Raya and the Last Dragon

[DisneyFan97]

I am really angry about the spoiler

[DisneyFan09]

so thank you for the defense, DisneyFan09.

You`re welcome You`ve defended me as well, so that`s why (to quote Shang) I`m repaying my debt

[TheSequelOfDisney]

I am really angry about the spoiler

Speculation based on a known character description--that is, "Raya's nemesis"--isn't a spoiler...

But, I guess, feel free to be angry?

[Sotiris]

New articles. In the first one, the directors talk about James Newton Howard writing the score for the film.

“Raya” Directors and Writer Preview Disney’s Upcoming Feature
http://www.animationscoop.com/interview ... g-feature/

How Trust Made Disney Animation’s Raya and the Last Dragon Possible
https://news.disney.com/raya-and-the-la ... -from-home

[Disney's Divinity]

That's a shame to think he's never won. It would be nice if he won for this film (although I wish him well with the other one, too), and for Raya to win for its soundtrack.

[DisneyFan09]

I get that. She doesn't have that larger-than-life quality to her, but at least she's likeable and good-natured. To me, that's a welcomed change of pace from the usual obnoxious co-leads we get like Flynn, Maui, Nick Wilde or Vanellope.

To be honest, I`ve always found Maui the most annoying of the four of them. Even though I could tolerate him, he was an most off-putting sidekick and clearly a pale Genie-wannabe. I could tolerate Flynn, but I was never gaga for him. Naveen was a superior character to him.

[unprincess]

YOU SPOILED IT!

The fact she's an antagonist is present in the trailer. Whether or not she'll be redeemed is merely speculation on our part. It's not information that has been leaked or anything like that.

I almost accidentally spoiled it! After I wrote my post I realized I forgot the spoiler tags and quickly modified the post. But yeah its shown right in the trailer that she's at least antagonistic...the rest is conjecture and speculation which happens in all threads discussing upcoming films.

[D82]

New book cover which shows a pose of Raya we had already seen, but drawn in a different style here:


Source: https://www.amazon.es/Raya-%C3%BAltimo- ... ref=sr_1_1


New clip art of Raya and Sisu from a Russian book whose synopsis reveals new details about the plot. I've put the text in spoilers just in case (translated by Google):

All her life, young Raya was preparing to become the Keeper of the Dragon Stone, like her father. And then the solemn day has come. But the girl does not yet know that even more difficult tests await her ahead. After all, except for her, no one else can find Sisu - the last dragon left on earth, stop the darkness, unite the war-torn country and save the world ... and at the same time her father!

Source: https://eksmo.ru/book/rayya-i-posledniy ... TD1103058/


Some old covers in better quality, others that are slightly different from ones already posted and a book review:

https://www.amazon.es/%C3%BAltimo-drag% ... ref=sr_1_8
https://www.amazon.es/Raya-%C3%BAltimo- ... ref=sr_1_9
https://www.amazon.es/Disney-Raya-Last- ... ref=sr_1_2
https://www.amazon.es/Disney-Raya-Drago ... ref=sr_1_7
https://www.amazon.es/Disney-Raya-Last- ... ref=sr_1_8
https://www.amazon.es/Disney-Raya-Last- ... ef=sr_1_11
https://www.amazon.es/Disney-Dragon-Mov ... ef=sr_1_18
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JmDU0pS3zE4


And here's the "Flower Pond Theme" in better quality from young Raya's doll:

https://youtu.be/ssNL6Zp2whY?t=596
https://www.instagram.com/p/CKlX_NEA0mn/

[Disney's Divinity]

So her father should be revived at the end of the film then.

[D82]

Here's another image, which I guess is from a coloring book, but I haven't been able to find the original source:


Source: https://www.instagram.com/p/CKsTeEbhYVV/

So her father should be revived at the end of the film then.

Yes, I think so. I suspected that would be the case, since he's turned into stone at the beginning of the film and not killed in a more definitive way. Personally, I'm glad about that. There are already too many Disney protagonists who are orphan.

[Sotiris]

To be honest, I've always found Maui the most annoying of the four of them. Even though I could tolerate him, he was an most off-putting sidekick and clearly a pale Genie-wannabe. I could tolerate Flynn, but I was never gaga for him. Naveen was a superior character to him.

