Disney launches free coding tutorial featuring characters from forthcoming Moana

Disney is releasing a free online tutorial to teach kids the basics of computing as part of Code.org's Hour of Code program, featuring characters from their upcoming animated film, Moana.

This online tutorial, “Moana: Wayfinding with Code," isn't the first time Disney have created a code tutorial. They've previously built tutorials featuring characters from Frozen and even Star Wars, and Disney say that they're hoping to reach out and teach even more kids to code with their latest effort, which is a drag and drop experience based in Java so that kids won't have to type in each snippet of code manually, instead dragging them into the correct order.

Disney have also partnered with Apple to host coding sessions during Apple's week-long Hour of Code program, with resources for teachers and the program itself featured on the Code.org website.

“The artistry and innovative technology used to create ‘Disney’s Moana’ is rooted in the types of skills that kids will develop by learning the basics of computer science,” said Osnat Shurer, producer of Disney’s Moana, in a press release. “We hope that Moana’s fierce determination and sense of adventure encourages children to try this tutorial and learn the skills they need to become future filmmakers and storytellers.”