If you thought Moana, Elsa, and Merida were badass, wait till you watch the first official trailer for Raya and the Last Dragon. It has been a while since we got to see a Disney animated movie. Beginning with the Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs in 1937, the last movie to be released under the Disney animated banner was Onward in 2020. Walt Disney has come a long way since then. Raya and the Last Dragon’s trailer reveal proves it. There’s much to talk about and fawn over in the trailer. We will get into the nitty gritty details of it now.
If the trailer is of any indication, the next Disney Princess will be even more badass than Merida and Moana combined. The actor who lends her voice for the titular role is none other than Kelly Marie Tran. Her last role in a Disney sponsored movie was in The Last Jedi trilogy. She played the part of Rose in the Star Wars movies. And now she is back to gift her voice to Raya, the Disney princess who is set to kick some serious ass in the near future when the movie releases.
Disney’s official synopsis states that the plot revolves around the adventures of Raya, a lone warrior who intends to unite the many divided tribes of the Kingdom of Kumandra. The vile Drunn intends to use the opportunity to invade their kingdom. The only way to unite the tribes is by finding and harnessing the power of the Dragon gem.
The other eponymous character in the movie’s title is a Water Dragon named Sisu. Sisu has lived and thrived in the waters around the Kingdom of Kumandra for years. The Dragon also possesses the power to shape shift and transform into a human being. Sisu is portrayed by famous actor Awkwafina, who is also one of the major supporting actors of another Disney sponsored movie – MCU’s Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings. Kelly Marie Train will be creating history as the first Southeast Asian actor to play the lead role in a Disney animated feature.
There’ so much to the movie that is still not known. When Tran sat down for an interview with EW earlier this year, she said that Raya is not just a princess. She is more of a warrior. She was more excited to learn how to use a sword rather than being given the opportunity to sit on the royal throne. This will surely be an interesting take on what it means to be a Disney Princess. In these changing and tumultuous times, children need to look for a refreshing source for inspiration. Conventional storytelling definitely would not do. Disney needs to flip the script and the narrative on this one.
Who knows? Maybe they have already did it. Disney is set to release Raya and the Last Dragon in theaters on the 12th of March next year. That’s going to be one hell of a wait. The ride may be bumpy but since its Disney, it surely will be worth the wait.
Watch the official trailer for Raya and the Last Dragon here:
