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Raya and the Last Dragon is a 2021 American computer-animated fantasy comedy 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 $129 million worldwide (not counting its Disney+ Premier Access revenue), making it the seventh highest-grossing film of 2021 and received positive reviews from critics, who praised the animation, visuals, action sequences, characters, voice acting, and messages, though 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 attack and petrify the land's people and dragons. 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 trains his daughter, Raya, until she finally becomes a guardian of the gem. Firmly believing that the tribes can be united once again, Chief Benja decides to hold a feast for the leadership of all five tribes. During the feast, Raya befriends the daughter of Chief Virana of the Fang tribe, Namaari, who gives Raya a dragon pendant as a gift. Trusting her, Raya shows Namaari the location of the gem but Namaari, betraying Raya, reveals that she is trying to help Fang steal it. Alerted to the attack, Benja and the other tribes arrive at the scene and start fighting over the gem, which gets destroyed in the scuffle. As each tribe steals a piece of the orb, the reawakened Druun ravage Heart and its people. A wounded Chief Benja, discovering that the Druun are weak against water, throws Raya into a river before getting petrified himself.

For the next six years, Raya treks across Kumandra to find Sisu in order to help her recover the missing orb pieces. After reaching a ship wreck in Tail, Raya finally manages to summon Sisu, who admits that she did not create the orb, but only used it on behalf of her siblings and can gain her siblings' powers when she touches its pieces.

They recover the second piece from a booby-trapped Tail temple, granting Sisu shapeshifting powers, and encounter a hostile Namaari and her tribesmen who are after Raya's stolen portrait of Sisu. Escaping the temple, they escape on the boat of young restauranteur Boun, who lost his family to the Druun. Despite Boun's friendliness, Raya does not fully trust him, and insists that Sisu stays in human form.

The group arrives at Talon to claim the third gem piece, during which Raya encounters "con baby" Noi and her trio of monkey-like companions, the Ongis, who adopted her after the Druun petrified her mother. After a chase, Raya recruits Noi and the Ongis while Sisu encounters Talon's chieftess, who offers her to the Druun for the other orb pieces. Raya rescues Sisu and reclaims the third piece, allowing Sisu to spew out fog which they use to 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 so the others can escape, but before Namaari is able to defeat her, Sisu turns back into a dragon and saves Raya. Realizing that Sisu is a dragon, the companions agree to help Raya, and Tong hands over Spine’s gem piece, allowing Sisu to control rain.

As the group get closer to Fang, Sisu suggests allying with Namaari rather than stealing the final piece. When Raya refuses, Sisu takes her back to the remains of the Heart and tells of how her siblings' (Pangu, Jagan, Pranee, and Amba) 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 save Fang's reputation and her wish to help defeat the Druun, threatens to shoot them with a crossbow upon seeing the orb pieces. Sisu tries to calm Namaari down but is fatally shot when Raya lashes her sword on Namaari's crossbow.

With the last dragon dead, and the water subsequently 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. Raya, besting Namaari, prepares to kill her, but stops upon realizing her fault in Sisu’s death due to her inability to trust others and heads off with Namaari to aid the group instead. As the Druun gain on Raya's group, Raya, remembering how trust allowed Sisu to save the world beforehand, urges the others to unite and reassemble the gem, showing her faith towards Namaari by handing her piece and allowing the Druun to take her. The rest follow suit, with Namaari assembling the gem before the Druun petrify her as well.

With the gem reassembled, and everybody trusting each other, the Druun are vanquished and everyone, including the dragons, are revived. The dragons revive Sisu while everyone reunites with their lost loved ones, including Raya and Chief Benja. 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. She Replaces Cassie Steele 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; Dumbfoundead 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.

Development
On May 24, 2018, That Hashtag Show reported that Walt Disney Animation Studios was developing an animated film titled Dragon Empire, which would be the directorial debut of story artists Paul Briggs and Dean Wellins, written by Kiel Murray. In October of the same year, Deadline reported that Adele Lim was hired to retouch the script, and that Osnat Shurer had been hired to produce the movie. On August 24, 2019, Disney officially announced the film during their D23 Expo Walt Disney Animation Studios' presentation panel. In August 2020, it was announced that Don Hall (director of Winnie the Pooh and Big Hero 6) and Carlos López Estrada, the latter who had joined Disney Animation in 2019, were now taking over the reins as directors, with Briggs remaining as co-director and John Ripa joining him. In addition, Qui Nguyen joined Lim as co-writer and Peter Del Vecho joined Shurer as producer.

Casting
On August 2, 2019, during the D23 Expo, Awkwafina and Cassie Steele were announced to have been cast in the film as Sisu and Raya, respectively. On August 27, 2020, it was revealed that the role of Raya had been recast, with Kelly Marie Tran replacing Steele. The recasting was due to creative shifts in the character and story.

On the eve of the film's release in March 2021, Hall finally revealed the exact reason for why the production team had decided to recast the lead role: Raya was originally a "stoic loner," but then the team began to infuse her with elements of "levity" and "swagger" similar to the character of Star-Lord in Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy (2014). Tran was selected for her "lightness and buoyancy, but also badassery [sic]." Tran had to go through a process of learning to trust the production team, since she had participated in the original round of auditions for Raya, without success. By January 2020, when she stepped into the role formerly occupied by Steele, she was well aware that Disney Animation "had already turned her down and removed another actor from the project."

