'All Together Now' Photos: 'Moana' Star Auli'i Cravalho Takes The Lead In A New Netflix Movie

By Ben PearsonJuly 21, 2020 3:30 pm EST

Since her breakout role as the voice behind Disney's Moana, actress Auli'i Cravalho has popped up in several short-lived TV shows, but now she's getting her own Netflix movie. Cravalho stars in All Together Now, a forthcoming drama from Hearts Beat Loud director Brett Haley that was formerly titled Sorta Like a Rock Star. Check out the first batch of photos and get the details about the film below.

All Together Now Photos

This project has been kicking around since at least 2016, when Miguel Arteta (The Good Girl) was attached to direct it. Bryce Dallas Howard came on as a replacement director a year later, but the directing job ultimately went to Brett Haley, whose eclectic filmography has included movies which frequently center on characters you don't see too often leading mainstream American movies: older people. (See: Blythe Danner in I'll See You in My Dreams, Sam Elliott in The Hero). But Haley has also swung to the other side of the pendulum: earlier this year, he directed a Netflix teen romance called All the Bright Places, so his relationship with the streaming company seems to have proven fruitful.

This new movie is described as "a story of finding hope in the darkest of times," which is something I suspect all of us can relate to right now. Here's the official synopsis:

Amber Appleton (Auli'i Cravalho) remains an optimist even when her personal life is far less stable than it appears on the surface. A musically gifted high school student with aspirations to attend Carnegie Mellon, Amber balances her beloved high school drama club helmed by Mr. Franks (Fred Armisen) with working long hours at a donut shop to help support herself and her down-on-her-luck single mom (Justina Machado). She also spends time at the local retirement community, giving care and attention to her favorite pessimistic resident (Carol Burnett). When new obstacles present themselves that threaten her dreams, Amber must learn to lean on the strength of her chosen family to move forward.

Rhenzy Feliz, Judy Reyes, Justina Machado, Taylor Richardson, C.S. Lee, Anthony Jacques Jr., and Gerald Waters round out the cast. The film is based on a novel from the same author who wrote the book version of Silver Linings Playbook, and if you'd like to know more about this story, you can read a previous (and seemingly more spoilery) synopsis from a few years ago right here.

All Together Now premieres on Netflix on August 28, 2020.