Auli'i Cravalho

I've danced hula since I was 5. My mom danced hula as well. It's been in my family from far back and really connected me to my ancestors. ”

My friends have said, 'Wait, you're pretty, and you sing? What do you mean you're interested in science?' I have to just hold my head and go, 'Do you hear yourself?' By no means should you ever limit yourself because of what others think or because of their perceptions of what someone looks like in a certain field. ”

When I sing, it's different from when I speak in a very interesting way. I think that, when you're singing, a message is carried in a different way. I don't know if that emotion needs a melody. ”

I'm kind of an animated person. I was given this really big blessing that my voice just kind of carries the emotion. ”

I go to an all-Hawaiian school, and we learn everything about being Hawaiian. We have a really deep respect for the water and the land. We say, 'mauka to makai,' mountains to ocean. I believe if you take care of the ocean, the ocean will take care of you in return. ”

I love our Polynesian designs, whether or not it is coming from Samoa, as I have some of my designs coming from, or right from home in O'ahu. ”

Moana is such an amazing character. She's brave; she is so empowered. She knows what she wants, and she's not afraid to get it, and I think that's something that I can relate to as well. I just love watching how she goes along in this wonderful movie and grows as a person and helps her culture along the way. ”

Moana is definitely a Disney character, which is something that I totally love. She's totally bad butt: really awesome. I think she really embodies it because I, as someone who has grown up, been born and raised on the island of Hawaii - so, the Big Island - I love my culture. ”

Moana doesn't have a love interest because this movie is about a journey - a physical one across hundreds and hundreds of miles of ocean, but also an emotional one of Moana finding herself. She doesn't need a man or love interest to find herself. ”

Everyone needs to take that time to figure out who they are. The fact that there's no love interests in 'Moana' - it's all about her - is very relatable. You don't need another person to help you find yourself. ”