Auliʻi Cravalho was just 16 years old when she voiced her breakout role as Moana. Eight years later, she is reprising the iconic Disney character at the premiere of the much-anticipated sequel, Moana 2.
“Playing Moana has been the opportunity of a lifetime — voicing a character who isn’t afraid to grab a demigod by the ear and take him on a journey across the sea is a ton of fun,” Cravalho said in an email interview, referring to Moana’s superhuman friend, Maui (voiced by Dwayne Johnson).
Moana embarked on her first big-screen adventure in 2016, using the ancient navigation technique of wayfinding, which relies on the stars, wind, waves, and other natural clues to chart a course.
Wayfinding also serves as a philosophy, guiding one to find their true self in the world. In Moana 2, the sequel deepens this journey of self-discovery, expanding it into a broader mission that challenges Moana’s leadership: bringing different island peoples together.
“As we meet her in this sequel, three years have passed in the ‘Moanaverse,’” Cravalho said. “Watching Moana grow into the leader she was always meant to be is incredibly special, and I know I’m not the only one excited to see just how far she’ll go!”
Before Moana, Cravalho found inspiration in another Disney character — a Chinese folk heroine.
“I remember watching and re-watching Mulan and connecting with her background as Asian/Pacific Islander and her dedication to family and culture. She was also the first princess to run off into battle and kick butt! I still watch that film even as I turn 24, and she remains one of my favorites today,” she said.
Cravalho’s — and Hawaii’s — multicultural heritage
Viewers widely recognize Moana as a Polynesian hero.
Cravalho explained that her character “showcases way-finding and navigation by the stars, which is a true piece of Indigenous knowledge,” and she takes great pride in celebrating the people of the Pacific on the big screen.
Although Cravalho is partly connected to her character’s culture through her Native Hawaiian heritage, she also has roots in Puerto Rico, located roughly 6,000 miles east, along with Chinese, Irish, and Portuguese ancestry.
“I’m of proud mixed descent and grew up with many traditions in my house!” she said.
Cravalho connected with her mixed heritage through the foods she ate at home.
She would celebrate Chinese New Year by eating noodles for long life, enjoy corned beef and cabbage on St. Patrick’s Day, and savor Hawaiian dishes like lau lau and lomi lomi salmon at graduation parties. Homemade pasteles and arroz con gandules, Puerto Rican dishes, were “staples” in her family’s fridge.
In many ways, Cravalho’s diverse background mirrors a small part of the larger history of migrations, including those of Latinos, to Hawaii.
One popular example: Portuguese contract workers brought Hawaii’s musical instrument, the ukulele, to the islands when they migrated to Hawaiian sugar plantations in the late 1800s.
Similarly, a 1901 New York Times article about the “Porto Rican exodus” reported the migration of contract workers from Puerto Rico to Hawaii to work on sugarcane plantations, just as they had in Puerto Rico.
Other Spanish-speaking migrants also left their mark on the Aloha State.
In the early 1800s, Mexican cowboys taught Hawaiians how to rope, slaughter, and breed longhorn cattle. In fact, the Hawaiian word for “cowboy” (“paniolo”) derives from the Spanish word “español.”
Additionally, a Spanish sailor recorded the first mention of Hawaii’s state fruit — the pineapple — in 1813, nearly 90 years before James Drummond Dole opened the Hawaiian Pineapple Co.
Looking at the other two lineages of Cravalho’s mixed ancestry, less than 5% of Hawaiians identified as Irish in the most recent American Community Survey — just over 66,000 people. Almost 237,000 reported Chinese ancestry (excluding Taiwanese) in an older survey.
Reflecting on her beloved character, Cravalho said that Moana’s bold actions redefine how girls and women can see themselves as heroes in pop culture.
“I think Moana has truly allowed the words ‘hero’ and ‘princess’ to become interchangeable,” she said. “It’s amazing to see the waves of her impact, not just for young women of Pacific Island descent, but for countless people across the world.”
