Raya and the Last Dragon facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Raya and the Last Dragon
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Don Hall Carlos López Estrada
Produced by	Osnat Shurer Peter Del Vecho
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
Starring	Kelly Marie Tran Awkwafina Izaac Wang Gemma Chan Daniel Dae Kim Benedict Wong Sandra Oh Thalia Tran Lucille Soong Alan Tudyk
Music by	James Newton Howard
Cinematography	Rob Dressel (layout) Adolph Lusinsky (lighting)
Editing by	Fabienne Rawley Shannon Stein
Studio	Walt Disney Pictures Walt Disney Animation Studios
Distributed by	Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures
Release date(s)	March 3, 2021 (2021-03-03) (Netherlands) March 5, 2021 (2021-03-05) (United States)
Running time	107 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	$100 million+
Money made	$93 million

Raya and the Last Dragon ( RYE-ə) is a 2021 American computer-animated fantasy action-adventure film produced by Walt Disney Pictures and Walt Disney Animation Studios, and distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures. The 59th film produced by the studio, it is directed by Don Hall and Carlos López Estrada, co-directed by Paul Briggs and John Ripa, produced by Osnat Shurer and Peter Del Vecho, written by Qui Nguyen and Adele Lim, and music composed by James Newton Howard. The film features a predominantly Asian American cast, including the voices of Kelly Marie Tran as Raya and Awkwafina as Sisu, the dragon, along with Izaac Wang, Gemma Chan, Daniel Dae Kim, Benedict Wong, Sandra Oh, Thalia Tran, Lucille Soong, and Alan Tudyk.

Raya and the Last Dragon was theatrically released in the United States on March 5, 2021 by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures in standard 2D, 3D, Dolby Cinema, and IMAX formats. The film's release was also simultaneously available on Disney+ with Premier Access, which is in response to the COVID-19 pandemic's negative impact towards theatrical releases, with many movie theaters across the United States and other countries being closed.

The film has grossed $93 million worldwide, making it the sixth highest-grossing film of 2021 and received positive reviews from critics, who praised the animation, voice acting, and messages, while drawing some criticism for the lack of actual Southeast Asian representation among the film's voice cast.

Plot

The prosperous land of Kumandra is ravaged by the Druun, evil spirits that multiply after turning the land's people and dragons to stone. Sisu, the last dragon, concentrates her magic into a gem and banishes the Druun, reviving Kumandra's people but not the dragons. A power struggle for the orb divides Kumandra's people into tribes, based on their placement along a giant, dragon-shaped river: Fang, Heart, Spine, Talon, and Tail.

500 years later, Chief Benja of the Heart tribe has been training his daughter Raya to guard the gem. Firmly believing that the tribes can be united once again, Chief Benja decides to hold a feast for all the five tribes. During the feast, Raya befriends the daughter of Chief Virana of the Fang tribe, Namaari. As an act of friendship, Namaari gives Raya a dragon pendant as a gift. Trusting her, Raya shows Namaari the location of the gem but is suddenly betrayed by Namaari who reveals that she is only there to steal it, resulting in a fight between the two. Alerted to the attack, Benja and the other tribes arrive at the scene and start fighting each other over the gem, resulting in it smashing to pieces which resurrects The Druun. As each tribe steals a piece of the orb, the Druun lay waste to the Land of Heart and its people. A wounded Chief Benja tells Raya that there is still hope as long as the orb pieces have their light. He then pushes her off the side of a bridge in order to save her, allowing himself to be petrified by the Druun in the process.

For the next six years, Raya treks across the land to find Sisu in order to help her recover the missing orb pieces. After reaching a ship-wreckage, Raya finally manages to summon Sisu, who admits that she did not create the orb, but only used it on behalf of her siblings. Sisu also reveals that touching the orb pieces grants her her siblings' powers. They recover the second piece from a ruined, booby-trapped Tail temple, granting Sisu shapeshifting powers; and encounter a hostile Namaari and her tribesmen trying to take back the map Raya stole to find Sisu. Escaping the temple, they get away on the boat of a young restaurateur named Boun, who lost his family to the Druun. Despite Boun's friendliness, Raya does not fully trust him. During the boat ride, Sisu explains the origins of the Druun and their weakness for water.

They arrive at Talon to claim the third gem piece, during which Raya encounters a baby con-artist named Noi and her trio of monkey-like companions, the Ongis, who adopted her after the Druun petrified her family. After a chase, Raya recruits Noi and the Ongis. Sisu goes into the marketplace and encounters Talon's chieftess, who sinisterly offers her to the Druun for the other orb pieces. Raya rescues Sisu and reclaims the third piece, which allows Sisu to spew out fog which aids in their escape. The group then arrives at Spine, where they meet Tong, a fearsome warrior, and the village's sole survivor. Namaari arrives and Raya holds her off in a fight while the others escape. Before Namaari is able to defeat her, Sisu saves Raya and stares into Namaari's eyes, and sees into her heart before leaving with the group for Fang.

Tong joins the group and hands over Spine’s gem piece, giving Sisu power over rain. As they get closer to Fang, Sisu suggests allying with Namaari rather than stealing the final piece, in order to show trust and good-will. When Raya refuses, Sisu takes her back to the remains of the Heart and tells of how her siblings' trust in her was what really empowered her to save Kumandra. Raya relents and decides to give Namaari the dragon pendant as a peace offering. Raya and Sisu meet privately with Namaari, but Namaari, torn by her responsibility to Fang and her wish to help, threatens to shoot them with a crossbow upon seeing the orb pieces. Sisu tries to calm Namaari down but Raya, untrusting of Namaari, lashes out with her sword at Namaari's crossbow, causing the bolt to fire and hit Sisu, killing her. Sisu falls into the river below which begins to evaporate at the death of the last dragon.

