Adele Lin says in an interview with Showbiz Cheat Sheet that the change into making her royalty then came from “the feeling of leadership, that she was brought up to be a leader and she takes on that mantle of leadership happily. For that to be the inspiration for a lot of young kids watching this movie.” In other words, Raya became canonical royalty to fulfill the position of a role model to children, something that Disney has always attributed to the idea of a princess. Nonetheless, Qui Nguyen still does not feel that Raya should have been portrayed as royalty. For him, based on an interview with Den of Geek, the heroine sees herself only as Guardian of the Dragon Gem and that “the princess thing was by proxy, or by the simple fact that she’s the daughter of the chief. I guess that does make her a princess, but I don’t think she necessarily identifies as that. She’s much more of an aspirational kind of warrior character.” Nguyen has an interesting point about looking at Raya as an inspiration not because she is necessarily in a position of leadership as a princess, but because she is a fighter, a hero, a person who learns kindness and the power of sacrifice through experiences, something that Disney has established as part of their brand through Marvel.

Coates, Tyler (March 23, 2022). "Casting Society Artios Awards: Encanto, Don't Look Up, CODA and Zola Among Winners". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on March 24, 2022 . Retrieved October 11, 2023. Hayes, Dade (July 1, 2021). " Lucifer Repeats Atop Nielsen U.S. Streaming Chart, Beating Out Disney Feature Raya And The Last Dragon". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on July 2, 2021 . Retrieved July 2, 2021. Development began in October 2018, and in August 2019 the project was officially announced, with the title and voice cast being revealed. During production, Disney replaced several cast and crew members, including the initially announced lead actress Cassie Steele for Tran, to conform with changes in character and plot. The film is inspired by traditional Southeast Asian cultures. During design and animation, the team focused on its diverse environments and characters while maintaining authentic cultural representation. James Newton Howard composed the score. Disney's Raya and the Last Dragon sparks mixed reactions on Asian representation". NBC News. January 26, 2021. Archived from the original on April 1, 2021 . Retrieved October 13, 2023.a b Welk, Brian (July 1, 2021). " Raya and the Last Dragon 2nd Most-Watched Streaming Title After Premium Disney+ Run Ends". TheWrap. Archived from the original on July 1, 2021 . Retrieved July 2, 2021. Vonder Haar, Peter (January 4, 2022). " The Power of the Dog Is Compelling Enough to Lead the 2021 Houston Film Critics Society Nominations". Houston Press. Archived from the original on January 4, 2022 . Retrieved October 9, 2023.

Tangcay, Jazz (January 24, 2022). "Art Directors Guild 2022 Nominations Headed by Nightmare Alley, Cruella, No Time to Die, In the Heights". Variety. Archived from the original on January 25, 2022 . Retrieved February 7, 2022. Giardina, Carolyn (March 5, 2022). " Dune, Nightmare Alley, No Time to Die Win Art Directors Guild Awards". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on March 6, 2022 . Retrieved October 11, 2023. To express the character Namaari's strength and power, the designers experimented with facial expressions and physicality including her aggressive nature and fierce stare. They adorned her with a hard-edge outfit with a predominantly off-white color palette to express her tough personality, similar to Fang's geometric shapes of silhouette and patterning. [47] Young Namaari's costume is also designed to contrast her with young Raya; her stark white and gold elements represent Fang's harsh lifestyle as opposed to Raya's draped, soft, and blue designs with an overall serene feel. [48] Animation and cinematography [ edit ]In August 2020, Disney announced the replacement of several cast and crew members. Don Hall and Carlos López Estrada replaced Briggs and Wellins as directors, and the latter two were demoted to co-directors. [19] Story writer John Ripa later also replaced Wellins as a co-director, and Wellins was credited as a contributing writer in the credits. Qui Nguyen joined Lim as co-writer and Peter Del Vecho joined Shurer as producer. [20] [21] [22] Kelly Marie Tran replaced Steele to conform to changes in characters and plot; Shurer said the cast must embody the same spirit as the character and that Tran was better suited for the role. [23] a b Brady, Tara (March 5, 2021). "Raya and the Last Dragon: Good fun with cute critters". The Irish Times. Archived from the original on July 3, 2022 . Retrieved October 14, 2023. Menzel, Scott (July 1, 2021). " In The Heights wins Best Picture at the HCA Midseason Awards". Hollywood Critics Association. Archived from the original on July 7, 2021 . Retrieved October 9, 2023. Nordyke, Kimberly (March 27, 2022). "Oscars: Full List of Winners". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on March 28, 2022 . Retrieved October 9, 2023.

