The early moments of the film focus on the adventurous Moana's childhood, growing up in her village and hearing the stories of demigod Maui (played by Dwayne Johnson, who was too busy kicking ass elsewhere to show up) and there's a full look at the confident creature's backstory, including his shape-shifting abilities.
Also shown was a clip that had premiered in shorter form back at last year's D23 (and you can see a part of in the recent international trailer below), in which toddler Moana meets the ocean – and the water interacts with her like a friend or something out of The Abyss – and showcased some beautiful animation.
Musker and Clements also showed a behind-the-scenes look at their research trips to Fiji, Samoa, Tahiti and the islands in the South Pacific (nice work if you can get it), and shared that the inspiration for the film's story comes from several cultures. The highlight of their Q&A session was the revelation that Moana won't have a traditional Disney princess romance, instead focusing on her hero's journey.
Oh, while he's already mentioned it, talk of Dwayne Johnson singing were confirmed by the panel – he'll be warbling a tune written for him by Hamilton genius Lin-Manuel Miranda. Rock 'n' roll?
Moana will sail into UK cinemas on December 2.