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Disney’s Moana Voice Cast Revealed

It’s official – Disney’s ‘Moana’ has unveiled its voice cast.

Set across a series of islands throughout the South Pacific, ‘Moana’ follows the adventures of a young, spirited teenager who wants to prove herself as a master wayfinder, by finishing her ancestor’s quests. And while it’s just a few months from release, we’ve finally got a glimpse at the full voice cast.

And it includes some pretty impressive names…

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Here’s who’s joined the cast of ‘Moana’:

Auli'i Cravalho

It’s the star of the movie – Auli’i Cravalho stars as the titular heroine, Moana.

“She’s got some serious guts,” said Cravalho about her character. “She’s really courageous and beautiful as well.” Heading off on an action-packed voyage, it looks as though Moana is going to meet some truly interesting characters.

But who is Auli’i Cravalho?

A complete unknown, Cravalho was still a high school freshman when she was cast in the movie. In fact, this will be her only feature film role to date. But director John Musker has described the voice actress as have a “certain fearlessness in her auditions and callbacks” as well as a “playful, mischievous wit.”

Dwayne Johnson

Of course, Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson needs no introduction…

Starring as the once-mighty demigod Maui, it feels as though the 44-year-old actor and former wrestler was born for this role. His enduring enthusiasm and not-so-subtle charm make him perfect for the role of Maui.

He’s perhaps best known for the role of Hobbs in the ‘Fast and Furious’ franchise, but Maui couldn’t be further from this. The presumably fun-loving demigod is going to be a real riot. And as he joins Moana on her adventure, it looks as though the pair are in for some fun times.

Alan Tudyk

A bit of a surprise here – Alan Tudyk joins as Hei Hei.

The 45-year-old actor is perhaps best known for the role of Wash is ‘Firefly’ and ‘Serenity’. But he’s also due to appear in another Disney-owned property – ‘Star Wars: Rogue One’ as the no-nonsense droid, K-2SO.

And this time around, he’s voicing a rooster.

Hei Hei was previously described as being ‘Cranky and mean-spirited’ but it looks as though the character has been given a bit of an overhaul. Co-director Ron Clements said that Hei Hei is simply stupid.

“While Hei-Hei is in a sense more anthropomorphic than the other animal characters, he may be stupider than most chickens you have met.”

Temuera Morrison and Nicole Scherzinger

‘Star Wars’ fans will no doubt remember Temuera Morrison from the prequel trilogy, starring as Jango Fett. And in ‘Moana’, he’s been cast as Moana’s father and leader of the tribe, Chief Tui.

(Technically, this makes Moana a Disney Princess…)

Co-director Roy Clements said that Chief Tui has “seen bad things happen because of this imbalance of man and nature, so he wants everybody to stay inside.” And that likely means that he wants Moana to stay in the village.

Nicole Scherzinger plays Chief Tui’s wife (and Moana’s mother), Sina who is described as being “very warm and supportive of her daughter, but she’s trying to negotiate the difference between [her and her father] and be this peacemaker.”

Rachel House

Scottish/Maori actress Rachel House stars as Grandma Tala – Moana’s grandmother.

Clements says that Grandma Tala “has a close relationship with Moana, closer really than her parents in some ways.” And she may know a lot more than she’s letting on – especially when it comes to the threat facing Moana and her people.

“She really helps propel Moana on her journey to solve these things.”

Jemaine Clement

Clearly no stranger to animated musicals, Jemaine Clement has starred in both ‘Rio’ movies… and now he’s going to be voicing the villainous (but comical) giant monster crab, Tamatoa.

It looks as though Tamatoa has a bit of a history with Maui… and is said to possess a magical fish hook, which is presumably the McGuffin for the rest of the film. But most importantly, it sounds as though the villainous Tamatoa gets his own musical number.

And that’s going to be absolutely great.

‘Moana’ heads to cinemas on 2 December 2016.

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Picture Credit: Disney