Raya and the Last Dragon
Raya and the Last Dragon ( ) is a 2021 American computer-animated fantasy adventure film produced by Walt Disney Animation Studios and distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures. The 59th film produced by the studio, it was directed by Don Hall and Carlos López Estrada, co-directed by Paul Briggs and John Ripa (in their feature directorial debuts), and produced by Osnat Shurer and Peter Del Vecho, with a screenplay written by Qui Nguyen and Adele Lim. The film is based on traditional Southeast Asian cultures. Starring the voices of Kelly Marie Tran, Awkwafina, Izaac  Wang, Gemma Chan, Daniel Dae Kim, Benedict Wong, and Sandra Oh, "Raya and the Last Dragon" depicts a warrior princess who seeks out the fabled last dragon, with hopes of restoring the dragon gem that would bring back her father and banish the evil spirits known as the Druun from the land of Kumandra. Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures had planned to release "Raya and the Last Dragon" in theaters in the United States on November 25, 2020, however this was delayed to March 5, 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The film was simultaneously available on Disney+ Premier Access  as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic's effects on movie theaters. In July 2021, shortly after its premium access run, the film became the second most-viewed streaming title behind Netflix's fifth season of "Lucifer". The film became the third most streamed movie title of 2021, and has grossed over $130 million worldwide and received positive reviews from critics, who praised the animation and voice acting. The film received various accolades, including a nomination for Best Animated Feature Film at the 94th Academy Awards, and was nominated in the same category at the 79th Golden Globe Awards . However, it lost both awards to another Disney film, "Encanto". "Raya and the Last Dragon" also led the 49th Annie Awards with ten nominations, but did not win in any of the categories nominated. Plot. Five hundred years ago, the peaceful and prosperous sub-continent of Kumandra is ravaged by the Druun, evil, dark-colored spirits that turn every living thing in their path to stone. Sisu, the last surviving dragon, is given her siblings' magic which was placed in a gem. She concentrates her magic into the gem and blasts the Druun away, reviving Kumandra's people but not  its dragons. A power struggle for the gem divides Kumandra's people into five separate kingdoms called Fang, Heart, Spine, Talon and Tail, corresponding to their placement along a gigantic dragon-shaped river. Five hundred years later, Chief Benja of the Heart tribe, which ends up retaining possession of the dragon gem, trains his daughter, young warrior Princess Raya to protect the gem. Firmly believing Kumandra can be reunited, Benja holds a feast for the leadership of all five tribes. During the feast, Raya befriends Namaari, daughter of Chief Virana of the Fang tribe and Fang's princess, who gives  Raya a dragon pendant and tells her of a legend that says the dragon Sisu still exists and can be summoned. Trusting Namaari, Raya shows her the gem's chamber. Namaari betrays Raya as part of a plot to help Fang steal the gem. Alerted to the attack, Benja and the other tribes arrive and start fighting over the gem, breaking it into five pieces in the scuffle. The gem's destruction creates a fissure which releases the Druun once more, quickly overtaking the Land of Heart. As every tribe member steals a piece of the gem and flees, Benja  notices that the Druun are repelled by water and sacrifices himself to save Raya's life by throwing her in the river before getting turned to stone by the Drunn. Six years later, Raya treks across Kumandra searching for Sisu to have her create another gem and banish the Druun once more. She manages to summon her at a shipwreck in Tail where Sisu admits that she did not create the gem, but wielded it on behalf of her four siblings, who each contributed their magic to the gem. Raya and Sisu resolve to take back the four stolen pieces  of the gem, reassemble it and use it to banish the Druun and restore Raya's father and others who were turned to stone. Raya and Sisu travel through tribes, reclaiming pieces of the gem and making new friends: the young restaurateur Boun from Tail, the baby con artist Little Noi from Talon, and the warrior Tong from Spine, all of whom have lost loved ones to the Druun. Namaari pursues Raya, hoping to gain the gem shards for the Fang tribe. Each gem shard they acquire blesses Sisu with one of her siblings' magical powers. Raya, not fully trusting  their new companions, insists Sisu remain disguised as a