Raya and The Last Dragon

***Raya and the Last Dragon*** is an American animated fantasy film produced at Walt Disney Animation Studios and distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures. It is released on March 5, 2021 and is the 59th animated feature in the Disney Animated Canon.

## Contents

* Synopsis
	+ Alternate Premise
* Production
	+ Development
	+ Casting
* Music
* Marketing
* Release
* Reception
	+ Home media
* Cast
* Development
* Trivia
* Videos
* Gallery
	+ Promotional
	+ Screenshots
	+ Concept Art
* References

## Synopsis

***Raya*** *will be an epic fantasy adventure with southeast Asian themes, set in a realm called Kumandra, described as "a reimagined earth inhabited by an ancient civilization". Five clans form the land of the dragon, and Raya is determined to find the last dragon.*

### Alternate Premise

*Long ago, in the world of Kumandra, humans and dragons lived together in harmony. But when sinister monsters known as the Druun threatened the land, the dragons sacrificed themselves to save humanity. Now, 500 years later, those same monsters have returned and it’s up to a lone warrior, Raya, to track down the last dragon in order to finally stop the Druun for good. However, along her journey, she got turned to stone, the end.*

## Production

### Development

On May 24, 2018, *That Hashtag Show* reported that Walt Disney Animation Studios was developing an animated film titled *Dragon Empire*, which would be the directorial debut of story artists Paul Briggs and Dean Wellins, written by Kiel Murray. On October of the same year, *Deadline* reported that Adele Lim was hired to retouch the script, and that Osnat Shurer had been hired to produce the movie. On August 24, 2019, Disney officially announced the film during their D23 Expo Walt Disney Animation Studios' presentation panel. In August 2020, it was announced that Don Hall and Carlos López Estrada, the latter who had joined Disney Animation in 2019, were now taking over the reins as directors, with Briggs remaining as co-director and John Ripa joining him. In addition, Qui Nguyen joined Lim as co-writer and Peter Del Vecho joined Shurer as producer.

### Castingedit | edit source

On August 2, 2019, during the D23 Expo, Awkwafina and Cassie Steele were announced to have been cast in the film as Sisu and Raya, respectively.] On August 27, 2020, it was revealed that Steele has left the project, with Kelly Marie Tran voicing Raya instead.

The film is set in a fictional fantasy land called Kumandra, inspired by Southeast Asian cultures from Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia, Myanmar, Malaysia, Indonesia, the Philippines, and Laos.[10][11][12] To conduct research, the film makers and the production team traveled to all of the abovementioned countries, except Myanmar and Malaysia.

## Music

James Newton Howard will compose the score for *Raya and the Last Dragon*.[1] The film marks the fourth time he has scored an animated film by Walt Disney Animation Studios, having previously composed for *Dinosaur*, *Atlantis: The Lost Empire*, and *Treasure Planet*.

## Marketing

The first look poster and teaser of the film was released on October 21, 2020. On December 10th, 2020, Disney's official Instagram account revealed a new poster for the film, as well as its new release date.

## Release

*Raya and the Last Dragon* was originally scheduled to be released in the United States on November 25, 2020.[5] However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the film's release was originally delayed to March 12, 2021.[17] On December 10, 2020, as part of Disney's Investor Day presentation, it was announced that the film will be simultaneously released in theatres and on Disney+ with Premier Access, on March 5, 2021.[18] It later released free-to-charge to all Disney+ subscribers on March 12, 2021.

## Reception

On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, 96% of 91 critics have given the film a positive review, with an average rating of 7.80/10. The website's critics consensus reads, "Another gorgeously animated, skillfully voiced entry in the Disney canon, *Raya and the Last Dragon* continues the studio's increased representation while reaffirming that its classic formula is just as reliable as ever." On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 75 out of 100 based on 25 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".

### Home media

*Raya and the Last Dragon* is scheduled to be released by Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment on Digital HD and on DVD, Blu-ray, and Ultra HD Blu-ray in mid 2021.[19]

## Cast

* Kelly Marie Tran as Raya
* Awkwafina as Sisu
* Tommy Lee Jones as Druun
* Gemma Chan as Namaari
	+ Jona Xiao as Young Namaari
* Izaac Wang as Boun
* Thalia Tran as Noi
* Benedict Wong as Tong
* Alan Tudyk as Tuk Tuk
* Daniel Dae Kim as Chief Benja
* Sandra Oh as Virana
* Lucille Soong as Dang Hu
* Patti Harrison as Chief of Tail
* Ross Butler as Chief of Spine
* Dichen Lachman as General Atitāya, Spine Warrio
* Paul Yen as Merchant #1
* Gordon Ip as Merchant #2
* Jon "Dumbfoundead" Park as Chai
* Sierra Katow as Merchant, Fang Officer
* François Chau as Wahn
* Isabella Abiera, Deuce Basco, G.K. Bowes, Reggie De Leon, Liza Del Mundo, Terri Douglas, Tania Gunadi, Ren Hanami, Ben Hisoler, Jennie Kwan, Aleks Le, Kayla Rose Melikian, Yabo Obien, Lucian Perez, Vyvan Pham, Griffin Puatu, Vincent Rodriguez III, Abraham Sigler, JB Tadena, Lily Villegas, Jenn Wong, Sanyee Yuan as Additional Voices

## Development

*Raya and the Last Dragon's* development goes back to 2017, when Disney shelved a re-telling of *Jack and the Beanstalk* that would've taken place in 15th century Spain and focused on the young hero befriending an 11-year-old giantess. The then-untitled animation project had a March 12, 2021 release date announced when Disney revealed its theatrical release plans through 2022.

## Trivia

* *Raya and The Last Dragon* will be Walt Disney Animation Studios' first original animated film since 2016's *Zootopia* and *Moana*. And the first time in 5 years that Walt Disney Animation Studios has two films In 2021 since 2016 with *Zootopia* and *Moana*.