A wave of anticipation swept through the live-action announcement for the animated hit Moana franchise. More than just headlining a seafaring adventure from a hit animated franchise, the self-discovery of the titular role is what got the 19-year-old debutant Catherine Laga'aia excited. Laga'aia describes the passing down of 'quiet, unwavering faith' from Grandma Tala to Moana as the film's heart.
With herself at a fledgling stage in her career, Laga'aia takes Grandma Tala's advice to Moana to go beyond the reef as her own Mantra and for Moana's forays into unknown territories. "Something Tommy (director Thomas Kail) says all the time is that Grandma Tala knew something that Moana didn't. She had this kind of trust and faith in Moana that she would achieve the goal she was always set to do," taking the point forward from Laga'aia, director Thomas Kail adds that pushing limits and going farther is resonating. "I think the idea of going further than you think you can, and understanding that there is something beyond your own understanding of what's possible, is incredibly resonating.”
Expanding on the philosophy of self-discovery and self-belief in Moana, newcomer Laga'aia shares that this aspect extended beyond the script, spilling over into her personality and teaching her a lot about herself. "I learned a lot about myself, and I learned how to be brave," she says, elaborating that the film's world offers many seemingly unattainable opportunities, and her character's pursuit of them taught her to overcome nervousness. "There were so many opportunities in that world that I was nervous to take and nervous to seize, because you don't know where you're going to end up. But coming off the back of it and coming out the other side, I feel like I am much more likely to seize something, to go for something that maybe seems too far away, or too hard.”
Going beyond the reef also serves as a fitting parallel to Laga'aia's choosing courage over fear, and it is also her message to girls her age. "I think maybe there's some divine thing that calls out to you that you maybe don't know yet, but I think just seizing every opportunity is the best way to do it,” says a self-assured Laga'aia, who says she is a different person from who she was when she started filming for Moana. "Coming off the back of it and coming out the other side, I feel like I am much more likely to seize something, to go for something that maybe seems too far away, or too hard.”
Summing up the film for audiences around the world, Kail believes that Moana will speak to everyone in a language they understand rather than merely serve as a guiding tool. “It's a story about what you do for your community, what you do for your family when they say no, and you feel like there's a yes inside of you. And I think those are not just problems and challenges that teenagers face, but ones that all of us who have been in a family face. That is the quiet genius of Moana as a family film: it does not speak down to children or over the heads of adults."
Disney’s reimagining of the beloved Oscar-nominated animated adventure is directed by Emmy and Tony Award winner Thomas Kail (Hamilton). The film is produced by Dwayne Johnson, Dany Garcia, Beau Flynn, Hiram Garcia, and Lin-Manuel Miranda, and executive produced by Thomas Kail, Scott Sheldon, Charles Newirth, and Auliʻi Cravalho, who voiced Moana in the animated films Moana and Moana 2. Moana releases in India in English and Hindi on 10 July 2026.
