Extra, Extra!: Meet Disney's Newest Princess

In which I report on the latest in entertainment news.

Disney hasn't shied away from diversifying their Princess lineups in recent years.  The Princess and the Frog's Tiana was the company's first Black princess.  Sofia the First debuted Elena, the company's first Latina princess.  Coming in 2016 is Moana, whose title character will be the company's first Polynesian princess.

Although we only have rough details to go on at the moment, the movie will be set approximately 2000 years ago in the South Pacific.  The teenaged Moana will sail from island to island in her attempt to complete her "ancestor's quest."  Along the way, she will team up with Maui - a legendary demi-god - a potbelly pig and the Tiki god Moke Moke.

I'm actually pretty stoked about this movie.  The concept art is not only phenomenal, but apparently betrays the fact that it won't be digitally animated.  The story is like a Disney-fied cross between Whale Rider and The Legend of Zelda, and I'm always for increased diversity in movies (and especially kids movies).  The only thing that has me scratching my head is the inclusion of the pig, but that's so classic Disney that it's afforded a free pass at this point.

As good as 3-D animation tends to look, the over-saturation of kids movies with it has left me somewhat blase about the medium.  I've long argued that Disney and Pixar should be more strictly branded: with Pixar focusing on 3-D animation and Disney focusing on traditional 2-D animation.  And while The Princess and the Frog gave me hope that they would go in this direction, Tangled, Frozen and Big Hero 6 all suggested otherwise.

The movie is obviously too soon into production - with too little known about it at this point - to make any kind of sweeping predictions about it, based on the concept art that Disney's provided, it does appear to be a more traditionally animated film: breaking up the animated landscape with something so old that it's refreshing.  I can only hope that Disney will continue to explore options for traditional animation in the 21st century: at least when it fits the story that they're trying to tell.

So what are you looking forward to seeing in Disney's upcoming Moana?  Share your thoughts in the comment section below.

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