‘Moana’ star has Kohala roots

KAILUA-KONA — Fame hasn’t changed Auli’i Cravalho.

Even when she’s traveling around the world, the 16-year-old Kohala native and star of Disney’s “Moana” said she still has her responsibilities.

“I still do homework,” she said. “Although now I do it on planes or in hotel rooms.”

Cravalho, who voices the film’s title character, was born and raised in Kohala, living on the Big Island until the age of 9.

“I loved every second of it,” she said.

Growing up, she spent her time climbing the avocado tree at her home or creating and directing plays in her backyard.

As an only child who grew up without television, she said she wrote a lot, fueled by being an avid reader.

“If you read a lot, sometimes you think of your own ideas,” she said. “And you want to write those down so that others can read them as well.”

“Moana” has been a huge hit for Disney, grossing $119.8 million in North America in its first two weeks, according to the Associated Press.

But Cravalho, now a junior at Kamehameha Schools, didn’t originally plan on auditioning for the film that would launch her to stardom.

“I initially didn’t audition for Moana because I was a freshman in high school,” she said. “And as a freshman, you should focus on school, which is exactly what I did.”

She did, however, audition with a group of friends to be the entertainment for a nonprofit event, putting together an acapella mashup featuring acting, singing and beatboxing.

“The harmonies were going and we sounded awesome,” she said.

They didn’t get the gig, but as fate would have it, the woman going through auditions for the event was Rachel Sutton, Disney’s casting director on the island.

“And I can honestly say Rachel Sutton changed my life,” Cravalho said. “She asked if I wanted to audition for Moana and I’m still really thankful that I said, ‘yes,’ because it turned out really well!”

Cravalho’s former swim coach, Jeffrey Coakley, said he remembers Cravalho as an intelligent and upbeat girl.

“Just like in the movie,” Coakley said.

Coakley first met Cravalho when she was about 8 years old. He was the lifeguard at the Kohala pool.

“She was very, very talented as an athlete and a really good swimmer,” he said.

Likewise, Lisa Yamamoto, who is friends with Cravalho’s mother and attended the film’s premiere, said the girl was always “bubbly and full of life and spirit,” growing up.

“She was like the epitome of who you see today,” Yamamoto said.

Coakley also remembered Cravalho’s singing voice, recalling a time she performed in a talent show for a pool bash.

“Her voice, even at that age, was pretty polished,” he said.

He said he knew the girl’s talents would take her far.

“I knew she was going to be doing something great in her life,” he said.

Yamamoto remembered hearing from Cravalho’s mother about the news that the girl had gotten the part.

“It was yelling and screaming together on the phone,” she said. “We were very, very excited and ecstatic.”

Cravalho said she still makes it back to the Big Island now and then to visit with family.

Even after moving to Oahu, she said she’s still grateful for the network of support she has from her family on the Big Island.

When she does it make it back, she tries to take in the entire island, hitting up some specific sites.

“So like malasadas from Tex Drive In,” she said. “We always get malasadas.”

While working on the film, Cravalho said she got some valuable advice from her co-star Dwayne Johnson, who voices the character of Maui.

“Dwayne told me to be myself,” Cravalho said, “which is something that I think is a type of advice we get quite often, but to hear it from him, it held so much meaning because he’s the biggest man in Hollywood, he’s right now the ‘Sexiest Man Alive.’

“I mean he’s just had so much success and for him to tell me that all I had to do was be myself — that was mind-blowing,” she said.

Now with the film generating rave reviews, Cravalho said she’s noticed a heightened interest in the Pacific Islands and Polynesian cultures, with people commenting on social media about their interest in learning more.

“It really warms my heart,” she said. “We’re not really known; we’re these islands out in the sea that they just know about maybe.”

“People know about us for our white sandy beaches, but we’re so much more,” she added. “Our culture is alive and real and I’m hoping that this film has inspired more people to learn about it.”

She also hopes the film inspires the people of the Pacific, particularly children who want to strive to find success in the film industry or any industry.

“I hope that they’re inspired the way that Moana was inspired to go on her own journey,” she said. “The journey of finding yourself and finding what you want to do is so incredibly important.”

When Coakley saw the film, he said that he instantly recognized the voice of the girl he used to coach at the Kohala pool.

He said he recognized Cravalho’s voice “right off the bat,” and that it was “like listening to her talk to me.”

“It took me back to the time she would sing on the deck,” he said

So what’s next for Disney’s latest star?

“Not entirely sure just yet,” she said.

Now that she’s broken into the industry, she’s definitely not ready to get out, saying she’s having the “time of my life and the experience of a lifetime.”

“I don’t know what’s coming my way, but this amazing blessing has put itself in my life so I’m hoping to just … I’m just gonna say it. I’m hoping to ride the wave of Moana.”

But while there’s just no telling how far she’ll go, she’s still holding fast to her roots.

“I’m still, I hope, the local girl who came from Kohala,” she said.