human, but Sisu reveals herself to save Raya from Namaari at Spine. At Fang, Sisu persuades Raya to propose an alliance to Namaari rather than steal the final piece of the gem. As a gesture of trust, Raya returns the pendant Namaari gave her years ago. Namaari, torn between her responsibility to Fang and her wish to help defeat the Druun, threatens them with a crossbow. Sisu tries to calm Namaari but Raya attacks with her sword, causing Namaari's crossbow to fire and kill Sisu. Sisu's death drains away  all the water of Kumandra, allowing the Druun to overrun the realm. Furious by Namaari's actions, Raya pursues Namaari, whom she finds grieving the petrification of her mother and they fight while Raya's companions use the gem pieces to evacuate the people of Fang. Raya defeats and prepares to kill Namaari but stops after realizing her own role in Sisu's death due to her inability to trust others. Raya and Namaari go to aid the others. As the Druun gain on her group, Raya remembers how trust allowed Sisu to save the world. She urges the others  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. The rest follow suit and Namaari reassembles the gem before the Druun petrifies her as well. With the dragon gem reassembled, it unleashes a powerful shockwave that spreads throughout Kumandra, vanquishes all the Drunn, and conjures up a magical rainstorm which revives everyone, alongside all the dragons who later revive Sisu. The group reunites with their lost loved ones, including Raya and her father, and the tribes and dragons gather at Heart to unify  as Kumandra once again. Cast. The film featured the voice of Dichen Lachman as both General Atitaya of Fang and a Spine warrior; Patti Harrison was cast as the chief of Tail; Dumbfoundead portrayed Chai, a flower guy; Sung Kang voices Dang Hai, the former chief of Talon; Sierra Katow voices both a Talon merchant and a Fang officer; Ross Butler voices the chief of Spine; François Chau voices Wahn; and Gordon Ip and Paul Yen voice Talon merchants. Production. Development. In October 2018, "Deadline Hollywood" reported Disney was developing a fantasy animated film produced by Osnat Shurer from a  screenplay by Adele Lim, with additional directorial debuts by Paul Briggs and Dean Wellins. Most of them have been involved in other Disney films including "Frozen" (2013), "Zootopia" (2016) and "Moana" (2016). The film was untitled at the time and its characters remained unclear because of Disney's general policy of secrecy about its development timeline, but casting details hinted that it would involve a female protagonist with Asian characteristics. In August 2019, Disney officially announced the film during its D23 Expo Walt Disney Animation Studios' presentation panel. They also announced the casting of Cassie Steele as Raya and of  Awkwafina as Sisu. In August 2020, Disney officially announced the replacement of several cast and crew members. Don Hall, director of "Winnie the Pooh" (2011) and "Big Hero 6" (2014), and Carlos López Estrada, who had joined Disney Animation in 2019, took over as directors at an unexpected invitation upon being impressed by his directorial work on comedy-drama film "Blindspotting" (2018). Briggs joined John Ripa as one of the screenwriters, having been demoted from his initial position as co-director. In addition, Qui Nguyen joined Lim as co-writer and Peter Del Vecho joined Shurer as producer. Steele was  also replaced by Kelly Marie Tran due to changes in characters and plot. Shurer said the cast must embody the same spirits as the character and that Tran was better suited for the role. According to Hall, Disney recast the role because Raya had been originally conceived of as a "stoic loner", but the team began to infuse her with elements of "levity" and "swagger" similar to the character of Star-Lord in Marvel's "Guardians of the Galaxy" (2014). "The Hollywood Reporter" said Tran was selected for her "lightness and buoyancy, but also badassery". Tran had to learn to  trust the production team because she had unsuccessfully auditioned for the role of Raya. By January 2020, when Tran replaced Steele as Raya, she was aware Disney Animation had already rejected her before and was now hiring her to replace another female actor. Disney's casting choices on "Raya and the Last Dragon" were kept secret from the cast members; Disney hired each of them separately and had them record their lines individually. The cast, however, accidentally discovered each other's involvement before Disney officially revealed the cast list. The film is set in a fantasy land called Kumandra, inspired  by the Southeast Asian cultures of Brunei, Singapore, Laos, Thailand, Timor-Leste, Cambodia, Vietnam, Myanmar, Malaysia, Indonesia, and