather in Over the Hedge. What's your point?

[jazzflower92]

Don't believe ever rumour you hear on the internet because they tend to be hoaxes.

[disneyprincess11]

And they had Miley Cyrus (a pop star) voice Penny in Bolt, Rihanna (a pop star) voice Tip in Dreamworks's Home and Avril Lavigne (another pop star) voice Heather in Over the Hedge. What's your point?

My point is I don't want them to pick an actor/singer just because of his/her name. Dinah is very talented and I'm impressed that she's 17, but I don't know if the voice would be too strong for Moana.

And jazz: I don' believe it yet, but that post makes it pretty clear that she's Moana.

[Disney's Divinity]

And they had Miley Cyrus (a pop star) voice Penny in Bolt, Rihanna (a pop star) voice Tip in Dreamworks's Home and Avril Lavigne (another pop star) voice Heather in Over the Hedge. What's your point?

Considering all three of those were awful, I'm wondering what your point might be, too?

[jazzflower92]

As I said, why are people automatically assuming these rumors are true because sometimes these people are blowing hot air.

[estefan]

My rule of thumb is I don't believe movie news unless it comes from Variety, The Hollywood Reporter, the filmmakers themselves (like the director, writer or producer) or a press release from the studio. Any other source does not count as an official confirmation from me.

[disneyprincess11]

Did anyone notice at the Brazil Disney Expo, they used the fan made logo and not the real logo?

Also, if Dinah is Moana, why wasn’t she announced with the new synopsis while Dwayne was? Maybe Dinah isn’t cast as Moana yet. Maybe she’s just going through callbacks, which is why she’s hanging out with Dwayne and seeing an acting coach. She should be announced by now if they found the actress.

[Sotiris]

Did anyone notice at the Brazil Disney Expo, they used the fan made logo and not the real logo?

Yes. That's what you get when you don't release official logos on time. They needed a visual and they took the logo from the Internet without checking thinking it must be official. They also used fan-made logos for The Incredibles 2, Cars 3, and Frozen 2. Disney still hasn't released a high quality version of the Moana logo; there's just that very small, obscure image from Cinema-Con.

[DisneyEra]

Did anyone notice at the Brazil Disney Expo, they used the fan made logo and not the real logo?

Also, if Dinah is Moana, why wasn’t she announced with the new synopsis while Dwayne was? Maybe Dinah isn’t cast as Moana yet. Maybe she’s just going through callbacks, which is why she’s hanging out with Dwayne and seeing an acting coach. She should be announced by now if they found the actress.

The wait continues......

[Lady Cluck]

Disney isn't as hellbent on casting big name stars as DreamWorks, but they haven't really gone for unknowns for their lead females all that much anymore either. Anika Noni Rose, Mandy Moore, Kristen Bell, and Idina Menzel weren't exactly undiscovered talent, and all probably more well known as individuals than Dinah (especially in the industry).

Not that I'm necessarily rooting for Dinah to get the part, but I'll believe it when I see it and keep an open mind if it's announced. It doesn't seem like they want to cast different people for the speaking and singing parts of the same characters anymore either, and casting someone who fits the ethnic origin of the character is more important to the public nowadays, so she at least makes sense from that perspective.

[Candy-Bonita95]

I highly doubt they will cast Dinah right away after the open call has brought some good results (such as the two auditioning girls in the article above). Seriously, after giving over a thousand girls a chance, Disney would not instantaneously piss them off. While a professional teen actress would be a practical backup alternative, Dinah is not. She is part of a girl group busy with live performances. Disney would have to conjure a contract that wouldn't interfere with Dinah's music career.

But on the positive side, it really seems that Disney so far is sticking to its word about hiring Polynesian actors for the movie. Let's just hope they don't pull off a Last Airbender racially incorrect miscasting.