Moana (film)

Moana is an upcoming hand-drawn/computer animated film produced by Walt Disney Animation Studios and distributed by Walt Disney Pictures. It is slated by Disney to be the 56th film in the Disney animated feature canon. Originally described as a "mythic adventure set around 2000 years ago and across a series of islands in the South Pacific." , the film will follow the journey of a spirited teenager named Moana as she sails the Pacific Ocean to complete her "ancestor's quest".

The film is to be directed by John Musker and Ron Clements, who were both the directors of Aladdin, The Little Mermaid and The Princess and the Frog. The film is to be scored by Mark Mancina, who composed tracks for The Lion King, Tarzan and Brother Bear; alongside him, Dave Metzger will conduct and organize an orchestra that will perform the film score.

Plot
In the ancient South Pacific world of Oceania 2000 years ago, 14-year-old Moana, a born navigator, sets sail in search of a fabled island. During her incredible journey, she teams up with her hero, the legendary demi-god Maui, to traverse the open ocean on an action-packed voyage, encountering enormous sea creatures, breathtaking underworlds and ancient folklore.

Development
After directing The Princess and the Frog, Musker and Clements started working on an adaptation of Terry Pratchett's Mort, but rights problems prevented them from continuing with that project. To avoid similar problems, they pitched three new ideas, and in 2011 started developing the film based on an original idea.

Moana will be Musker and Clement's first fully computer-animated film. Moana Waialiki will be Disney's first Polynesian princess. Although initially rumoured to be made in hand-drawn/computer-animated technique introduced with Disney's short film Paperman, Musker said that it is "far too early to apply the Paperman hybrid technique to a feature. The Meander digital in-betweening interface still has a host of production issues (including color) that need to be perfected." According to Bleeding Cool, the film will feature a new, painterly style of CG. This will be the 56th animated feature in the Walt Disney Animated Classics series.

On October 20, 2014, Disney announced that Moana ' s release date would be late 2016.