Maybe it’s because I’m one of those cursed ’90s Kids who grew up during the Disney Renaissance (Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin, The Lion King), but I still get excited whenever Walt Disney Animation Studios releases a new movie. That excitement has let me down (the mid-2000s were a rough time for non-Pixar Disney animated movies), but the studio has been on a hot streak lately with Frozen, Zootopia, and Moana. But thankfully, it looks like Raya and the Last Dragon, the 59th Walt Disney Animation Studios feature that dates back to Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, is more Wreck-It Ralph than Home on the Range.
Directed by Don Hall and Carlos López Estrada (who directed Blindspotting) and written by Qui Nguyen and Adele Lim (who wrote Crazy Rich Asians), Raya and the Last Dragon stars Kelly Marie Tran (The Last Jedi) as Raya, a lone warrior, and Awkwafina (Jumanji: The Next Level) as Sisu, the titular last dragon. The teaser trailer above has thrilling action, gorgeous animation, and adorable animals (I am already in love with Tuk Tuk). In other words, it’s a Disney movie, one that I am very excited to see.
Here’s the official plot synopsis:
Long ago, in the fantasy world of Kumandra, humans and dragons lived together in harmony. But when an evil force threatened the land, the dragons sacrificed themselves to save humanity. Now, 500 years later, that same evil has returned and it’s up to a lone warrior, Raya, to track down the legendary last dragon to restore the fractured land and its divided people. However, along her journey, she’ll learn that it’ll take more than a dragon to save the world—it’s going to take trust and teamwork as well.
Raya and the Last Dragon opens on March 12, 2021.