Raya and the Last Dragon Finds Magic in Southeast Asian Tradition By David Crow What Race and Ethnicity is Raya? Renfro, Kim (March 5, 2021). "See what the cast of Disney's new animated movie 'Raya and the Last Dragon' looks like in real life". Yahoo! News. Archived from the original on March 10, 2021 . Retrieved June 8, 2021. Giardina, Carolyn (March 13, 2022). " Dune, Nightmare Alley, West Side Story Receive Sound Editors' Golden Reel Awards". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on March 14, 2022 . Retrieved October 11, 2023. Raya and the Last Dragon ( / ˈ r aɪ . ə/ RYE-ə) is a 2021 American animated fantasy action-adventure film produced by Walt Disney Animation Studios and distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures. It was directed by Don Hall and Carlos López Estrada, co-directed by Paul Briggs and John Ripa, and produced by Osnat Shurer and Peter Del Vecho. The screenplay was primarily written by Qui Nguyen and Adele Lim with additional contributions from various writers, based on story ideas by Bradley Raymond and Helen Kalafatic. Raya and the Last Dragon stars the voices of Kelly Marie Tran, Awkwafina, Izaac Wang, and Gemma Chan, and follows the titular warrior princess, Raya, as she seeks out the fabled last dragon to save her father and the land of Kumandra from evil spirits Druun. Raya's hat was designed in collaboration with members of the film's Southeast Asia Story Trust, a group of cultural consultants who worked with the filmmakers throughout the creative processYang, Rachel (August 27, 2020). "Get a first look at Disney's Raya and the Last Dragon starring Kelly Marie Tran". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on March 5, 2021 . Retrieved August 27, 2020. Rubin, Rebecca (August 27, 2020). "Disney's 'Raya and the Last Dragon' Recasts Kelly Marie Tran as Lead". Variety. Archived from the original on March 6, 2021 . Retrieved June 8, 2021. Raya and the Last Dragon was one of Disney's biggest hits in 2021, so we're predicting you'll be seeing lots of Raya-inspired costumes out there this Halloween ! If you somehow missed this epic animated movie, here's the plot in a nutshell: Some 500 years after a group of magical dragons sacrifice themselves to save humans from the monstrous Druun, a fearless young woman named Raya courageously takes on the challenge of finding the last dragon, Sisu, to restore peace among her land's rival tribes. The animation team significantly expanded their crowd system (which was used to generate groups of characters or objects) to meet the demands of the film's diverse and complex scenes. They modified their existing workflows and pipeline (the sequence of tools and software used in the production process) to handle the challenges presented by the diverse characters and scenes. Other solutions the team explored include art-directed (creatively controlled), simulated (computer-generated simulations), and procedural (algorithmic) approaches. The in-house Skeleton Library, based on the Houdini software, also helped to manage the complexity of these diverse elements. [54] The collection includes a range of clothing, costumes, and fancy dress accessories inspired by Raya and the Last Dragon, available in a range of sizes online. If you are looking for footwear, walk in confidence with a variety of Raya and the Last Dragon-inspired boots. Feel like a part of Raya and the Last Dragon with the official range of Disney costumes, available for kids. These high quality fancy dress costumes are perfect for Halloween, Carnival, or any other occasion. Browse the selection of Raya costume sets for kids, and bring the magic to your wardrobe! Gifts, Toys & Accessories

Pateman, Daniel (May 26, 2021). "Disney Plus Premier Access: what is it, how do I get it and what can I watch?". TechRadar. Archived from the original on June 14, 2021 . Retrieved July 1, 2021. The film also featured the voice of Dichen Lachman as General Atitaya of Fang and a Spine warrior; Patti Harrison as the chief of Tail; [14] Dumbfoundead as Chai, a flower guy; 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 Spine; François Chau voices Wahn; and Gordon Ip and Paul Yen voice Talon merchants. [9] [15] Production [ edit ]Thomas, Millicent (August 28, 2020). "Disney changes Raya and the Last Dragon directors, writer, and leading actress". GamesRadar+. Archived from the original on September 25, 2020 . Retrieved July 6, 2021. Kaur, Avneet; Coetzee, Johann Francois (August 6, 2021). "Wrapped Clothing on Disney's Raya and the Last Dragon". ACM SIGGRAPH 2021 Talks. Siggraph '21. New York, NY, USA: Association for Computing Machinery. pp.1–2. doi: 10.1145/3450623.3464659. ISBN 978-1-4503-8373-8. S2CID 236937048. Evangelista, Chris (May 28, 2021). "New on Blu-ray: 'Speed' 4K, 'Raya and the Last Dragon', 'Last Action Hero' 4K, 'Big Fish' 4K, 'Minari', and 'The Father' ". /Film. Archived from the original on June 13, 2021 . Retrieved July 8, 2021.