Information

Raya and the Last Dragon (/ˈraɪ.ə/ RYE-ə) is a 2021 American animated fantasy action-adventure film produced by Walt Disney Animation Studios and distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures. It was directed by Don Hall and Carlos López Estrada, co-directed by Paul Briggs and John Ripa, and produced by Osnat Schurer and Peter Del Vecho. The screenplay was primarily written by Qui Nguyen and Adele Lim, with additional contributions from various writers, based on a story concept by Bradley Raymond and Helen Kalafatik. Raya and the Last Dragon stars the voices of Kelly Marie Tran, Akwafina, Isaac Wang and Gemma Chan and follows the titular warrior princess Raya, as she searches for the fabled Last Dragon to save her father and Kumandra’s land from evil. Druun of spirits.

Development began in October 2018 and the project was officially announced in August 2019, with the title and voice cast revealed. During production, Disney replaced several cast and crew members, including lead actress Casey Steele, initially announced for Tran to accommodate character and plot changes. The film is inspired by the traditional culture of Southeast Asia. During design and animation, the team focused on its diverse environments and characters while maintaining authentic cultural representations. James Newton Howard composed the score.

Raya and the Last Dragon is released in the United States on March 5, 2021, with access to Premiere simultaneously, in theaters and via Disney+. It was delayed twice from its November 2020 release date due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The film became the third-most streamed film of 2021, and grossed $130.4 million worldwide, excluding its Disney+ Premiere Access revenue. Raya and the Last Dragon received generally positive reviews; Critics praised the imagery and depth, but criticized the story and limited Southeast Asian representation. It was nominated for several accolades, including the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature.

Details

Drunes, mindless spirits who turn every living thing in their path to stone, ravage the rich land of Kumandra. Sisu, the last surviving dragon, concentrates his magic into a gem and explodes Drune, reviving Kumandra’s people but not its dragons. A power struggle for the gem divides the people of Kumandra into five separate main domes called Fang, Heart, Spine, Talon and Tail, corresponding to their placement along a giant dragon-shaped river.

Five hundred years later, Benja, chief of the Heart clan, retains possession of the jewel and trains his young daughter, the warrior princess Raya, to protect it. Believing that Kumandra can be reunited, Benja organizes a feast for the five tribes. During the feast, Raya befriends Princess Namari of the Fang tribe, who gives her a dragon pendant. Trusting Namari, Raya shows her the gem’s chamber, but Namari betrays her as part of a plot to help Fang steal the gem. After being alerted to the attack, Benja and the other tribesmen arrive and fight for the jewel, breaking it into five pieces in the melee. The destruction of the gem creates a rift that releases the drow, who quickly cross the heartlands. As the tribal leaders each steal a piece of the jewel and escape, Benja notices that the water drives away the drow and saves Raya’s life by throwing her into the river before she turns to stone.

Six years later, Raya tracks across Kumandra, creates another of her gems to find Sisuke, and banishes Drun once more. He manages to summon her to Tails, where Sisu admits that she did not create the gem but used it on behalf of her four siblings, who all contributed their magic to the gem. Raya and Sisu resolve to retrieve the four pieces of the gem, reassemble it, and use it to banish Drune and restore those who were turned to stone.

Raya and Sisu travel across the kingdom, recovering pieces of the jewel and making new friends: young restaurateur Bown from Tails, child con artist Little Noi and his three Talons, and spine warrior Tong, all of whom have lost loved ones to Drune. Namari follows Raya, hoping to gain the gem-word for the Fang tribe. Each gem shard they acquire blesses Sisou with the magical powers of one of his siblings. Raya, not fully trusting their new companions, insists that Sisuke remain in human disguise, but he reveals himself to save Raya from being stabbed in the spine. In Fang, Sisu convinces Raya to offer an alliance with Namari instead of stealing the final shard. As a gesture of trust, Raya Namari returns the pendant she had been given years ago. Namari, torn between her duty to the Fang and her desire to defeat Drune, threatens them with a crossbow. Sisou tries to calm Namari down, but seeing Namari’s finger on the trigger, Raya attacks with her whip sword, causing the crossbow to fire and kill Sisou; His death drives away all the water, allowing Draan to transcend the realm.

