Opetaia Foa’i of South Pacific fusion band Te Vaka performs at Disney’s D23 promo expo, teasing the music from the film Moana

Pop star Shakira and New Zealand songwriter Opetaia Foa’i of the band Te Vaka are among the music talent signed for upcoming Disney Animation Studios features.

Shakira, who voices the character of Gazelle in the March 2016 Walt Disney release Zootopia,  will record original songs for the film’s soundtrack, it was revealed by the studio at the D23 promo event in Anaheim this week, where a snippet of her big musical number “Try Everything” was previewed. The song is written by Sia and Stargate.

The studio is also bringing back its Oscar-winning Frozen duo — Kristen Anderson-Lopez and Robert Lopez — to writing original music for Gigantic, an update on the Jack and the Beanstalk tale coming to screens in 2018.

Also revealed was musical team for Moana, a Thanksgiving 2016 release chronicling the adventures of teen who sets sail to find an ancient South Pacific world of legend. Mark Mancina will compose the score, working with Opetaia Foa’i, the songwriter and lead vocalist for South Pacific fusion band Te Vaka,  and Lin-Manuel Miranda, a rapper, lyricist and actor best known for writing the Broadway musical In the Heights, for which he won a Tony in 2008 and a Grammy the following year.

So that must be what the development of the look and sound of the Pixar Animation Studios short Lava was all about! The result is certainly a little gem unto itself.

Moana is directed by Ron Clements and John Musker. Gigantic has Nathan Greno (Tangled) at the helm and is produced by Dorothy McKim (Meet the Robinson). The Walt Disney Animation productions will be released by Walt Disney Studios.

Shakira

Zootopia is directed by Byron Howard (Tangled) and Rich Moore (Wreck-it Ralph). In addition to Shakira the voice cast includes Jason Bateman and Ginnifer Goodwin, who appeared onstage at D23 to discuss the film, is a copper buddy pic set in a city populated by animals who talk and hold jobs.

The Walt Disney Animation productions will be released by Walt Disney Studios.