‘My Voice Has Changed’ Since I Was 15 (Exclusive)

Now 24 years old, Auli’i Cravalho reflects on ten years since she was cast as the iconic signage leading lady

Both Moana and the actress who plays her are growing up!

Auli’i Cravalhothe star of Disney’s 2016 animated hit Moana and are new sequel (in theaters Nov. 27), is “so grateful to be back” with her wayward leading lady, she tells PEOPLE. “This character is the one that started my whole career as a young artist.”

The Hawaii native, now 24, was 14 when she was selected from hundreds of aspiring stars for the voice role and 15 when she took on the voice role. Returning for the long awaited Moana 2says Cravalho, means that “that entire decade I can really look back at how much growth I experienced.”

While the first film was “focused on connecting with the past,” she continues, Moana 2 “is about connecting to the future and all the things that may come.” And the moment came full circle when she returned to the character that launched her career, Cravalho – currently starring Sally Bowles at Broadways Cabaret at the Kit Kat Club and executive producer of the live action Moana adaptation – is both looking back and looking forward.

Related: Dwayne Johnson films live action Moana in Beefy Maui costume: Check out the set photos from Hawaii

“It feels like Moana and I have grown side by side in our growth together, and that’s amazing,” she says. The new film marks one of the few times in Disney history that a Disney Princess is allowed to grow older. And so my voice has changed since I played her when I was fifteen, and now her voice is a little bit different. The songs I sing also show a different side of myself.”

Starring again Dwayne Johnson as villainous demigod Maui, Moana 2 also brings back voice actors Temuera Morrison, Nicole ScherzingerRachel House and Alan Tudyk – an authentic Polynesian community, Cravalho calls its ‘Moana ohana’, or family. “We initially thought this would be an animated series that would go to Disney+,” she recalls. “And after we watched a lot of the footage back and started shooting, we realized, ‘This deserves to be played in a theater.’”

The new film also features Moana’s scene-stealing sister, Simea (voiced by Khaleesi Lambert-Tsuda) and “a whole new crew joining us on this journey,” Cravalho teases with a grin. “If you thought Moana went way beyond the reef in the first movie, you have no idea how far she’s going to go in this movie.”

Related: Moana 2 Review: Auli’i Cravalho and Dwayne Johnson set sail with new friends in a beautiful sequel

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What has the beloved character taught her after her whirlwind introduction to Hollywood and sharing Moana around the world? “From the first film I made, you can be the hero of your own story,” she says. An even better takeaway for young Disney fans: “You don’t need a love interest to complete your arc, too.”

And because they are a “celebration” of her Hawaiian heritage and real Polynesian history, the films will always hold a special place in Cravalho’s heart. The world of Moana and the ever-expanding horizons “really tap into the incredible knowledge we have as an indigenous culture.”

Moana 2 is in cinemas from November 27.