On January 26, 2021, it was announced that Gemma Chan, Daniel Dae Kim, Sandra Oh, Benedict Wong, Izaac Wang, Thalia Tran, Alan Tudyk, Lucille Soong, Patti Harrison, and Ross Butler all have parts in the film.

Animation
The film is set in a fantasy land called Kumandra, inspired by the Southeast Asian cultures of Brunei, Singapore, Laos, Thailand, Timor-Leste, Cambodia, Vietnam, Myanmar, Malaysia, Indonesia, and the Philippines. To do background research, the filmmakers and production team traveled to all these countries except Myanmar, Malaysia, Singapore and Brunei. Thai artist Fawn Veerasunthorn served as the head of story for the film. The filmmakers formed the Southeast Asia Story Trust, a collective of cultural consultants for the film which included Dr. Steve Arounsack, an associate professor of Lao Anthropology at California State University, Stanislaus.

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.

Theatrical and streaming
Raya and the Last Dragon was originally scheduled to be released in the United States on November 25, 2020. However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the film's release was delayed to March 12, 2021. On December 10, 2020, as part of Disney's Investor Day presentation, it was announced that the film's theatrical release date was pushed up by a week to March 5, 2021, along with the film being simultaneously released on Disney+ with Premier Access the same day. Raya and the Last Dragon will be available for purchase through Premier Access until May 4, 2021 (March 19 in Latin America), and will be made available for free to all subscribers on April 23 in Latin America, and on June 4 in other countries. In theaters, the film was accompanied by a new short film, Us Again.

Home media
Raya and the Last Dragon was released on Digital HD by Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment on April 2, 2021, with DVD, Blu-ray, and Ultra HD Blu-ray released on May 18, 2021.

Box office
, Raya and the Last Dragon has grossed $52 million in the United States and Canada, and $77.6 million in other territories, for a worldwide total of $129.6 million.

In the United States and Canada, the film was released alongside Chaos Walking and Boogie, and was initially projected to gross around $6.5 million from 2,045 theaters in its opening weekend. However, after making $2.5 million on its first day, thanks in-part to the re-opening of New York City theaters, weekend estimates were raised to $8.3 million. It went on to debut to $8.5 million, topping the box office. Three theater chains, Cinemark and Harkins in the United States alongside Cineplex in Canada, initially did not run the film after declining Disney's rental terms (Cinemark would later reach a deal with Disney and start running the film in its tenth week of release), which led to Raya and the Last Dragon failing to match the opening weekend grosses of The Croods: A New Age and Tom & Jerry, two other animated films released amid the pandemic. Saying so, the film’s performance improved on the next weeks, therefore matching and eventually surpassing Tom & Jerry’s box office numbers. Parents and kids made up a combined 52% of the opening weekend audience (with 57% being female), with 37% being White, 22% Black, 21% Asian, and 20% Hispanic. The film made $5.5 million in its second weekend and $5.2 million in its third, remaining atop the box office.

Critical response
Review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes reports that 94% of 271 critics have given the film a positive review with an average rating of 7.70/10. The website's critics consensus reads, "Another gorgeously animated, skillfully voiced entry in the Disney canon, Raya and the Last Dragon continues the studio's increased representation while reaffirming that its classic formula is just as reliable as ever." On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 75 out of 100 based on 46 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews". Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A" on an A+ to F scale, while PostTrak reported 92% of audience members gave it a positive score, with 78% saying they would recommend it.

Writing for IndieWire, Kate Erbland gave the film a grade of B+ and said, "As the Disney princess brand has continued to evolve, from the introduction of newbies like Moana to the continuing popularity of classics like Tiana and Mulan, Raya and the Last Dragon is a sterling example of how the trope still has room to grow—while proving that some of the original ingredients can still deliver the goods." David Fear of Rolling Stone gave the film 3.5/5 stars and praised Tran and Awkwafina's vocal performances, saying: "...while the action-set pieces and stand-offs and Raya–ders of the Lost Ark sequences are indeed thrilling, it's the buddy-comedy aspect that actually makes the movie come alive."

While praising the film's world-building and attention to detail, Shirley Li of The Atlantic opined that subordinating the story to world building muddied the film's message. Besides complimenting the film's animation, the SFGate Julie Tremaine praised the film's characterization of Tran's character as a powerful woman and "regular person, with wits and heart, trying to make a difference" rather than a character endowed with special powers or one needing a prince to save her.

The film was criticized for the lack of Southeast Asian representation in the cast, as the film's setting is set in a fictional land that represents Southeast Asia. Most of the cast are of East Asian heritage, with the exception of K. Tran, Butler, T. Tran, Wang and Harrison. A. Felicia Wade of DiscussingFilm pointed this out in her review, commenting on the disheartening lack of accurate representation in the vocal cast and the fact that it "misses the mark at its core."

Future
Kelly Marie Tran said that she would "absolutely be interested" in reprising her role as Raya, and stated that she wanted a lesbian relationship between Raya and Namaari.