Back in August 2019 at Disney’s D23 Expo, news about Walt Disney Animation Studios newest movie project, Raya and the Last Dragon was released to the public. The news came from the Malaysian born US screenwriter herself, Adele Lim, who is best known for co-writing the hit movie Crazy Rich Asians. She was joined on stage by producer Osnat Shurer, the producer for Moana, and actors Cassie Steele and Awkwafina, who will be playing the two main characters. This will mark the company’s 59th feature film in 80 years and will be directed by Paul Briggs and Dean Willins and co-directed by John Ripa.
The film is set to take place in Lumandra, which producer Osnat Shurer described as “a reimagined Earth inhabited by an ancient civilization that venerated the mythical dragons for their power and their wisdom”. This sets the stage for our main character, Raya (voiced by Steele), to embark on her mission to find the last dragon, Sisu (voiced by Awkwafina). Inspiration for the film draws from Southeast Asian culture and mythology including Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, and the Philippines. This makes Raya Disney’s first-ever Southeast Asian princess.
Many fans are excited to see this long-awaited princess up on the big screen. Unfortunately, fans will have to wait a little while longer before it is released. The original release date for the film was in November of this year but has now been pushed back to March 2021 due to the pandemic. A trailer for the movie has been recently released by Walt Disney Animation Studios’ Youtube channel. The film not only is breaking barriers but is also staying true to being culturally appropriate with the screenwriter herself being Malaysian and the cast has not been white-washed as the two main voice actors are of South-East Asian descent. This is a film that many people have high hopes for and can’t wait to see.