Written by contributor Simoun Marsada
Last month, Disney dropped a teaser for Raya and The Last Dragon, the animation mogul’s new offering following their streak of very successful films like Frozen and Moana. It also is another practice in tradition to represent different cultures from around the world. And with Raya, it’s Southeast Asia’s time.
In the teaser, we are presented with the sprawling story of Raya, a fierce young woman who is in an epic quest to bring peace between the divided nations of Kumandra, and to do so, she needs to find the last of the dragons, a species that vanished after a particularly devastating turmoil. Along the journey, she’ll meet Sisu, a water dragon, which fans are sure to love.
As someone from the scorching regions of Southeast Asia, Raya is more than an animation film. It’s another step towards the further representation of the other facet of Asia. Just by the teaser alone, you can see a lot of Southeast Asian influence. Raya’s weapon is an arnis, Philippine’s national weapon for eskrima, the roofs you see Raya is jumping from is inspired by Khmer architecture, Raya’s buddy/travel pod, Tuk Tuk, is named after Thailand’s popular three-wheeled vehicle, and the name Raya itself means “great” in Indonesia. The filmmakers behind Raya lead by directors Don Hall and Carlos López Estrada and writers Qui Nguyen and Adele Lim reportedly traveled to countries in Southeast Asia to get a personal look at the cultures they aim to showcase so we’re pretty sure they’ll get it right! And even if they don’t, what Raya is doing is the start of an interest in Southeast Asian cultures which is a big check.
Now, on to the story. Raya and the Last Dragon features an epic tale about dividing nations in what looked like to be a ravaged land. This is something that will always remain relevant. Southeast Asian countries have past confederates and political concepts like the Maphilindo that aim to get the countries together so seeing this means the makers are doing their homework. We’re also excited about the other characters that we’re going to meet in the film. In the trailer, you see a person behind a mask fighting Raya in combat training and the tribes that the plotline might be referring to as the warring nations. They seem to be vibrant characters that will bring an interesting dynamic to the film.
Raya is the first of Disney to heavily feature Southeast Asian culture but the animation company isn’t a stranger to productions with an Asian influence. They’ve already featured West Asia with Aladdin where we’ve met the first West Asian princess, Princess Jasmine, and of course, Mulan, which represented East Asia, most particularly China, and which was also remade this year into a live-action movie. Disney could have not chosen a more perfect material in Raya to go back to celebrating the cultures of the vast Asian continent.
With Raya, I’m starting to feel what it feels like to be seen. While we’ve seen a representation of Southeast Asians in Hollywood such as having a Filipino character in Mateo Liwanag in Superstore and featuring Bangkok predominantly in The Hangover Part II, they’re still pretty minuscule and built around novelty. Last year, the entire Asia had big wins with Crazy Rich Asians being the highest-grossing rom-com of the 2010s and Parasite sweeping the award season and being hailed as one of the best films of the decade. These are all triumphs in showcasing Asians in particular but Raya is a different kind of breed as it taps into a younger audience that might be unaware of their lack of representation. Just imagine young boys and girls seeing someone they look like and live in a world like theirs on the big screen and the bonus is that it comes from a colossal platform like Disney! Nonetheless, Raya looks like it’s going to be loved by everyone across the globe!
Raya and the Last Dragon is set to hit U.S. theaters March 12, 2021, and Kelly Marie Tran of the new Star Wars trilogy is set to voice as Raya and Awkwafina from Jumanji: The Next Level is to provide the voice for the bumbling dragon named Sisu. Further cast and plot details are yet to be announced.
We can’t wait to see the rousing legend of Raya! It’s sure to be a fiery ride!
