Investing in Diversity: “Raya and the Last Dragon”

A movie by minorities, for the masses

Disney released the official teaser trailer for the upcoming movie “Raya and the Last Dragon” on Oct. 21. The movie is scheduled to hit theaters in March 2021.

Raya (pronounced rye-uh) is our warrior princess protagonist. Embarking on a quest to find the “last dragon,” Raya has an animal companion named “Tuk Tuk” who accompanies her on her journey—in true Disney fashion.

The film takes place in the fictional world of Kumandra where people and dragons once lived together in harmony. But, when evil monsters called the Druun threatened the land 500 years ago, the dragons sacrificed themselves to save humanity. Now, only one elusive dragon remains, the people of Kumandra are divided, and it is up to Raya to defeat the Druun and unite Kumandra once again.

To create the world of Kumandra, Disney sent the filmmakers and production team to Southeast Asian countries including Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, tThe Philippines, Singapore, Indonesia and Vietnam. The production team has also closely been working with a group called the “Southeast Asia Story Trust,” which was formed for “Raya and the Last Dragon,” to ensure the film respectfully and accurately represents Southeast Asian culture. Lao visual anthropologist Dr. Steve Arounsack and a team of Vietnamese cultural workers are also working as art and design consultants for the film.

“Raya and the Last Dragon” is one of several modern Disney films with more diverse representation, but it is particularly notable because it is written by two Asian American screenwriters: Qui Nguyen and Adele Lim. Qui Nguyen is a Vietnamese-American playwright, tv/film writer and co-founder of Vampire Cowboys Theatre Company of New York City. His cv is packed with remarkable projects atMarvel Studios, Netflix, AMC, SyFy and PBS, just to name a few. Nguyen is currently a screenwriter for Disney.

“Raya and the Last Dragon” is another impressive project for Malaysian-born Adele Lim who was the co-screenwriter for the 2018 hit film “Crazy Rich Asians.” Lim is of Malaysian-Chinese descent and has written for various TV series like “One Tree Hill,” “Reign” and “Lethal Weapon.”

Additionally, “Raya and the Last Dragon” only has two credited cast members–both of which are Asian women. Vietnamese-American actress Kelly Marie Tran voices the protagonist, Raya, and Awkwafina, a Chinese-Korean-American actress, comedian and musician, voices the dragon, Sisu.

Tran is most notable for portraying Rose Tico in the recent “Star Wars” films where she was the first Asian American woman to land a main role in the “Star Wars” franchise. When asked about the importance of “Raya and the Last Dragon” in an Entertainment Weekly interview, “I just cried and laughed through the whole thing,” Tran said. “I didn’t know that I was yearning to see someone who looks like me.”

Awkwafina, who recently starred in “Crazy Rich Asians,” “Ocean’s 8” and “The Farewell,” is also proud of representation in the film. “At the end of the day it’s two strong females that are helping each other,” Awkwafina said. “To have a movie like this really shows how we can come together and help each other and can be a beautiful thing.”

While Disney has transitioned to creating more inclusive films in recent years (“Moana,” “Queen of Katwe,” live-action “Aladdin,” live-action “Mulan” etc.), many of these films were written and directed by white writers and directors. Representation begins at the writing, producing and directing level, and having white people write for people of color in films–fictional or not–is problematic. Disney’s choice to hire Nguyen and Lim as co-screenwriters for this upcoming film is an important turning point in Disney’s traditionally-Eurocentric film history.

Moreover, the studio producing “Raya and the Last Dragon” also produced “Moana” and “Frozen” which grossed $690.8 million USD and $1.28 billion USD respectively. “Frozen” is a Eurocentric film released in 2013 that took place in a Norwegian-esque fictional land and was created, written and voiced by white people. “Moana” was a Pacific Island-inspired film that was released in 2016 and was written and directed by white people, but voiced by Polynesian and Hawaiian cast members. “Raya and the Last Dragon” takes place in a Southeast-Asian inspired world, is written by Asian American screenwriters and is voiced by Asian American women.

Fundamentally this trajectory illustrates how Disney is investing in inclusivity and is building off of past successes to bring up diverse voices.