Raya and the Last Dragon is inspired by traditional Southeast Asian cultures. The production team consulted with Southeast Asia Story Trust experts to ensure an accurate cultural representation in the film, and they emphasized the importance of avoiding stereotypical portrayals of Asian characters.
The movie also features the studio's first Southeast Asian princess, Raya, who goes on a quest to find a dragon and reunite the tribes of Kumandra, a land that had been fractured by wars and a plague. Raya is voiced by Kelly Marie Tran, who is Vietnamese American.
The film is a landmark moment for Southeast Asian representation in Hollywood: Raya is Disney's first Southeast Asian princess, and is voiced by Kelly Marie Tran, the first Southeast Asian actor to lead an animated feature from the studio.
The story of Raya and the Last Dragon isn't taken from any specific legend or myth. But, as co-screenwriter Adele Lim, who is Malaysian, told IGN, Raya is symbolic of the Southeast Asian women she grew up with.
The fictional kingdom Fang draws on geometric architecture from Indonesia, while Talon is made up of floating markets reminiscent of those in Thailand. The titular last dragon, Sisu (voiced by Awkwafina), is modeled after naga, serpent-like creatures from Southeast Asian folklore.
The story of Raya and the Last Dragon isn't taken from any specific legend or myth. But, as co-screenwriter Adele Lim, who is Malaysian, told IGN, Raya is symbolic of the Southeast Asian women she grew up with.
Raya translates to “celebration” in Malay. It also translates to “one who leads” in Southern Thailand. When creating Raya, screenwriters Qui Nguyen and Adele Lim drew inspiration from female Vietnamese warriors like the Trung sisters. Nguyen also looked to his own mother for inspiration.
In Raya And The Dragon, “binturi” is an insult that basically means “traitor” – hence why it's Raya's preferred term for Namaari. It's part of the Kumandran dialect which was created specifically for the movie by language creator David J.
It was revealed that the movie is set up in an imaginary world but the world is similar to regions of South East Asia like Vietnam, Philipines, Thailand etc. Hence people get the misconception that the movie is filipino while it's not.
Raya is a common name in Malaysia and Indonesia meaning “great”, “grand”, or “big”. Though the name Raya appears in other countries, it's likely that the creators intended for the name to be interpreted for its meaning in Malaysia and Indonesia since the movie was inspired bySoutheast Asian cultures.
Therefore, Raya and the Last Dragon is the first Walt Disney Animation Feature to have a transgender character. If the protocol at Disney remains in the way it has been presented, it may not be the last time.
'Raya and the Last Dragon' is far from perfect though. To me, it is too safe with not a lot of risk taking and trying to be a little too closely indebted to older Disney conventions rather than doing something new. The pacing can be off, with some of the storytelling later on feeling over-crowded.
While fans may mean no offense in drawing these comparisons, they actually do more harm than good; yes, the movie and the show are similar because they are based off of the same cultures. One is not a ripoff. They are not the same exact stories.
Kumandra means "(the land of) union, peace and harmony". The dragon-shaped river is a reference to the real life Mekong River, the longest river in Southeast Asia. Each of the five lands has its own signature color(s) which is/are also worn by its respective people.
Physical appearance. Raya is an 18-year-old Southeast Asian girl of average height with a slender, slightly muscular build, tan skin, long black hair, and dark brown eyes.
The lack of Hispanic characters in Disney has been noticed by the fans of these animated features. Since The Three Caballeros, there has not been a main character who has been Hispanic.
Of course, the kingdom – which is made up of five different areas that together form the shape of a dragon – is not actually a real place, but it does take inspiration from a number of different countries in Southeast Asia, including Laos, Vietnam, Cambodia and Thailand.
Language. Not much is known about the Kumandran language, but it was based on a mixture of Southeast Asian languages, such as Thai, Vietnamese, and Javanese.
About this DVD: Mulan is a young Chinese woman who breaks tradition and joins the Imperial army, accompanied by her guardian dragon, Mushu, to battle an invading army. In Mulan 2, Mulan and Shang are engaged to be married and must journey to a distant city in a valiant quest to save their beloved empire.
Tokyo Disneyland (東京ディズニーランド, Tōkyō Dizunīrando) (local nickname TDL) is a 115-acre (47 ha) theme park at the Tokyo Disney Resort in Urayasu, Chiba Prefecture, Japan, near Tokyo.