Agreed. Maui was the most obnoxious of them all and had a horrible design to boot, so there's very little redeeming about him. Here's how I'd rank the co-leads of the Revival (from most to least favorite):

Naveen
Kristoff
Flynn (I warmed up to him more because of the TV show)
Mittens
Vanellope
Nick Wilde
Baymax
Maui

Here's another image, which I guess is from a coloring book, but I haven't been able to find the original source.

Raya looks really off-model there. None of the storybooks we've seen so far are anything to write home about. The storybook illustrations and even the 2D clip-art for this movie are quite subpar. They usually do a better job in that department. It seems they dropped the ball this time.

I suspected that would be the case, since he's turned into stone at the beginning of the film and not killed in a more definitive way. Personally, I'm glad about that. There are already too many Disney protagonists who are orphan.

It was obvious the stone people would come back to life at the end, but it's good we have confirmation. I'm glad too. Raya can have her happily ever after and finally let go of her guilt for what happened to him. Besides, from the little we've seen him, Benja seems like cool character that I'd like to see more of in the inevitable sequel TV series for Disney Plus.

[DisneyFan09]

Agreed. Maui was the most obnoxious of them all and had a horrible design to boot, so there's very little redeeming about him. Here's how I'd rank the co-leads of the Revival (from most to least favorite):

Naveen
Kristoff
Flynn (I warmed up to him more because of the TV show)
Mittens
Vanellope
Nick Wilde
Baymax
Maui

Ok. I wasn`t particularly fond of Maui`s design either. But his design wasn`t the very worst. The reason for comparing both Flynn and Naveen, was for both of them being royal (well, at least Flynn becomes one later one). But at least we seem to agree about Naveen, though

[Disney's Divinity]

My personal ranking of the smart-alec halves of the buddy roadtrip films would be:

Nick
Kristoff
Naveen
Vanellope
Baymax
Eugene
Mittens
Maui

I'm guessing Sisu will end up near the top of the pile, but who knows. Flynn would've been last on my list before the TV series. Even now, I'm still not overly fond of him in the movie itself. If I were to include the TV show in how I ranked them, I'd probably bump him to above Vanellope or at least Baymax. Surprisingly, I think I don't really hate any of these characters like I always thought. I think with Eugene, Mittens, and Maui, it's partly the designs that turn me off. It's funny, I suppose Anna would be the smart-alec half in Frozen 2, since Kristoff is pushed off into the background.

[D82]

My ranking would be quite different from the ones posted. I'm not completely sure about the order, but I think it would be something like this:

Flynn
Maui
Nick Wilde
Naveen
Baymax
Mittens
Kristoff
Vanellope

Though I put her last, I don't hate Vanellope. And I really like Maui. Like his voice actor, I find him quite charismatic. He also has an interesting backstory and character arc. And personally, I like his design too. He's not the handsomest, but in my opinion, the body completely covered in tattoos and his long curly hair make his design quite unique.

I also hope Sisu ends up near the top of my ranking. We'll see. I've liked Awkwafina in everything I've seen her in, so I think that's quite likely.

I've been looking forward to finally seeing Sisu and..she's so UNDERWHELMING! Was expecting her to be more majestic, sure... funny, but more awe inspiring.

I get that. She doesn't have that larger-than-life quality to her, but at least she's likeable and good-natured. To me, that's a welcomed change of pace from the usual obnoxious co-leads we get like Flynn, Maui, Nick Wilde or Vanellope.

I don't dislike those characters, but I agree it's a nice change of pace. It seems she's not even really reluctant to help Raya and go with her on her journey. She doesn't think she'll be able to defeat the Druun, but doesn't oppose the idea completely and seems willing to help (from what we know so far, maybe I'm mistaken). However, I still think she hides something. There must be a reason why she's the only dragon left. Either she wasn't brave enough to sacrifice herself like the other dragons or something prevented her from doing it and she feels guilty because of that.

Regarding her appearance, I think part of the reason she doesn't feel more majestic is her size. She should be way bigger, in my opinion. I understand why they gave her that size, thought. If she was bigger, it would be more difficult for the characters to interact with her and for the camerawork.

