It feels like we’ve seen glances, images, and maybe even concept art of Disney‘s “Raya & The Last Dragon,” for years, but the animated movie is almost here. “Raya and the Last Dragon,” features Kelly Marie Tran (Rose Tico from “Star Wars: The Last Jedi” and ‘Rise Of Skywalker‘) as the voice of Raya, a lone warrior whose mission is to track down the legendary last dragon in a bid to save Kumandra and unite its lands.
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“Raya & The Last Dragon” is directed by Don Hall (2011’s “Winnie the Pooh,” “Big Hero 6“), and Carlos López Estrada (known for “Blindspotting“), and co-directors Paul Briggs and John Ripa. Other members of the voice cast include Awkwafina, who plays Sisu, a water dragon who can transform into a human being and is the last of her kind.
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Part of the delay on the movie, it was announced as far back as 2018, in 2020, a filmmaking shift was announced. Hall and Estrada were named as the main directors of the film, semi-replacing Briggs and Ripa (who still remained in co-director roles). Additionally, Kelly Marie Tran, known for her “Star Wars” roles, replaced the original voice actor Cassie Steele. Animated movies are able to adjust in a way that live-action can’t and these kinds of moves aren’t uncommon in the world of animation. It appears “Raya & The Last Dragon” just needed fine-tuning along the way.
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Here’s the official synopsis:
Long ago, in the fantasy world of Kumandra, humans and dragons lived together in harmony. But when an evil force threatened the land, the dragons sacrificed themselves to save humanity. Now, 500 years later, that same evil has returned and it’s up to a lone warrior, Raya, to track down the legendary last dragon to restore the fractured land and its divided people. However, along her journey, she’ll learn that it’ll take more than a dragon to save the world—it’s going to take trust and teamwork as well. From directors Don Hall and Carlos López Estrada, co-directors Paul Briggs and John Ripa, producers Osnat Shurer and Peter Del Vecho, and featuring the voices of Kelly Marie Tran as Raya and Awkwafina as the last dragon Sisu, Walt Disney Animation Studios’ “Raya and the Last Dragon” opens in U.S. theaters on March 12, 2021.
Walt Disney Animation Studios’ “Raya and the Last Dragon” opens in U.S. theaters on March 12, 2021. Watch the first trailer below.