'Moana' Could Be Disney's Best Princess Yet

Disney has provided young girls with a number of different role models over the years. Despite the numerous Disney princesses created each decade, the family-friendly animation studio has still faced their fair share of princess-related scrutiny — whether it's over to the appearances of the princesses themselves or over their dependence on "Prince Charming." But as the times chance, so do the values of the Disney princesses joining the line up, and nowhere is that more clear that in the release of the latest trailer for Moana. This clip makes it clear that Disney's latest princess can handle herself. In fact, the Polynesian princess may be Disney's strongest Disney princess yet.

With the highly-anticipated character hitting the big-screen in just two short months, Disney gave fans a yet another sneak peak of what we can expect from Moana (voiced by Auli’i Cravalho) and the demigod Maui's (voiced by Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson) ancient adventure. However, with the "Realm of Monsters" in their path, it's clear that Moana is fulfilling much more than her lifelong prophecy: she's holding the weight of the world on her shoulders. And just as much as she needs Maui, he needs her.

It also seems as if Moana is a long-time coming. If anything, this princess is the slow piecing together of Disney's previous princesses. Looking at Moana, I'm totally seeing the adventurous side of Rapunzel (Tangled), the curiosity of Ariel (The Little Mermaid), the warrior spirit of Mulan (Mulan), and the bold questing personality of Anna (Frozen) all wrapped up into one. But, even with all those traits in her, it's so clear that Moana is uniquely her own character, to the point that it's merely all these Disney values coming together rather than it seemingly like she's unoriginal in any way.

And as for a Prince Charming? It doesn't seem like a man is even a thought in this princesses mind. She's got work to do, and she's going to do what it takes to get the job done — with what already sounds like the perfect amount of sass. So sit back, relax, and re-watch this trailer until it's finally time to join Moana on the open seas. It's going to be an exciting ride.

Images: Walt Disney Animation Studios/YouTube