Moana marks the seventh time that John Musker and Ron Clements have collaborated together for a Disney animated film, but this is the first that uses the popular CGI techniques. We were fortunate enough to join fellow journalists for an early preview of the film where we saw clips, the technology used to bring these characters to life, and the research trips they took to develop the script. We have all of what we learned from the trip in our exclusive 65 Things To Know About Disney’s Moana piece, which was posted earlier this morning.

However, after watching some rough footage of the film, the two directors stuck around to answer a few of the journalist’s questions about the title character, the message, and the creative signature. Check out what they had to say below.

This November, Walt Disney Animation Studio will be releasing their second theatrical feature of the year and their 56th overall, Moana. Longtime Disney collaborators John Musker and Ron Clements return to direct this film about a teenage Polynesian princess who ventures out on a journey to save her people and to find her identity. The film brings in all sorts of talent that we’ve pretty much come to expect from the studio, from the voice talents of Auli”˜i Cravalho, Dwayne Johnson, Jemaine Clement, Rachel House, Temuera Morrison, Alan Tudyk, and Nicole Scherzinger, right down to the music from Opetaia Foa’i, Mark Mancina, and Lin-Manuel Miranda.

In August, Disney invited us (along with a group of fellow journalists) to watch a couple of scenes and learn about the process of developing a script, creating the film’s setting, polishing the effects, and creating the two lead characters: Moana and Maui. Just like Zootopia, it has become apparent that the studio emphasizes the importance of research for their stories and pushing the envelope in animation. Check out what we learned from the scenes and the presentation below.

During the Rio Olympic Games a new TV spot for the upcoming Walt Disney Animation Studios feature Moana was aired.

Unlike the usual 30-second TV spot, however, this one runs about a minute in length. So it’s somewhere between a TV spot and a teaser trailer. But most importantly it shows plenty of new footage we didn’t see in the first trailer, so those excited for the movie will definitely want to check it out.

Continue below to watch the Moana Olympics TV spot.

There is never any shortage of talented actors voicing characters in Disney animated films. Moana looks to be an exciting animated adventure inspired by Polynesian tales. So far the cast only had the voices of Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson and newcomer Auli”˜i Cravalho announced. Johnson will be voicing the demi-god Maui, while Cravalho will voice the title character.

Now, the studio has unveiled new images of several never-before-seen characters and revealed who will be voicing them. We also have the official plot synopsis. Check it all out here below.

As promised when we saw that new poster recently, Walt Disney Animation Studios has released the first teaser trailer for their latest animated feature, Moana.

The movie, which is directed by Ron Clements and John Musker, stars newcomer Auli’i Cravalho as the title character, a teenager on a journey to save her people, and Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson as the demigod Maui.

You can read more about Moana and check out the first trailer below.