Multi-platinum recording artist and actress Nicole Scherzinger will join the all-Hawaiʻi cast in a reprisal of her role as Sina in the Hawaiian-language version of Walt Disney Animation Studios’ Moana.

Scherzinger joins fellow Native Hawaiian Auliʻi Cravalho as members of the original cast who are returning to their roles in the hit feature. This is the first time a Disney picture has been re-recorded in Hawaiian.

“I’m so excited to reprise my role as Sina for the Hawaiian-language version of Moana,” said Scherzinger, who is part Native Hawaiian and was born in Hawaiʻi. “I can’t wait for everyone to experience this beloved movie in ʻōlelo Hawaiʻi, giving us all the opportunity to watch something that we already know and love in a language that is so special to us.”

The University of Hawaiʻi’s Academy for Creative Media System is funding and coordinating this collaborative project—with the goal of sharing the film for educational purposes in Hawaiʻi and beyond. The collaborative production joins faculty and staff from the University of Hawaiʻi—West Oʻahu, University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa and Honolulu Community College.

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—By Leila Wai Shimokawa