Disney's Raya and the Last Dragon

I just saw this on my newsfeed. Awesome news. Definitely looking forward to seeing the movie at a (home?) theatre.

I also thought it was interesting that Awkwafina's dragon character is going to be in a human form due to Shapeshifter Mode Lock. It called to mind those criticisms of how Tiana is mostly in frog-form in The Princess and the Frog, and it made me wonder if someone took that to heart and decided to to the opposite.

I wonder how many animators' home computers died to bring us that frame.

That dragon is certainly interesting looking. Very neon.

Is this what South Asian dragons look like, or is this just a fantasy dragon?

Also I want see more of this villain. I hope he will be memorable.

Dragons in Southeast Asian folklore are typically lifted off the South Asian version (nāga), though the Chinese version predominates in Vietnam. Buddhist art in the rest of mainland Southeast Asia (Thailand, Cambodia, Myanmar, Laos) tend to mix and match elements of the two.

And I wonder what happened with Cassie Steele. It's not everyday that tentpole titles just drop their main VA halfway through the production. Great to see Kelly Marie Tran on board, though.

Well, it's not the first Disney movie to do that. The Black Cauldron had Haley Mills on board.

Perhaps personal reasons. These things happen sometimes.

Naga? You mean like snake people?

Edited by Redmess on Aug 27th 2020 at 3:07:33 PM

Kind of. They're the archetypal "dragon" in most Southeast Asian folklores (by way of Hindu/Buddhist influence from India) and can appear as half-human half-serpent, fully human or fully serpent. Sometimes they're also depicted interchangeably with Chinese-style dragons.

H*CK

Edited by eagleoftheninth on Aug 27th 2020 at 6:15:29 AM

You mean sneople?

Edited by Tuckerscreator on Aug 27th 2020 at 6:15:14 AM

https://mobile.twitter.com/DisneyAnimation/status/1318582755849023488

A trailer will be released tomorrow.

I'm getting lots of Avatar influence. Not a bad thing.

Her character design is practically identical to Korra’s.

I wonder how Bryke feels about this.

No Sho Nuff, 0/10.

I think it looks pretty good. Cultural mishmash of Asian cultures, an actual different character design (realistic eyes, a different shape from other Disney princesses so no more Disney Face syndrome), lots of cool imagery.

This looks awesome. Is Raya really going to be a princess though? Not every female Disney character has to be one.

She'll probably end up marketed as one, whether she actually is or not.

That said, I'm intrigued by this trailer. It looks a lot more action-heavy than past "first-look" trailers for Disney animated movies, with lots of emphasis on martial arts. Compare that to the first trailer for Moana, which was largely taken up by comical one-liners from Maui. This looks a lot more serious than that. Disney hasn't really attempted a straight-up animated action movie since Atlantis: The Lost Empire in 2001.

Edited by ElSquibbonator on Oct 21st 2020 at 11:53:09 AM

This feels a lot like what the Mulan remake should have been.

Speaking of which, I wonder if this could end up being the first PG-13 movie in the Disney Animated Canon. I'm wondering because Mulan was the first live-action remake to get that rating.

It would've said so in the trailer. Besides, I'm guessing that, at least on the theatrical front, Disney still wants nothing more than a PG rating for their animated movies to maintain a family friendly image.

Edited by jessicadicicco610 on Oct 21st 2020 at 9:51:46 AM

The trailer didn't say anything about a rating, PG or otherwise.

Between the dragon and Raya's outfit, this could easily be mistaken as a g-rated Mortal Kombat adaptation.

Seriously though, it does look fun.

That was a nice trailer. Bold of them to assume cinemas are going to be open again by March though.

They already are in many Asian countries, plus most of Australia and New Zealand. Turns out that when you fight the pandemic hard and early, the economy fixes itself, who knew.

Oh man that looked sweet. Looking forward to it.