The animated film Raya and the Last Dragon is highly anticipated because it’ll be featuring Disney’s first Southeast Asian princess.
To tide excited viewers over, Walt Disney Animation Studios has released the first-look picture of the film.
The picture showed the warrior Raya with a wavy sword while standing proudly next to her steed, Tuk Tuk.
Long ago, in the fantasy world of Kumandra, humans and dragons lived together in harmony. When sinister monsters known as the Druun threatened the land, the dragons sacrificed themselves to save humanity.
500 years later, the same monsters have returned and it’s up to a lone warrior, Raya, and her trusty steed, Tuk Tuk, to track down the last dragon and finally stop the Druun for good.
Along her journey, she’ll learn that it’ll take much more than dragon magic to save the world- it’s going to take trust as well.
Helming the voice of the titular character is none other than Kelly Marie Tran while Awkwafina is the voice of the dragon, Sisu.
The film is directed by Don Hall, who received the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature for Big Hero 6, and Carlos Lopez, with Paul Briggs and John Ripa co-directing. Osnat Shurer and Peter Del Vecho are producers.
The story is also co-written by Malaysian-born, United States-based screenwriter Adele Lim with Qui Nguyen.
The film is inspired by the cultures and the people of Southeast Asia. Understandably, Hollywood has a history of butchering different cultures but Disney has taken steps to properly portray Asian cultures as accurately as possible.
To do this, the filmmakers worked closely with the Raya Southeast Asia Story Trust, which consisted of expert consultants from the region.
Raya and the Last Dragon opens in cinemas on March 11, 2021.
