Raya and the Last Dragon

Raya and the Last Dragon is an 2021 American animated fantasy film produced at Walt Disney Animation Studios and distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures. It is released on March 5th, 2021 and is the 59th animated feature in the Disney Animated Canon.^[1]

Synopsis

Raya will be an epic fantasy adventure with southeast Asian themes, set in a realm called Kumandra, described as "a reimagined earth inhabited by an ancient civilization". Five clans form the land of the dragon, and Raya is determined to find the last dragon.

Alternate Synopsis

Long ago, in the world of Kumandra, humans and dragons lived together in harmony. But when sinister monsters known as the Druun threatened the land, the dragons sacrificed themselves to save humanity. Now, 500 years later, those same monsters have returned and it’s up to a lone warrior, to save the world.

Production

Development

On May 24th, 2018, That Hashtag Show reported that Walt Disney Animation Studios was developing an animated film titled Dragon Empire, which would be the directorial debut of story artists Paul Briggs and Dean Wellins, written by Kiel Murray. On October of the same year, Deadline reported that Adele Lim was hired to retouch the script, and that Osnat Shurer had been hired to produce the movie. On August 24th, 2019, Disney officially announced the film during their D23 Expo Walt Disney Animation Studios' presentation panel. In August 2020, it was announced that Don Hall and Carlos López Estrada, the latter who had joined Disney Animation in 2019, were now taking over the reins as directors, with Briggs remaining as co-director and John Ripa joining him. In addition, Qui Nguyen joined Lim as co-writer and Peter Del Vecho joined Shurer as producer.

Walt Disney Animation Studios’ Raya and the Last Dragon travels to the fantasy world of Kumandra, where humans and dragons lived together in harmony long ago. But when an evil force threatened the land, the dragons sacrificed themselves to save humanity. Now, 500 years later, that same evil has returned and it's up to a lone warrior, Raya, to track down the legendary last dragon to restore the fractured land and its divided people. However, along her journey, she’ll learn that it’ll take more than a dragon to save the world—it’s going to take trust and teamwork as well. Raya and the Last Dragon features the voices of Kelly Marie Tran as Raya, a warrior whose wit is as sharp as her blade, and Awkwafina as the magical, mythical, self-deprecating dragon named Sisu. Characters also include a street-savvy 10-year-old entrepreneur named Boun, the formidable giant Tong and a thieving toddler Noi with her band of Ongis.

Casting

On August 2nd, 2019, during the D23 Expo, Awkwafina and Cassie Steele were announced to have been cast in the film as Sisu and Raya, respectively.^] On August 27th, 2020, it was revealed that Steele has left the project, with Kelly Marie Tran voicing Raya instead.

The film is set in a fictional fantasy land called Kumandra, inspired by Southeast Asian cultures from Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia, Myanmar, Malaysia, Indonesia, the Philippines, and Laos.^[10][11][12] To conduct research, the film makers and the production team traveled to all of the above mentioned countries, except Myanmar and Malaysia.

Music

James Newton Howard will compose the score for Raya and the Last Dragon.^[1] The film marks the fourth time he has scored an animated film by Walt Disney Animation Studios, having previously composed for Dinosaur, Atlantis: The Lost Empire, and Treasure Planet.

Marketing

The first look poster and teaser of the film was released on October 21, 2020. On December 10th, 2020, Disney's official Instagram account revealed a new poster for the film, as well as its new release date.

Release

Raya and the Last Dragon was originally scheduled to be released in the United States on November 25, 2020.^[5] However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the film's release was originally delayed to March 12, 2021.^[17] On December 10, 2020, as part of Disney's Investor Day presentation, it was announced that the film will be simultaneously released in theatres and on Disney+ with Premier Access, on March 5, 2021.^[18] It later released free-to-charge to all Disney+ subscribers on March 12, 2021.

Reception

On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, 96% of 91 critics have given the film a positive review, with an average rating of 7.80/10. The website's critics consensus reads, "Another gorgeously animated, skillfully voiced entry in the Disney canon, Raya and the Last Dragon continues the studio's increased representation while reaffirming that its classic formula is just as reliable as ever." On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 75 out of 100 based on 25 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".

