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Disney鈥檚 next female protagonist will be named Moana and will be at the center of an animated movie set for 2016.聽

Moana hails from 鈥渢he ancient South Pacific world of Oceania,鈥� according to , and in the film, she travels on a sea voyage in order to look for a legendary island. She is joined by a demigod named Maui (voiced by Dwayne Johnson).聽

The part of Moana hasn鈥檛 been cast yet, but Disney staff recently discussed the upcoming movie at the company鈥檚 D23 Expo. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a key part of this movie, the part of Moana, so we want to take our time with it, but we鈥檙e hoping we can make the announcement relatively soon in the future,鈥� the movie鈥檚 co-director, John Musker, said in an . Musker and the film鈥檚 other director, Ron Clements, have an impressive Disney track record: the duo co-directed such animated classics as 鈥淭he Little Mermaid,鈥� 鈥淎laddin,鈥� and the more recent film 鈥淭he Princess and the Frog,鈥� the last of which didn鈥檛 do as well at the box office but was well-received by critics.聽

Some are hailing Moana as the first Disney princess of Polynesian origin, but the company has stated in the past that fans shouldn鈥檛 attach a particular label to characters. The question of diversity in Disney characters recently came up when an executive producer of the 鈥淪ofia the First鈥� TV movie said in 2012 that Sofia was the first Latina Disney character, but senior vice president of original programming and general manager of Disney Junior Worldwide Nancy Kanter later said, 鈥淪ofia聽is a fairytale girl who lives in a fairytale world.聽 All our characters come from fantasy lands that may reflect elements of various cultures and ethnicities but none are meant to specifically represent those real world cultures.鈥�

Later, Disney of Princess Elena of Avalor, a new character who will be at the center of a new animated TV show, that she lives 鈥渋n an enchanted fairytale kingdom inspired by diverse Latin cultures and folklore.鈥� Elena鈥檚 show is set to premiere in 2016.