Most people commented they didn't like the butt/digestion joke, not the school project one. Personally, I didn't have a problem with the latter.

I didn't have a problem with any of them, I just didn't find them too funny. They weren't bad, but I hope she has better jokes in the movie.

When Carlos López Estrada said the digital sculptors modeled Sisu after Awkwafina, did he mean her dragon or human form?

I don't know, but I don't see much resemblance between her and Sisu in either of her forms. The facial expressions may be similar, but not the models, in my opinion.

The design of her human form doesn't match her dragon form anymore. When you see her as a dragon, you expect her human form to be more impressive and dignified than what we got. She has a more humble and caricatured appearance as a human than what one would expect from a multi-colored, majestic dragon. I understand she's a supporting, comedic character which requires a different type of design than that of a lead, but regardless of that, they should have made her two forms resemble each other more closely.

I agree her two forms don't match. Apart from to sell more toys, I think they probably made her more "perfect" as a dragon so we wouldn't be sorry she stops being a human at the end, as I imagine she'll stay in her real form then.

It's interesting that Namaari also loves and believes in dragons like Raya. It looks like she was fashioned to mirror Raya and show us how she could have turned out if it weren't for her loving relationship with her father or what could she become if she doesn't learn to trust again. This implies that Namaari will have a dysfunctional or emotionally abusive relationship with her mom.

I think you're right about that. Though, according to a new description of Namari's mother from an article announcing the Indonesian actress who will voice her in the French dub, she won't be really evil either:

Anggun plays the character of Virana, someone who is somewhat authoritarian but is a leader with a big heart.

I kinda wish they gave Namari one as a sidekick.

Maybe she will have one. It would make an additional parallel to Raya.

In the description of one of the Lego sets, they revealed the one Namaari rides is called Serlot. If they gave him a name, I guess it'll probably be her sidekick.

It was obvious the stone people would come back to life at the end, but it's good we have confirmation. I'm glad too. Raya can have her happily ever after and finally let go of her guilt for what happened to him. Besides, from the little we've seen him, Benja seems like cool character that I'd like to see more of in the inevitable sequel TV series for Disney Plus.

Me too. Regarding the ending, it will be similar to Avengers: Endgame then with all the stone people returning to the present just like they were, now being six years younger than the rest and having lost those years of their relatives' and friends' lives. Though, come to think of it, not all will be turned into stone at the same time. So, some will return after years of disappearance and some just minutes later. That's different from Avengers.

[Farerb]

My ranking would be quite different from the ones posted. I'm not completely sure about the order, but I think it would be something like this:

Flynn
Maui
Nick Wilde
Naveen
Baymax
Mittens
Kristoff
Vanellope

Though I put her last, I don't hate Vanellope. And I really like Maui. Like his voice actor, I find him quite charismatic. He also has an interesting backstory and character arc. And personally, I like his design too. He's not the handsomest, but in my opinion, the body completely covered in tattoos and his long curly hair make his design quite unique.

I also hope Sisu ends up near the top of my ranking. We'll see. I've liked Awkwafina in everything I've seen her in, so I think that's quite likely.

I like your first four, though I don't know how I'd rank them, they're quite similar, but I guess it would be Flynn, Nick, Naveen, Maui. I actually think TPatF might have turned better if they focused on Naveen rather than Tiana cause in some ways it feels like it's his story (kind of like how BatB is the Beast's story rather than Belle's). Same reason why I think it was smart for them to focus on Judy instead of Nick.

I don't care much for the others, I do find Vanellope quite annoying and Kristoff is such a "Poster Boy" I honestly don't know what his role in the story even is other than fool the audience.

As for Maui, I agree with you, I don't see them able to play with the tattoos on a slimmer design like Flynn, so he needed to be wide, but I also find it unique that they didn't go with their usual handsome design for their male heroes (Maui is not a romantic lead so it might have been easier for them to go this way because of that). What I also like about the character is that he shapeshifts because according to M&C it's something that is hard to do in CGI because they're dealing with models and not drawings, I can't recall that it was ever done before in CGI or at least to the same extent that it was done with Maui.

