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

Auli’i Cravalho, the star of Disney’s 2016 animated hit Moana and the new sequel (in theaters Nov. 27) is “so grateful to be coming back” to its 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 as Sally Bowles in Broadway’s Cabaret at the Kit Kat Club and executive producer of the live-action Moana adaptation – is both looking back and looking forward.

“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.”

Once again starring Dwayne Johnson as villainous demigod Maui, Moana 2 also brings back voice actors Temuera Morrison, Nicole Scherzinger, Rachel House and Alan Tudyk – an authentically Polynesian community that Cravalho calls her “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.”

Never miss a story: Sign up for PEOPLE’s free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.

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.