Disney’s Raya and the Last Dragon it’s a movie this is so different of the majority other films of this type, it didn’t even need to be fully trained for writers and actors to skip the chance to be a part of it.
“It was one of those things where I heard ‘Strong female protagonist’, ‘Asian-inspired dragon’ and I was like, ‘I’m your girl for this. Like a thousand percent ‘”, co-writer Adele Lim, best known for adapting Crazy Rich Asians, told io9. Lim was brought to the Disney animated film a few years in development, when only big strokes were in place for what was to be Raya and the Last Dragon, but it didn’t matter. She wanted to get in, as well as many others.
Scheduled for release – in theaters and for Disney + Premier Access – on March 5, Raya and the Last Dragon occurs in a fictional world inspired by Southeast Asia where humans and dragons used to live in harmony. An ancient evil arose, killing most of the dragons until the last survivor, Sisu, used a special gem to defeat them. In the 500 years since the Dragon Gem divided the land with tribes fighting for their property. Things only get worse when the old evil returns and a young woman named Raya (Kelly Marie Tran) is tasked with protecting the jewel and finding Sisu long gone.
The story as it is in the final film (there’s much more to it) it’s very complex, but it didn’t start that way. Soon after finishing work in 2016 Moana, producer Osnat Shurer started to work Raya. At the time, the story was still being worked out, but certain things would be in it for sure.
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“The strong warrior female character and these five lands around the Rio do Dragão that have been divided and need to come together ”, explained Shurer to io9. They also decided that the dragon in the movie looked more like a traditional Asian dragon than something like one War of Thrones Project. But other than that, there wasn’t much that was fully formed about the story.
It didn’t matter to people like Lim and star Kelly Marie Tran, who jumped into being part of something that would focus on Asian scenery and people and reach the mainstream.
“[I wanted to do it because of] the fact that it is about a part of the world where my family is from and where I am from. A part of the world that is not really honored very often, ” Tran, who gives Raya a voice, told io9. “So Raya herself as a character and recognizing that we are really trying to expand the narrative when it comes to what people think of when they think of the word ‘hero’ or what they think of the word ‘princess?’ I don’t think we saw anyone with these two labels who look, speak and act like Raya. And this is very important to me, that we continue to create new types of heroes and princesses. It’s really cool to be a part of it. “
Lim echoed Tran’s feelings. Before becoming a Hollywood writer, she grew up in Southeast Asia and liked something that, at the time, she considered natural.
“Growing up for me, I was influenced by many Hong Kong kung fu movies where women, even if they were the pretty girl or the horrible mother-in-law, could still draw a sword and destroy all the bad guys,” she said. “When you grew up with strong female action figures like this, you think it’s common. And it wasn’t until I arrived in America that I realized, ‘Oh, not all girls have this hero growing up.’ I have a daughter obsessed with Valkyries and ninjas, so I really wanted to give her, and give to girls like her, this incredible new Disney heroine who kicks all kinds of asses.
And then they did just that. We will have more in Raya next week.
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