As for his personality, I don't mind his sarcasm and egomaniac behavior as long as he learns sincerity by the end, but what I really like is that other than being that way, he has his moments of vulnerability and sensitivity, and we learn that he is like that, not because he actually think he is amazing, but because he is incredibly insecure, and I really think they brought it out in an organic way with Tamatoa (if anyone thought that Tamatoa was unnecessary). And I guess that's what I like about his relationship with Moana - he's not there to just help her, but she is there to help him as well, which elevates this relationship from unwilling teacher- student into being more on the same level. I think besides the romantic angle, it's similar to Rapunzel and Flynn, two people who help each other out and brings out the best from one another. I don't really include Tiana and Naveen because I think Tiana was great as she was (and why I think the story should have been about Naveen), and I don't include Judy and Nick because "racist" Judy feels contrived. I slightly prefer Rapunzel and Flynn to Maui and Moana.

I also like that Disney finally had the courage to make Maui a bit morally ambiguous at the beginning and actually do a terrible thing, something they didn't do since Kuzco I think.

But I'm taking it a bit further, and I think that Maui is a good unintentional metaphor to WDAS themselves - They want the love of the people, which they had once when they were great, but they made errors and were kind of forgotten, only to redeem themselves eventually.

As for Sisu - it's too early for me to judge her, seems like the two characters that will need to learn from each other will be Raya and Namaari and Sisu will probably be a negotiator or something. In that case it will be interesting to see how it plays out.

[blackcauldron85]

As for Maui, I agree with you, I don't see them able to play with the tattoos on a slimmer design like Flynn, so he needed to be wide, but I also find it unique that they didn't go with their usual handsome design for their male heroes (Maui is not a romantic lead so it might have been easier for them to go this way because of that).

How (and Why) Maui Got So Big in ‘Moana’ By Robert Ito, Nov. 15, 2016
https://www.nytimes.com/2016/11/20/movi ... .html?_r=0

In illustrated books, comics and animated films, Maui often resembles a lithe teenager on the verge of manhood...then there are those, including a New Zealand member of Parliament and a professional rugby player from Samoa, who say the depiction perpetuates offensive images of Polynesians as overweight...“In early versions of the film, he was smaller,” said David Pimentel, the film’s head of story. “He was shorter and bald. He wasn’t the most beautiful person.”...These experts formed the film’s Oceanic Story Trust, and it was members of this group who pushed the filmmakers for a bigger Maui. “They were telling us that he needs to be a hero, almost like Superman,” Mr. Pimentel said...“Even in the myths where he’s small, he’s larger than life,” Osnat Shurer, the film’s producer, said. “And in animation, we’re not literal. You’re trying to find the essence of the character. We always felt that the audience needed to know right away, visually, that this guy is stronger than anybody else.”...Maui has taken flak for his weight gain. “I totally get it,” said David Derrick, a “Moana” story artist who is of Samoan descent. “But I think a lot of those things come from people being very nervous and scared that a big company is portraying this beloved cultural character. I believe that when they see the whole thing, they’ll be won over by how we treated him.”..."

[Farerb]

I think the short small Maui was before they thought of playing with his tattoos.

Here's another info from the art book:

From the beginning of story development, directors Ron Clements and John Musker knew they wanted the heroine of their original folktale adventure to cross paths with a character who was already legendary throughout all of the Pacific Islands - Maui. Maui is a demigod known as a strong man, a trickster, a shapeshifter, and a champion of man. "Maui is like an Oceanic superhero." says co-director Don Hall. In the film, he explains, "Maui has a lot cockiness and brashness, but he is also very charming to offset that."

"He's a fun character because we can play him really bold and over the top and get away with it," says co-director Chris Williams. "It's perfect casting for Dwayne The Rock Johnson, who is nothing if not confident and charming."

Moana and Maui meet when Moana washes up on Maui's island, directed there by her friend, the ocean. While he is necessary to achieving her goal of restoring the heart of the mother island, Te Fiti. Moana and Maui initially butt heads. Musker explains, "Maui generally has a more domineering approach when facing problems, and Moana has a compassion that he lacks. Because he's a trickster, it's hard to know when you can trust him."Nonetheless," adds Clements, "he becomes a mentor to Moana as she's thrust into a world where she's out of her element. But ultimately, she teaches him what being a hero is all about."

