The long-anticipated Disney film Raya and the Last Dragon is out now.
Raya and the Last Dragon tells the story of a civilization threatened by a great evil. Its only hope? The last remaining dragon. Once a world where humans and dragons co-existed 500 years prior, the same evil force had endangered the survival of humanity. The dragons sacrificed themselves to halt the land’s imminent end, but now… that evil returns. Centred on Raya, a valiant warrior, we are taken on an exploration of the film’s fictional world of Kumandra. Once found, can the dragon and heroine work together to restore a fractured community, and utilize trust to defeat their foe once and for all?
Development
With the film’s release, this marks Disney’s first vast dive into South-East-Asian culture. Film makers and production visited Laos, Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam, Indonesia and the Philippines as sources of inspiration. They also sought to ensure that the clothing, landscape, weapons and architecture very closely resembled that of the region.
This isn’t Disney’s first exploration into Asian culture however. Their 1998 animated film Mulan, loosely based on ‘The Ballad of Mulan’, explored some archaic values and customs related to China. Asian actors also voiced many of the roles. Mulan, the main protagonist was voiced by two. Ming-Na Wen provided her speaking voice, whilst Lea Salonga provided Mulan’s singing voice.
Cultural Portrayals in Hollywood
Diversity in lead roles, as well as full cast ensembles, for Hollywood films have been a topic of significant discussion in modern times; more so, close cultural portrayals. The success of the 2018 film Crazy Rich Asians exemplifies just how valued it is to have actors/actresses be similar in ethnic background to the characters they’re portraying. The film garnered $239 million worldwide on a $30 million budget, and has a 91% approval rate on review-aggregation site Rotten Tomatoes.
Speaking of Crazy Rich Asians, did you know that Raya and the Last Dragon shares 2 actresses with the film? Awkwafina who played Peik Lin, the eccentric best friend of the film’s female lead, and Gemma Chan who played Astrid, the male lead’s cousin play Sisu, the last dragon, and Namaari, Raya’s nemesis in Disney’s new film respectively.
The Lead Up
The trailer sropped on the 27thof January and has since garnered over 10 million views on YouTube.
It hasn’t all been smooth sailing though. The film was initially scheduled for a November 25, 2020 release in cinemas, however due to the pandemic the film was pushed back to March 2021. The film also underwent a change in lead actress during this time. Due to a revision of the story and character, Kelly Marie Tran replaced Cassie Steele as Raya.
Raya and the Last Dragon hit Australian cinemas on the 4thof March. The film will also be available on Disney+ via premier access from the 5thof March.
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