‘Raya and the Last Dragon’ Trailer: Kelly Marie Tran Is Disney’s Next Animated Warrior Princess
Zack Sharf
Disney has unveiled the first trailer for its upcoming animated tentpole “Raya and the Last Dragon,” directed by Don Hall and Carlos López Estrada. The movie is set to introduce Raya as Disney’s next animated warrior princess, and the trailer suggests she’s bound to be as much of a sensation as Moana and Elsa. Raya is voiced by Kelly Marie Tran, returning to Disney after playing Rose in “Star Wars: The Last Jedi” and “Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker.”
According to Disney’s official synopsis, “Raya and the Last Dragon” centers around “a lone warrior who sets out to find the last dragon in existence and save the kingdom of Kumandra from the villainous Druun.” The last dragon is named Sisu and is voiced by “The Farewell” Golden Globe winner Awkwafina. Sisu is a water dragon who can transform into a human being. “Raya” is set to make history as Tran is the first Southeast Asian actress to lead a Disney animated film.
“She is someone who is technically a princess, but I think that what’s really cool about this project, about this character specifically, is that everyone’s trying to flip the narrative on what it means to be a princess,” Tran told EW earlier this year about voicing the title character. “Raya is totally a warrior. When she was a kid, she was excited to get her sword. And she grows up to be a really badass, gritty warrior and can really take care of herself.”
“I remember having this experience of recognizing some of the words and recognizing some of the names and the locations and even certain characters and our job descriptions of what influenced them to be a certain way,” Tran continued. “I felt so seen, and it was such a blissful feeling. I don’t know if I can even explain it, but it was this surprise. I’ve worked on some things before which obviously weren’t as culturally specific as this, and I don’t think that I knew that I needed that.”
Disney is scheduled to release “Raya and the Last Dragon” in theaters March 12, 2021. Watch the trailer for the animated tentpole in the video below.