Home media

Raya and the Last Dragon is scheduled to be released by Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment on Digital HD and on DVD, Blu-ray, and Ultra HD Blu-ray in mid 2021.^[19]

Cast

Kelly Marie Tran as Raya^[1]
Awkwafina as Sisu^[1]
Gemma Chan as Namaari^[1]
- Jona Xiao as Young Namaari
Izaac Wang as Boun^[1]
Thalia Tran as Noi^[1]
Benedict Wong as Tong^[1]
Alan Tudyk as Tuk Tuk^[1]
Daniel Dae Kim as Chief Benja^[1]
Sandra Oh as Virana^[1]
Lucille Soong as Dang Hu^[1]
Patti Harrison as Chief of Tail^[1]
Ross Butler as Chief of Spine ^[1]
Dichen Lachman as General Atitāya, Unnamed Spine Warrior
Paul Yen as Merchant #1
Gordon Ip as Merchant #2
Jon "Dumbfoundead" Park as Chai
Sierra Katow as Merchant, Fang Officer
François Chau as Wahn
Isabella Abiera, Deuce Basco, G.K. Bowes, Reggie De Leon, Liza Del Mundo, Terri Douglas, Tania Gunadi, Ren Hanami, Ben Hisoler, Jennie Kwan, Aleks Le, Kayla Rose Melikian, Yabo Obien, Lucian Perez, Vyvan Pham, Griffin Puatu, Vincent Rodriguez III, Abraham Sigler, JB Tadena, Lily Villegas, Jenn Wong, Sanyee Yuan as Additional Voices

Trivia

Raya and The Last Dragon will be Walt Disney Animation Studios' first original animated film since 2016's Zootopia and Moana. And the first time in 5 years that Walt Disney Animation Studios has two films In 2021 since 2016 with Zootopia and Moana.
At the end of the credits there is a tribute to over 400 households that came together via the Internet to make this movie during the Covid-19 pandemic. The credits also list 42 babies born to the crew during the movie's production.
This is the first Disney animated feature film to be scored by James Newton Howard since Treasure Planet (2002).
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the cast members had to record their lines at their own houses while meeting with the directors online through Zoom.
The 19th Disney animated feature film to include a female protagonist after Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937), Cinderella (1950), Alice in Wonderland (1951), Lady and the Tramp (1955), Sleeping Beauty (1959), The Rescuers (1977), The Little Mermaid (1989), The Rescuers Down Under (1990), Beauty and the Beast (1991), Pocahontas (1995), Mulan (1998), Home on the Range (2004), The Princess and the Frog (2009), Tangled (2010), Frozen (2013), Zootopia (2016), Moana (2016), and Frozen II (2019).
The 23rd Disney animated feature film to not be a musical of characters breaking into song three or more times at random moments after Bambi (1942) (which only had songs sung in the background), One Hundred and One Dalmatians (1961) (which was simply a music-musical), The Rescuers (1977), The Black Cauldron (1985), The Great Mouse Detective (1986) (which was simply a music-musical), The Rescuers Down Under (1990), Tarzan (1999) (which only had songs sung in the background), Dinosaur (2000), The Emperor's New Groove (2000) (which only used a musical-like sequence), Atlantis: The Lost Empire (2001), Lilo & Stitch (2002) (which only had songs sung in the background), Treasure Planet (2002), Brother Bear (2003) (which only had songs sung in the background), Home on the Range (2004) (which only used a musical-like sequence), Chicken Little (2005), The Wild (2006), Meet the Robinsons (2007), Bolt (2008), Wreck-It Ralph (2012), Big Hero 6 (2014), Zootopia (2016), and Ralph Breaks the Internet (2018) (which only used a musical-like sequence).
This is the second film to star Awkwafina and Gemma Chan together as they both appeared in the romantic comedy-drama film Crazy Rich Asians, released in 2018.