If derived from Pixar or Disney Animation, a Disney animated feature film is never the same at the end as it is at the beginning. The production model is so that in the necessary years a movie like that Raya and the last dragon, anything and everything it can change – as long as that change makes it better. During production on Raya, which was true, with one particularly important exception.
“We knew we wanted to tell a story that reflected what we saw in the world,” producer Osnat Shurer told io9. “The biggest problem, which is the meaning of division, of division, of using our differences against each other, as opposed to coming together for the greater good of this wonderful planet we call home. So we started working on the idea. ”
It is an understatement to say that things have been extremely tense in the world in recent years – it seems that everything gives people a reason to be angry with each other. It’s the same in Raya and the last dragon, in which five tribes of Kumandra “Heart, heel, corner, spine and tail – are in contradiction with the possession of the magic of the dragon’s jewel.” But through the actions of Raya and the last titular dragon Sisu, maybe he has a chance to change.
“When you make a movie like this, it takes so long to make, you can’t really plan when it’s going to come out in terms of everything else that’s going on in the world.” Kelly Marie Tran, Raya’s voice told io9. “So the fact that the message appears now and it’s so relevant, I think it says a lot more about our filmmakers and just knowing that there’s something that Disney animated films do very well and it’s a way to reach this humanity universal and this humanity that is relatable over generations. ”
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Tran continued: “It’s a very difficult thing to do, but especially with this film and what is happening in the world today … I think the lessons that Raya learned are lessons that we can all take with us. I know it’s a lesson I want to take personally from being able to interpret it. ”
According to Shurer, apart from Raya’s general characters, the dragon and the idea of a divided world, the message of trust and community was the other main element that came out from the beginning. It is what has become the backbone of everything that has developed.
“Almost everything has changed in terms of film in the five years I’ve been in film,” Shurer said. “But not some of the key ideas, [such as] I always wanted it to be a movie about the assembly. But you get deeper and deeper, as we make the projections, as we work and refine it, and we begin to ask ourselves, “What does it take to unite?” It’s not that simple … What I came for is trust. That you have to learn to trust each other … So it deepened and many other things changed. ”
What exactly? “The characters from each of the countries, who they are and how they play in the story that developed [changed]Shurer continued. “It was a time when they were from different places. Boun [a young boy who helps Raya on the journey, voiced by Izaac Wang] it was from Talon and we rearranged part of it as we went deeper into understanding each land and what their psychology and social position is on the world. So there were a lot of rearrangements. “
According to Tran, there were also changes in the main relationship of the film. “The relationship between Sisu and Raya was one that changed a little bit because we just wanted to make sure it was right,” Tran said. “And I don’t think I even knew what that meant. But I think that once we had a few more sessions and we really managed to realize their dynamics, it’s so wonderful now. But that was definitely something that changed in a way during the sessions. ”
Another thing that changed as everyone did Raya it was, well, the real world. The last five years have taxed us all a lot, and while the filmmakers didn’t set out to make a film that felt so appropriate right now, when they put the news in, they saw it coming.
“Certainly there were times during the making of the film when we were very aware of how this film, which was supposed to be timeless, was incredibly timely,” said director Don Hall. “I think it encouraged us to keep going because we felt we had something to say.”
Raya and the last dragon it is now in theaters and beyond Disney + with Premier access.
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