Enraged by Namari’s actions, Raya chases after her and finds her grieving over her mother’s anger, and they fight as Raya’s companions use the gem fragments to dislodge Fang’s men. Raya prepares to kill Namari but when Namari reminds Raya of her role in Sisu’s death due to her inability to trust the others, they go to help the others. As Drun gains in her group, Raya remembers how Biswas let Sisuke save the world. He calls on the others to assemble and reassemble the gem, showing his faith in Namari by handing over his gem piece and allowing Drune to turn him to stone. Bown, Tong, Noi, and Ongis follow, and reassemble the gem before Namari goes hungry. This causes a shockwave that spreads across Kumandra, defeating all the drow and unleashing a magical rainstorm that revives everyone. It also revives the dragons, who then revive Sisou. The group is reunited with their loved ones; The tribes and dragons gather in the heart to unite again as Kumandra.

Voice Cast

Kelly Marie Tran as Raya, a fierce and virtuous warrior princess at heart who is training to be a guardian of the Dragon Gem. To save his father from destruction and restore peace to Kumandra, he embarks on a quest to find the last dragon.
Aukwafina as Sisu, the last dragon to exist. She has a humorous and somewhat volatile personality, but is also brave, kind and wise.
Isaac Wang as Bowen, a charismatic 10-year-old entrepreneur from Tails who lost his family to Drune.
Gemma Chan as Namari, a warrior princess who rivals Fang and Raya.
Jonah Xiao as young Namari.
Daniel Dae Kim as the main Benja, Raya’s father, Hart’s boss.
Benedict Wong as Tong, a strong, powerful, kind-hearted warrior of the spine who lost his family and fellow villagers to Drun.
Sandra Oh as Virana, Namari’s mother and Fang’s head maid.
Thalia Tran as Little Noi, a child con artist from Talon who lost her mother to Drun. He was raised by Ongis, a creature that resembles a monkey with catfish whiskers.
Lucille Sung as Dang Hu, head of Talon.
Alan Tudyk as Tuk Tuk, Raya’s best friend and loyal steed who is a mix between an armadillo and a pill bug. His name is a reference to the nickname of auto rickshaws in Thailand.
The film also featured the voices of Fang’s General Atitaya and Dichen Lachman as a spineless warrior; Patty Harrison as Tails Head; Dong Hae, the former head of the Talon, is voiced by Sung Kang; Sierra Kato voices both a Talon merchant and a Fang officer; Ross Butler voices Spine Head; Voice of Francois Chow Wan; and Gordon Ip and Paul Yen of Voice Talon Traders.

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 its opening weekend in the United States and Canada, Raya and the Last Dragon grossed $2.5 million on its first day and debuted with $8.5 million across 2,045 theaters, topping the box office. Theater chains Cinemark and Harkins in the United States and Cineplex in Canada did not initially run the film after rejecting Disney’s rental terms, which did not match the opening weekend of Raya and the Last Dragon Family. -Centered on The Croods: A New Age (2020) and Tom and Jerry (2021). Raya and The Last Dragon’s performance, however, improved in the following weeks, matching and eventually surpassing Tom & Jerry’s box office numbers. The film topped the box office, earning $5.5 million in its second weekend and $5.2 million in its third.

Worldwide, Raya and the Last Dragon debuted in 32 markets, grossing $26.2 million in its opening weekend; The top countries were China ($8.6 million) and Russia ($2.8 million). The film grossed $11.5 million in its second weekend and $8 million from 29 markets.

About

Directed by	·         Don Hall ·         Carlos López Estrada
Screenplay by	·         Qui Nguyen ·         Adele Lim
Story by	·         Paul Briggs ·         Don Hall ·         Adele Lim ·         Carlos López Estrada ·         Kiel Murray ·         Qui Nguyen ·         John Ripa ·         Dean Wellins
Based on	Story ideas by Bradley Raymond and Helen Kalafatic
Produced by	·         Osnat Shurer ·         Peter Del Vecho
Starring	·         Kelly Marie Tran ·         Awkwafina ·         Izaac Wang ·         Gemma Chan ·         Daniel Dae Kim ·         Benedict Wong ·         Sandra Oh ·         Thalia Tran ·         Lucille Soong ·         Alan Tudyk
Cinematography	·         Rob Dressel (layout) ·         Adolph Lusinsky (lighting)
Edited by	·         Fabienne Rawley ·         Shannon Stein
Music by	James Newton Howard
Production companies	·         Walt Disney Pictures ·         Walt Disney Animation Studios
Distributed by	Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures
Release date	·         March 5, 2021
Running time	107 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	$100 million+
Box office	$130.4 million

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