Disney Stock – Review: Disney’s warrior princess breaks classic fairytale formula | Lifestyle

“Raya and The Last Dragon” is a refreshing addition to the classic genre of Disney princesses, featuring themes of empowerment intertwined with culture, breathtaking battle scenes and perfect casting of the first Southeast Asian Disney production. 

The film topped the box office charts after its release on March 5, opening to $8.6 million. Despite its success at the domestic box office, the film did not surpass “Tom & Jerry,” which debuted on February 26 and earned $14.1 million. In a pre-pandemic world, a major Disney release would be expected to earn $10 million, and its failure to reach that speaks to the instability of theatrical distribution during this era of home releases. 

At the heart of this narrative is a step toward better representation for Asian communities. 

“It was so important for me to provide them a movie that they can see that could affect their self-esteem in a positive way — to know that they had the agency to be the lead characters in their own stories,” said co-writer Qui Nguyen in an article for Time. 

Raya, voiced by Kelly Marie Tran, is the warrior princess and guardian of the dragon gem on the land of Heart. Tran is the first Southeast Asian actor to lead an animated film. 

Raya’s father Chief Benja, played by Daniel Dae Kim, guards this gem from evil spirits known as Dunns, who once attacked their once-united land of Kumandra. The setting of Kumandra is inspired by the cultures of Southeast Asia, and Disney prepared its production team by sending members to Laos, Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia, Malaysia and Singapore to learn about the different cultures for storytelling. 

The Dunns turn everyone to stone when they attack, and the dragons unite their powers and sacrifice themselves to create one dragon gem to banish the Dunns.

Kumandra is divided into five kingdoms, each named after a dragon body part— the Heart, Tail, Spine, Fang and Talon. In a naive and careless move, Raya, the newly-dubbed guardian of the gem, lets down her guard and sees the gem break into five pieces. Each kingdom steals one, unleashing the Dunns once more. Raya must fulfill her title of guardian and restore the broken gem.

After a time jump of six years, audiences learn that Raya has searched the many rivers for the last remaining dragon Sisu, voiced by “Crazy Rich Asians” star Awkwafina. Sisu is the only dragon who survived the ancient battle, and the creature has the ability to restore the gem and unite Kumandra. Awkwafina uses her gitty personality to make Sisu unique. Disney’s animation takes center stage as she shapeshifts from a dragon to a human that resembles the actress.

 On Raya’s journey she must face her biggest enemy, Namaari, voiced by Gemma Chan, who also starred in “Crazy Rich Asians.” Namaari is the daughter of Virana, voiced by Sandra Oh, the leader of the Fang Kingdom where they have created a successful and prosperous land at the expense of other kingdoms. 

The conflict between Raya and Namaari is a beautiful addition to the narrative as the two characters gracefully navigate leadership roles in their armies. It is clear that the two women would do anything for their kingdoms and their families. 

This portrayal is far from the typical Disney film where the princess is in danger, the prince saves her and they live happily ever after. By breaking away from this Disney formula, Raya exposes audiences to stories that ignore the love plot in favor of heroines who fight for what is right while being the leaders they were born to be. 

Although younger audiences may struggle to identify subtle themes in this film, an older audience will be able to fully grasp the messages of power, strength, honor and adventure.

“Raya and the Last Dragon” is a beautiful story with a powerful message that Disney fans can enjoy along with a stunning theme song written and performed by Jhene Aiko. This film is only available on Disney+ with Premier Access for a fee of $34.99. For viewers who donot mind waiting, the movie will be available for all Disney+ users on June 4.