the Philippines. To do background research, the filmmakers and production team traveled to Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia, Indonesia, the Philippines, and Laos. The filmmakers formed the Southeast Asia Story Trust, a collective of cultural consultants for the film which included Dr. Steve Arounsack, an associate professor of Lao Anthropology at California State University, Stanislaus. Thai artist Fawn Veerasunthorn served as the head of story for the film. To choose the protagonist's name, the filmmakers reviewed dozens of suggestions recommended by experts from  Disney's Southeast Asia Story Trust. Screenwriter Adele Lim had an emotional reaction when she first heard the name "Raya", which means "celebration" in Malay. To prevent further spread of the SARS CoV-2 virus during the COVID-19 pandemic, the filmmakers practiced social distancing, working from home using digital communication software such as Zoom. Animation. "Raya and the Last Dragon" portrays a combination of Southeast Asian cultures; Raya's hat is identical to the Philippines' traditional headgear while her fighting techniques come from Malaysian and Indonesian battle traditions. Water is one of the plot's central elements; it is used to  illustrate Raya's emotional growth. Smoothly colored bodies of water represent moments in which Raya feels close to those around her while distrust is represented by water bodies depicted with higher contrast that dramatizes shadows and silhouettes. Raya's costume design, hairstyle, and equipment are also based on her fighting ability and traditional Southeast Asian garments. Production of the film was supervised by executive producer Jennifer Lee, chief creative officer of Disney Animation. Kelsey Hurley supervised an all-female leadership team with the help of associate technical supervisors Gabriela Hernandez and Shweta Viswanathan. This team oversaw the flow of technical  resources; editing and rendering software programs such as Autodesk Maya, Houdini, and Nuke, and programming languages like Python and C++ were used on the production. Music. James Newton Howard composed the score for "Raya and the Last Dragon", his fourth score for an animated film by Walt Disney Animation Studios after "Dinosaur", "", and "Treasure Planet". The score was released on February 26, 2021. Jhené Aiko wrote and performed a song titled "Lead the Way" for the end credits. On March 2, 2021, Disney Studios Philippines announced Filipina singer KZ Tandingan would be singing ""Gabay"" (Guide), Disney's first-ever Filipino -language song. The track, the Filipino version of "Lead the Way", would be part of the film's soundtrack for the Filipino dub of the film. Allie Benedicto, studio marketing head of Disney Philippines, said the song "demonstrates our commitment to work with local creative talents to tell our stories in a locally relevant manner". In a press release, Tandingan said she was grateful and proud to be singing in her native language as well as singing in a Disney film. She liked its messages of trust, coming together and uniting to change the world when feeling weak and alone . Release. Theatrical and streaming. "Raya and the Last Dragon" was originally scheduled to be released in the United States on November 25, 2020. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, however, the film's release was delayed to March 12, 2021. On December 10, 2020, as part of Disney's Investor Day presentation, it was announced the film's theatrical release date was preponed to March 5, 2021, and would be simultaneously released on Disney+ Premier Access. "Raya and the Last Dragon" was available for purchase through Premier Access until June 4, 2021; it was available free to all subscribers in Latin  America from April 23, and from June 4 in other countries. In theaters, "Raya and the Last Dragon" was accompanied by the short film "Us Again". Home media. Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment released "Raya and the Last Dragon" on Digital HD on April 2, 2021, with DVD, Blu-ray, and Ultra HD Blu-ray releases following a month later on May 18. The digital release also included "Us Again". Bonus features bundled with its Blu-ray release include "An Introduction to "Us Again"", a behind-the-scenes look of the short "Us Again"; "Taste of Raya", a virtual Southeast  Asian dining experience; "Raya: Bringing It Home", an inside look on how the animators worked at home; "Martial Artists", a lesson on the martial art forms and weapons used in the film; "We are Kumandra", the cultural influences of the film from the Southeast Asia Story Trust; outtakes from the film; facts and Easter eggs; Ripa's experience of working on the storyboard; and deleted scenes. Reception. Box office. "Raya and the Last Dragon" grossed $54.7 million in the United States and Canada, and $75.7 million in other territories for a worldwide total of $130.4 million. In  the US and Canada, the film was released alongside "Chaos Walking" and "Boogie", and was initially projected to gross $6-$7 million in 2,045 theaters in its opening weekend. However, after making $2.5 million on its first day, due to the re-opening of New York City theaters, weekend estimates were raised to $8.3 million. On its debut weekend it took $8.5 million, topping the box office. Theater chains Cinemark and Harkins in the US, and Cineplex in Canada, did not initially run the film after declining Disney's rental terms, which led to "Raya and the  Last Dragon" failing to match the opening-weekend grosses of "" and "Tom & Jerry", two family films that were also released amid the pandemic. "Raya and the Last Dragon" performance, however, improved in the following weeks, matching and eventually surpassing "Tom & Jerry's" box office numbers. "Raya and the Last Dragon" made $5.5 million in its second weekend and $5.2 million in its third, remaining atop the box office. Audience viewership. In its first three days in the week of March 1, "Raya And The Last Dragon" was watched for 355 million minutes and placed fourth for the week  among movies. The film was made available on Disney+ without any additional cost on June 4, 2021, worldwide; it was the "second-most viewed streaming title" following after Netflix's "Lucifer". "Raya and the Last Dragon" was viewed for approximately 1.1 billion minutes from May 31 to June 6, a significant increase for the film and any streaming title, which previously had 115 million viewing minutes a week when it was only available as a premium title for $30. According to the official list of the most watched streaming titles of 2021 released on January 21, 2022, by Deadline  and Nielsen, "Raya and the Last Dragon" ranked as the "third most streamed movie title of 2021" with 8.34 billion minutes watched, just behind "Luca" (2021) and "Moana" (2016) which had 10.5 billion and 8.9 billion minutes watched respectively. In January 2022, tech firm Akamai reported that the film was the ninth most pirated film of 2021. Critical response. "Raya and the Last Dragon" received positive reviews from critics. Review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes reports of critics have given the film, a positive review with an average rating of . The website's 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 46 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews". Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A" on an A+ to F scale while PostTrak reported 92% of audience members gave it a positive score and that 78% said they would definitely recommend it. The female empowerment and the craftsmanship aspects were praised. "IndieWire" writer Kate Erbland  assessed it with a "B+"; she found the film to be creative, favourably comparing it to "Mulan" (1998) and "The Princess and the Frog" (2009), and described its perspective as different. "The Atlantic" strongly praised the world-building and detail, but thought: "subordinated the story to world building muddies the film's message". From the "San Francisco Chronicle", Julie Tremaine complimented the depiction of females. David Fear of "Rolling Stone" rated "Raya and the Last Dragon" three and a half stars out of five; in terms of praise, he attributed the action scenes and sequences and vocal performances to "actually  mak[ing] the film come alive". In "RogerEbert.com," the film was regarded as promoting female empowerment but not talking down to the audience in the process. Sandie Angulo Chen for Common Sense Media gave it a score of four out of five stars, particularly for its empowerment. At "Forbes", the film's animation, humor, and emotional moments were praised. Others were disappointed in the limited Southeast Asian representation in the cast, and found the narrative over-engineered. Keith Baldwin of PopDust.com criticized the trailer's cultural aesthetics and character motivations, while finding similarities to "" and "The Legend of Korra". Most of  the cast, with exceptions of Kelly Marie Tran, Butler, Thalia Tran, Wang, and Harrison, are of East Asian heritage. A. Felicia Wade of "DiscussingFilm" pointed this out in her review, commenting on the "disheartening" lack of accurate representation in the vocal cast, commenting it "misses the mark at its core". Justin Chang of "NPR" admired the animation and humor, but said the plot is over-detailed. The unavailability of Disney+ in the majority of Southeast Asia was also criticised.