With the water gone, Fang is overrun by the Druun. Raya enters to confront Namaari, whom she finds to be mourning over the petrification of her mother. The two fight while Raya's companions rescue the people of Fang using the gem pieces. After besting Namaari, Raya prepares to kill her but stops upon realizing her fault in Sisu’s death due to her inability to trust others. Raya and Namaari rush to aid the group in rescuing Fang’s people. As the Druun advance toward Raya's group, Raya remembers Sisu's tale of how trust allowed her to save the world. Raya urges the others to come together and reassemble the gem, but her friends refuse to forgive Namaari after Sisu's death. To show her faith, Raya takes the first step by giving Namaari her piece and allows the Druun to take her. The rest follow suit, with Namaari assembling the gem before the Druun petrifies her as well.

With the gem reassembled and everyone trusting each other at last, the dragons' magic is finally able to manifest at its full power, vanquishing the Druun and freeing everyone, including the dragons, from their curse. As Raya and her companions rejoice, the dragons arrive and revive Sisu. Everyone reunites with their lost loved ones, including Raya and her father. The dragons and the tribes gather at Heart to celebrate and finally reunite as Kumandra.

Voice cast

• Kelly Marie Tran as Raya, the fierce and courageous warrior princess of Kumandra's Heart Land who has been training to become a Guardian of the Dragon Gem. To restore peace to Kumandra, she embarks in search for the last dragon.
• Awkwafina as Sisu, the last dragon in existence. She has a wacky and somewhat insecure personality, but she is also brave, kind and wise.
• Izaac Wang as Boun, a charismatic 10-year-old entrepreneur and owner of the "Shrimporium", a boat restaurant in the Tail Land.
• Gemma Chan as Namaari, the warrior princess of the Fang Land and Raya's enemy. Jona Xiao voices young Namaari.
• Daniel Dae Kim as Chief Benja, the chief of Kumandra's Heart Land and Raya's father.
• Benedict Wong as Tong, a formidable but kind-hearted warrior giant from the Spine Land.
• Sandra Oh as Virana, Namaari's mother and the chieftess of the Fang Land.
• Thalia Tran as Little Noi, an infant con artist from the Talon Land.
• Lucille Soong as Dang Hu, the chieftess of the Talon Land.
• Alan Tudyk as Tuk Tuk, Raya's best friend and trusty steed that is a mix of an armadillo and a pill bug.

Additionally, Dichen Lachman voices both General Atitaya and a warrior from Spine; Patti Harrison voices the chief of the Tail Land (making her the first known transgender actor to appear in a Disney animated film); Jon "Dumbfoundead" Park voices Chai; Sung Kang voices Dang Hai, the former chief of Talon; Sierra Katow voices both a Talon merchant and a Fang officer; Ross Butler voices the chief of the Spine Land; François Chau voices Wahn; and Gordon Ip and Paul Yen voice Talon merchants. Tania Gunadi was also credited for an unspecified role.

Music

James Newton Howard composed the score for Raya and the Last Dragon. The film marks the fourth time he has scored an animated film by Walt Disney Animation Studios, having previously composed for Dinosaur, Atlantis: The Lost Empire, and Treasure Planet. The score was released on February 26, 2021. Jhené Aiko wrote and performed a song for the end-credits, titled "Lead the Way".

On March 2, 2021, Disney Studios Philippines announced that Filipina singer KZ Tandingan will be singing Disney’s first-ever Filipino-language song, titled "Gabay", which means "guide" in English. The track, the Filipino version of "Lead the Way," will be part of the film's soundtrack. Allie Benedicto, studio marketing head of Disney Philippines said that "Gabay", the first-ever Disney track sung in Filipino, "demonstrates our commitment to work with local creative talents to tell our stories in a locally relevant manner." In a press release about the song's announcement, KZ Tandingan said, “I am very grateful and I feel very proud to be singing in my language, and show off its beauty to the rest of the world. I am proud to be part of history. I grew up watching Disney movies. Finally, there is a Disney Princess who I can feel a very strong connection to, and that is Raya as the first one inspired by Southeast Asia." “I love that the song reminds us that sometimes we feel we are weak, especially when we are alone, but if we just learn to trust each other, to come together, and to unite, only then are we able to change the world,” she added.

Track Listing

All lyrics written by James Newton Howard, except where noted. 

Sequel

The mentioning of a sequel comes from Kelly Marie Tran, voice of Raya, who holds the hope that Disney will proceed with a lesbian relationship between Raya and Namaari, stating that she intentionally provided in-character hints of their romantic interest in each other during an interview with Vanity Fair, in the form of Raya's line “Hey there, Princess Undercut. Fancy meeting you here.” Tran also stated that in the case of a sequel or spin-off being greenlit, that she would "absolutely be interested" in reprising her role as Raya.

Images for kids

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  Angkor Wat served as the inspiration for the palace of Fang.

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  A topknot or manbun as worn by King Jayavarman VII. Many characters such as Chief Benja wear this hair style.

See also

In Spanish: Raya y el último dragón para niños