Tong

Tong is a supporting character in Disney’s 2021 animated feature film Raya and the Last Dragon. Described as a formidable giant, Tong was the last surviving member of Kumandra’s Spine Land, after humanity was desolated by the Druun. Among the casualties were his family, including his infant son. In the aftermath, Tong became the sole guardian of Spine’s Dragon Gem piece, and joined forces with Raya to save the world with the help of the last dragon, Sisu.
==Background==
===Official Description===
:Underneath his huge, gruff, and fierce exterior, Tong is really a lonely woodsman with a soft spot for little ones. Equal parts severity and softness, he is truly a gentle giant.
===Physical appearance===
Tong is middle-aged Southeast Asian buff man who towers in height over Raya, Namaari, and Sisu in her human form. He has black eyes and dark brown hair on the sides of his head while having a goatee and mustache. Tong wears heavy clothing to keep him warm due to the cold weather of Spine. He has leather boots that seem to have been made in a rush. His outfit is completed with a red cloth tied around his waist, a black eye patch on his left eye, and a fang to replace a button on his fur jacket.
==Appearances==
===Raya and the Last Dragon===
Arriving at the Land of Spine, Raya and Sisu get caught in a sack where the two find themselves at Tong's hut to which Tong explains to the two that it has been a while that he saw someone passing by his shelter. As Sisu believes that Tong is lonely, he denies, explaining that he was born and bred to do only one thing: to conquer his fear and to face off his enemies with courage. Just as he explains to the two that it will take up to two weeks to clean up what he plans to do to them (even though it's apparent he doesn't actually have a plan), he is foiled by Tuk Tuk, Noi, and the three Ongis who tie him up to a post.
Upon looking at a group of Spine soldiers petrified by the Druun, Tong shares his story of his warriors battling the Druun before they were petrified just before Raya plans to stall Namaari's plan. As Raya asks him for his name, the lone warrior of Spine introduces himself as Tong to which he pleads to him to help them by escorting her companions out of the village while she distracts Namaari, to which she agrees. Tong escorts the rest of Raya's companions across the forest as Raya engages in a duel against Namaari, but just as they're about to leave, Sisu notices that Raya is in trouble and reveals her true dragon form to rush in and save her, after which they all leave together while Namaari watches in stunned silence, having never seen a live dragon before,
On their way to Fang, Tong agrees to be a part of the group's mission to save Kumandra since like everyone else, he wishes to be reunited with his family, as well as bring his people back, Sisu devises a plan to Raya to get the last Dragon Gem Piece from Fang, but no one else is swilling to go along with it since it involves trusting Namaari to just hand it over by explaining their plight. In response to this, Sisu takes Raya to where her brothers and sisters are frozen as statues explains the situation when she was entrusted with the other's pieces, which they infused with their magic, and which allowed her to vanquish the Druun, even if it meant the rest of them were turned to stone. She explains that when her brothers and sisters put their faith in her, it empowered her beyond anything that she could have imagined, and the same could also happen to Namaari as a plan to save Kumandra, which convinces Raya, and by extension, the others, to at least try her plan.
Upon arriving at Fang, Tong argues with Boun about the ingredients placed in the soup Raya's father made to which Raya adds jsut the right balance of ingredients to make it taste better and tells her friends about how she learned to make it that way from her father made for her before his petrification. Tong then explains to Raya that the baby's name is Noi after which the conversation is disrupted upon seeing a flare in the sky. The next day, Tong and the rest of Raya's friends meet up with Namaari, but due to feeling conflicted between her duty to her people and cooperating with them to help defeat the Druun, she pulls out a crossbow and nervously threatens them to give her their gem pieces, which causes everyone else to angrily claim they shouldn't have trusted her. Sisu tries to calm her down, but when Raya takes out her whipsword to stop her when she sees her finger on the trigger, she accidentally fires an arrow at Sisu that hits and kills her. With Sisu gone, Tong and the rest of Raya's friends react to what happened and Namaari did to her just before the Druun arrive at Kumandra again. However, while Raya tries to confront Namaari in a rage, the rest of them witness the citizens of Fang being attacked by the Druun due to all the water drying up as a result of Sisu dying. Therefore, Boun leads them in evacuating as many citizens to safety as possible, and eventually, both Raya and Namaari join them as well after snapping out of their anger. However, the Druun eventually begin to surround and trap their group. While this happens, Raya remembers how trust allowed Sisu to save the world. To the others' surprise, she then urges them to unite and reassemble the gem, showing her faith in Namaari by handing over her gem piece and allowing the Druun to turn her into stone. Boun, Tong, Noi, and the Ongis then solemnly follow suit, and Namaari reassembles the gem before the Druun petrify her as well.
With all the pieces of the Dragon Gem reunited, the Druun are wiped away by a resulting shockwave, and Tong is revived alongside everyone in Kumandra by a magical rainstorm that follows. This time, the dragons are also revived, and they, in turn, quickly revive Sisu. Like everyone else, Tong returns to his respective kingdom, Spine and reunites with his people. Later, Tong visits the kingdom of Heart with everyone else in rejoice and to formally join together as one nation again.
===Once Upon a Studio===
Tong appears joining all other characters for a group photo to celebrate the 100th anniversary of Disney. Tong stands behind Boun and watches Pocahontas sing a verse of "When You Wish Upon a Star". Tong sings along and stands with Raya, Sisu, Tuk Tuk, Boun, Noi, Namaari and the Ongis while having Big Mama, Dinky and Boomer on his shoulders as the group photo is successfully taken.
==Trivia==
*Both Benedict Wong's roles of Tong and Wong have their names end in "-ong".
*In Chinese, the name "Tong" means "hall" or "gathering place".
*Tong's name is similar to Wong from the Marvel Cinematic Universe, a character his voice actor portrayed.
==Gallery==
Raya and the Last Dragon - Tong.jpg
Raya and the Last Dragon OT (36).png
Raya and the Last Dragon OT (37).png
Raya and the Last Dragon OT (17).png
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File:RayaBounTong2.PNG
Raya and the Last Dragon OT (47).png
Raya and the Last Dragon OT (46).png
Journey Through Kumandra Figurine Set.jpg
Disney Store - Raya Deluxe Figurine Set.jpg
Raya and the Last Dragon Deluxe Figurine Set.webp
Tong.png
RATLD MealsArt.jpg
Tong - Survivor lorcana.jpg
==References==
==External links==
*Tong on the Heroes Wiki
*Tong on Raya and the Last Dragon Wiki
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fr:Tong
ja:トング
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Category:Raya and the Last Dragon characters
Category:Disney characters
Category:Animated characters
Category:Characters in the Disney animated features canon
Category:Males
Category:Asian characters
Category:Warriors
Category:Heroes
Category:Parents
Category:Spouses
Category:Those brought back to life
Category:Neutral characters