Hollywood: Catherine catches eye in teaser of ‘Moana’

Agencies :

‘Moana’ is a very popular name among animation lovers. This musical adventure movie by Disney was released in 2016.

The movie was a great hit with both young and old. It grossed around $700 million.

Eight years later, in November 2024, Disney brought out its sequel ‘Moana 2’. It also took the box office by storm, grossing over $1 billion.

Moana’s story will once again be seen on the big screen but this time in live action.

That is, not in animation like before, this time the characters are played by real artistes. Of course, there will be some animation as well.

Disney recently released the teaser of the live action ‘Moana’. The movie will be released on July 10, 2026.

In the story of ‘Moana’, Moana, a princess of a Polynesian island, disobeys her parents’ orders and embarks on a dangerous voyage. Her goal is to save her home.

Along the way, she is accompanied by the god Maui and his pet rooster. They encounter various animals and dangerous situations.

In both films, ‘Moana’ is voiced by Auli’i Cravalho and Maui is voiced by Dwayne Johnson.

Dwayne Johnson also played the role of Maui in the live-action film. Although Auli’i Cravalho voiced the lead character in two episodes of the animation, he did not want to act in front of the camera.

So, he joined the new film as an executive producer. And the role of ‘Moana’ has been taken by 17-year-old Sydney-born actress Catherine Lagaia.

She was previously seen in three episodes of Prime Video’s ‘The Lost Flowers of Alice Hart’ series. Catherine Lagaia is making her debut in a leading role with the ‘Moana’ movie.

Catherine Lagaia said, “I’m very happy to play this role because Moana is one of my favourite characters. My grandfather also came from the Polynesian island nation of Samoa, Sabai.

As a result, I have the impression of the people of the Pacific Islands. Moana looks a lot like me. It feels good to be able to play a character from that region on screen.”