The new film is Disney Animation Studios ‘first movie to be influenced by Southeast Asia, featuring Star Wars’ Kelly Marie Tran as the first Southeast Asian actress to star.
It is also the first film of the business to be shot primarily in remote areas, with the team required to operate from home earlier this year owing to the ongoing pandemic.
The official synopsis reads, ‘Raya will be an epic fantasy adventure with Southeast Asian themes, set in a realm called Lumandra, described as a reimagined earth inhabited by an ancient civilisation. Five clans form the land of the dragon, and Raya is determined to find the last dragon.’
Raya is voiced by Tran, taking over from Cassie Steele, with Golden Globe-winner Awkwafina playing Sisu, a water dragon in human form who needs help to get her powers back.
