Who better than Dwayne Johnson to premiere the new Moana trailer?
"It seems like the world is very excited for Moana," Johnson said on Good Morning America Thursday. "I think it's a really special movie. I saw it. I really loved it," he added. "A lot of times when you see a movie, you try not to get drunk on your own wine, but the movie's really good." To celebrate, he performed a Polynesian dance before showing Walt Disney Animation's trailer—which, for the first time, shows the main characters journeying into the Realm of Monsters.
Johnson—who appeared live via satellite from Hawaii—voices Maui, the legendary demi-god. Auli'i Cravalho voices the titular Polynesian princess, whom the studio calls "indomitable, passionate and a dreamer with a unique connection to the ocean itself." Jemaine Clement, Rachel House, Temuera Morrison, Phillipa Soo and Alan Tudyk round out Moana's voice cast. Ron Clements and John Musker—who brought you The Great Mouse Detective, The Little Mermaid, Aladdin, Hercules, Treasure Planet and The Princess and the Frog—directed the film.
Two days ago, Johnson announced that he plans to share even more photos and videos from the movie as part of "Moana Mondays." Addressing his 65.9 million Instagram followers, he explained, "From now until our Thanksgiving weekend release, myself, the cast and Disney will be serving up amazingly cool looks at the film, taking you deeper into how it was made, and what you can expect from our story and characters. And most importantly, THE MUSIC." (Opetaia Foa'I, Mark Mancina and Lin-Manuel Miranda contributed to the film's soundtrack.)
Needless to say, Johnson is very passionate about the project.
In fact, on Tuesday, the actor admitted he felt "overwhelmed" by everyone's excitement for the family-friendly flick. "The beauty and magic of working with @DisneyAnimation is that we have the tremendous opportunity to transcend language barriers, borders and cultural differences though our storytelling," Johnson, 44, wrote on Instagram. "At the end of the day, we are all on this journey called 'life' together, and that is something we can and should celebrate as ONE."
After the trailer premiered Thursday, Johnson took to Instagram once again to express his excitement. "As I'm here in Hawaii, a place where I grew up, I'm reminded why this story is so special. It celebrates the wonder of mother nature, our rich Polynesian culture of the South Pacific and most importantly, the bonds of ohana (family) that reach far beyond these islands. I know our superstar @AuliiCravalho feels it's mana (spirit) too," the actor wrote. "Can't wait for you guys to see the film and enjoy the music by our masterful genius, Lin-Manuel Miranda."
Moana is in theaters nationwide Nov. 23.