Lin-Manuel Miranda Aims For An Oscar In Disney’s First ‘Moana’ Trailer

Move over Pixar—Disney's back. After the stunning success of Zootopia and Frozen, the Mouse House is officially in the midst of an animation renaissance, a fact made even clearer by the just-released first trailer for the studio's upcoming adventure epic Moana. 

Set in the South Pacific, Moana stars Dwayne Johnson as Maui, a Polynesian demigod who teams with the titular princess (voiced by newcomer Auli'l Cravalho) for a rollicking adventure that will thrill, amaze, enthrall, and ultimately teach us a valuable lesson about what it means to be human. That's the Disney formula after all, and you know what they say: If it ain't broke, don't fix it. 

Another key ingredient to Disney's winning algorithm is music, and with Moana, the studio seems intent on adding a few more classics to its already expansive songbook. Who better to ensure that happens than Lin-Manuel Miranda, whose game-changing play "Hamilton" just swept the Tonys last night, and whose vocal imprint can be heard throughout the trailer. 

“We are explorers reading every sign/ We tell the stories of our elders in a never-ending chain,” he can be heard singing.  Unfortunately, we’ll have to wait until Thanksgiving to see the film in its entirety, but judging by the trailer above, the wait will be well worth it.