This shouldn't come as much of a surprise, to be honest.

In one of the most exciting moments in the movie, where Raya is in a duel against her arch-nemesis Princess Namaari (Gemma Chan) of Fang, we can also catch a glimpse of Muay Thai and Pencak Silat in the fighting choreographies, with Raya's weapon inspired by Indonesian Kris sword.Įven down to smaller details, like the appearances of foods like tom yum, longan, durian and many more, the SEA references look rich and flawless in Raya and the Last Dragon.

The look of Kumandra is heavily influenced by the architecture of some Southeast Asian countries, especially Indonesian Rumah Gadang, as seen in Fang, and Taiwanese and Vietnamese floating markets as seen in Tallon. As a brown-skinned Southeast Asian guy, this, of course, feels like a revelation.īut the representation of SEA cultures and traditions in Raya and the Last Dragon does not just stop there. Where most Hollywood productions centering on Asian and/or Asian American stories tend to only feature characters with pale skin, the characters in Raya and the Last Dragon almost entirely have brown skins, which is how the majority of Southeast Asian people look. Look no further than in the design of the characters. It's a tale we've heard plenty of times before, even in the Disney Princess canon like Moana, where a young heroine also embarks on a quest to save her beloved family and land.īut just like how Moana is refreshing because of the Polynesian cultures integrated into the story, the writers of Raya and the Last Dragon, Adele Lim and Qui Nguyen, manage to trace back their Southeast Asian roots (the former is Malaysian American while the latter is Vietnamese American) and incorporate them into the movie in small details. The basic premise of the movie may not be entirely original. It's now up to Raya to find the last dragon Sisu and her pieces of magical dragon gem to save Kumandra from eternal extinction and reunite the five clans once and for all.

But after the Druun came and all the dragons but one, Sisu (Awkwafina), sacrificed themselves to defeat them, the people of Kumandra began to betray one another. It tells the story of the titular princess-slash-lone warrior Raya (Kelly Marie Tran) as she embarks on an epic adventure to save her land Kumandra from the Druun, an evil force that turns everyone into stone and divides the nation into five separate clans: Heart, Tail, Tallon, Spine and Fang.Ĭenturies ago, Kumandra was a happy and peaceful land, where people and magical dragons live alongside each other. Directed by Don Hall and Carlos López Estrada, the movie marks Disney's first Southeast Asian-inspired animated movie. Raya and the Last Dragon's release on Disney+ last week has brought a ray of hope and a cause for celebration in the Southeast Asian community.

The last dragon