'Moana' poses challenges for The Rock, newcomer Auli'i Cravalho 

Let friends in your social network know what you are reading about

\'Moana\' poses challenges for The Rock, newcomer Auli\'i Cravalho

For the teen actress, the Disney heroine is a huge \'first job.\' And The Rock has to sing.

A link has been sent to your friend\'s email address.

A link has been posted to your Facebook feed.

To find out more about Facebook commenting please read the Conversation Guidelines and FAQs

'Moana' poses challenges for The Rock, newcomer Auli'i Cravalho

Bryan Alexander , USA TODAY 8:28 a.m. EST November 22, 2016

Dwayne Johnson attempts to spell and pronounce his co-star's (Auli’i Cravalho) name. USA TODAY

The Hawaiian high school student and her friends put together a killer audition tape to perform at a local non-profit event, with a cappella harmonies and a beatbox. The charity passed, but the casting director was also working on Disney\'s animated

movie (in theaters Wednesday) and urged Cravalho to try out.

Sure enough, Cravalho earned the lead role as the Disney heroine.

“It’s a pretty good first job,” Cravalho laughs, sitting next to her

co-star Dwayne Johnson, who voices the demigod Maui.

Tenacious teenager Moana (voice of Auli‘i Cravalho) recruits demigod Maui (Dwayne Johnson) to help her become a master wayfinder in the animated 'Moana.'

“It’s so cool and crazy,” Johnson adds. “That’s just the way of the universe and the world. How powerful it can be where you want something so badly and it doesn’t happen. But it’s the best thing that never happened. Because then all of a sudden we’re here. And she’s Moana."

“We’re both success stories," says Cravalho.

The Rock, Auli'i Cravalho bring true chemistry to 'Moana'

Johnson’s success is clear, having earned $2.2 billion at the box office in his career to date, which prompted him to sing that he was "franchise Viagra" when he hosted

 is his first major animated role, and it features Johnson singing for real — on a vocally challenging song, no less (

“Dude, it was a big first step,” says Johnson. “I’ll sing on a TV show. I’ll break out the guitar and have fun with the (pro wrestling) audience. But the bar was raised so high. This is a Disney movie.”

Maui (voiced by Dwayne Johnson) boasts a large ego and a nifty magical fishhook.

The Rock worked his singing muscle the way he does his biceps, with training overkill. He played Miranda’s demo track nonstop for months during production of his HBO show 

“That song was playing around every corner,” says Johnson. “So I would wake up, it was on my phone. I would get in my truck to drive to work, I would hear it there. Working out, I had it on while training.”

“Then if I suck, I’m OK with that,” says Johnson. “Because I can go to bed saying at least I prepared.”

An adventurous teenager sails out on a daring mission to save her people. Joining her on the adventure is her hero, the legendary demigod Maui.

Recording in the Miami studio was such a big deal to Disney that directors Ron Clements and John Musker jetted down, along with Miranda on his day off from

. Even the head of Disney Animation Studios, John Lasseter, stopped by from Los Angeles.

“I see him behind the glass, he’s waving. I’m like, \'Is that John Lasseter? And Lin’s like, \'Yup, he came to surprise you,\' " says Johnson. "That was a wow.”

Review: 'Moana' really sings as a respite from the usual princess story

USA TODAY\'s Brian Truitt calls Johnson\'s role a "MVP voice performance" as

 prepares to sail into theaters for Thanksgiving weekend. For her part, Cravalho says she\'ll continue in the entertainment business, saying she has "a few things cooking." That does not include a call to the non-profit that rejected her to gloat, even if her co-star thinks it\'s a good idea.

“It could be like, \'Look at me now,\' " says Johnson. "But for Auli’i, the world is what she wants to accomplish. She’s special."

He\'s still feeling good about his new song, even joking about a grander vocal outing next time. "For me, next up, it’s definitely

Dwayne Johnson talks up 'Moana' at Disney's D23 Expo 2015 in Anaheim, Calif.

 (Photo: Jesse Grant, Getty Images for Disney)