Designing the demigod was no small feat. "Initially, we had an idea to design Maui as being smaller than Moana, and she was going to be underwhelmed and disappointed when she met him." says production designer lan Gooding. "Then, we asked people from the islands what their impression was of Maui, and all of them said he has to be huge. He's got all this mana, this power. So it was clear we truly had to make this guy larger than life."

Designing Maui's shape and anatomy proved to be both a design and a technological challenge. First off, as head of effects Marlon West explains. "In most of our other films, our characters have clothes on but in Moana, we have characters like Maui with a lot of skin showing That was a new test for both character and tech animation. New software had to be written in order to figure out how skin slides believably over muscle.

Then, the team had to figure out how to design Maui's body in a ay that was powerful, believable, and appealingly caricatured all il the same time. "An enormous amount of thought went into the ylization of Maui's anatomy," says Gooding. "Maui is basically a Square, and his legs are less than half the length if he were a normally proportioned person. But the team worked hard to cram all those muscle groups into the design so he looks powerful. Now, when he eres, he looks spectacular."

Before reaching his final design, Maui also underwent several hairstyle evolutions. "Early on, we fell in love with a few drawings that [visual development artist] Sue Nichols did of Maui without hair, recalls Musker."So for a while, Maui didn't have hair. It made him distinctive, but- Clements interjects, "When we asked some of our consultants from Mo'orea, they told us that they envisioned Maui with a mane of Sampson-like hair. His hair is his mana, they explained. And we really like that."

[blackcauldron85]

I thought this was neat. Nothing too spoilery, but just in case:

Raya and the Last Dragon: Building the World of Kumandra
https://bleedingcool.com/movies/raya-an ... -kumandra/

Each land in Kumandra is incredibly different, which meant that they needed to do five times as much worldbuilding as the team explained during an early press event.

"We have a world made up of five different lands," explains producer Osnat Shurer."That's like designing five movies. They have five different natural environments, materials they build with, different colors the locals wear, different shape languages that are meaningful to them. For example, in the land of Heart, they are connected to the dragon, and the dragon is connected to water, so buildings, rooms, etc. look more like a drop—they're round. Whereas in the land of Fang, they're all about power, so the structures are powerful and over-scale. Everyone of these things have been thought through by our incredible visual development and production design team members and then carried through into the film."

There is a large river that connects all five of the lands that are shaped like a dragon, so the theme of water and how these five kingdoms used to be united before everything fell apart. However, as different as they all are, each land is reverent to the dragons that saved the world the last time around, and that is something that all of the kingdoms have in common, "For us, the main unifying elements ofKumandra have always been the water and the dragon. In our movie, we have the river that links everybody together, and throughout the movie, we see them traveling along this river to visit each of the different lands. So there's a water element that really ties it together physically. Wherever we could, we wanted to keep the water elements in the sets as much as possible. Then beyond that, there is a universal reverence for the dragon. There are motifs in the film that are dragon inspired but interpreted in each land's particular way," production designer Helen Chen explained.

[DisneyFan97]

YOU SPOILED IT!

The fact she's an antagonist is present in the trailer. Whether or not she'll be redeemed is merely speculation on our part. It's not information that has been leaked or anything like that.

Okey

Sorry i was rude

Excuse me

[DisneyFan09]

You`re forgiven, DisneyFan97. Everyone can make a mistake. The most important is that you make up for it at the end.

Yes, I think so. I suspected that would be the case, since he's turned into stone at the beginning of the film and not killed in a more definitive way. Personally, I'm glad about that. There are already too many Disney protagonists who are orphan.

Agreed. Orphans has been a Disney trope which has been overused. It began during Walt`s days, but during the Renaissance and the following decade it was quite overused. So it would`ve been nice if Disney gave a twist to the idea.

Btw, I`ve noticed that it haven`t been discussed, but Raya`s age is confirmed in this article; https://nordic.ign.com/feature/43115/ra ... ered-movie