Raya and the Last Dragon

[DisneyFan97]

this is my third favorite revival ere Disney movie

[D82]

I saw the film again today and I noticed something I didn't notice the first time. The scene in which Sisu dies seems to mirror the one at the beginning where Benja tries to protect the gem from the other tribes. In that scene, Benja puts his sword down like Raya does in the other scene; like Sisu, he tries to convince the clans that there's another option; and someone also shoots an arrow with a crossbow. In this case, at his leg. I wonder if in the scene with Sisu, the similar situation in which they are reminds Raya of what happened to his father when he trusted the other clans and influences her decision to intervene. I also noticed that, instead of stopping, Namaari continues pulling the trigger, so it's no wonder Raya thought there was danger and felt she had to do something. We only learn Namaari was about to be convinced later, when she tells Raya about it after their last fight.

And this is something I already noticed the first time, but didn't give it much thought, and now I thought it was quite important. After they all give their pieces of the gem to Namaari and turn to stone, she sees a hole where she could escape and initially decides to run towards it and save her own life. Thankfully, she looks back and sees them all together and the sacrifice they've made and changes her mind. So, after the others trusted her and gave their lives to save Kumandra, for a moment, she almost failed them. Well, I liked it because it's a very human thing to do. And the truth is that she didn't ask them to sacrifice themselves and didn't know if reassembling the pieces of the gem would work. Plus, it was just a moment of doubt and she ended up doing the right thing, but it caught my attention this time that she almost ruined everything (again).

I wanted to say how much I loved the part where Raya is trying to distract Namaari and Namaari totally wipes her out. I really wasn't expecting it. It was like Raya was all in her head and then came up against a brick wall. I thought it was nice that while Raya is a great warrior, she wasn't automatically stronger than everyone like she thought. In fact, a lot of her antics in the film require quick-witted thinking and tricks, where I suppose Namaari is more a case of brute strength.

I liked that too. The fights felt more believable than in many other animated movies.

Speaking of Raya and Namaari, here's some new concept art of them by Ami Thompson. It seems at one point Namaari had a prosthetic arm.

You could be right about Sisu's family not being royalty, but I guess I'm going to hold onto that theory until it's completely disproven. I still feel like her brother's horns looked like a crown--that maybe it was sort of like a Narnia situation where you have multiple rulers, but then the eldest brother is High King over the rest of them.

Well, it's true that there's something regal about him. And it's not only the horns; Sisu also talks about him with a lot of reverence, and he looks like a leader, so I don't rule out they could be royalty either.

[Disney's Divinity]

I noticed the part with Namaari trying to escape at first before looking back when I watched it, too. The shot when she looks down at the statues of the others was pretty haunting.

Good catch about the relation between the Benja and Sisu scenes; they had to have been mirrored purposely. I almost wonder if Benja was going to die in an early version (as in an arrow to the gut the way it happened to Sisu rather than the leg), but it would've ruined the happy ending when Sisu returned only her father to be gone for good. But part of me would've liked the bittersweet-ness of it, that not everything can be repaired.

[Disney's Divinity]

Disney’s new animated film Raya and the Last Dragon has introduced the studio’s first out trans actor.
https://www.pinknews.co.uk/2021/03/09/r ... ansgender/

Tran said she believed Raya had more than platonic feelings towards Namaari, who is voiced by Gemma Chan. She told Vanity Fair she is “obsessed with Namaari” and Chan, which rubbed off on her portrayal of Raya.
“I think if you’re a person watching this movie and you see representation in a way that feels really real and authentic to you, then it is real and authentic,” Tran says. “I think it might get me in trouble for saying that, but whatever.”

https://www.pinknews.co.uk/2021/03/08/r ... star-wars/
(The title of this one is misleading, but I thought Tran's quote was worth sharing anyway.)

‘Raya and the Last Dragon’ Happy Meal Toys Coming Soon!
https://insidethemagic.net/2021/03/raya ... -toys-ro1/
(Glad to hear the McDonald's toy lines are coming back for the newer generations. )

[DisneyFan97]

l loved this movie !

It was really good !

[D82]

Concept art by Character Art Director Shiyoon Kim (more on the links):


Raya




Source:
https://www.instagram.com/p/CMCHbyTFNei/
https://www.instagram.com/p/CMCKiTAFZdV/
https://www.instagram.com/p/CMIlt8PjfUa/


Human Sisu


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


Dragon Sisu




Source:
https://www.instagram.com/p/CMFgPmGlwAE/
https://www.instagram.com/p/CMGGtqiF_zn/


Namaari




Source: https://www.instagram.com/p/CMNE1M8lomJ/


Druun




Source: https://www.instagram.com/p/CMOxiGqF7fZ/


More artwork by Disney artists. Though it shows something that doesn't happen in the final film, I guess the first link below could be considered a bit spoilery.

Mehrdad Isvandi
https://www.instagram.com/p/CMIjEC0DOR3/
https://www.instagram.com/p/CMNTwcWAzUn/
https://www.instagram.com/p/CMOUH4MjZpR/

Paul Briggs
https://twitter.com/_paul_briggs_/statu ... 7319731203
https://www.instagram.com/p/CMLuSMbnOAn/

Zac Retz
https://twitter.com/ZacDRetz/status/1370091946660655104
https://twitter.com/ZacDRetz/status/1369774902887075840
https://www.instagram.com/p/CMKwCx6hj4E/
https://www.instagram.com/p/CMNeNbOhPc3/
https://www.instagram.com/p/CMQSvu4Btum/

Mingjue Helen Chen
https://twitter.com/MingjueChen/status/ ... 8574088193
https://www.instagram.com/p/CMN4NhMhJld/
https://www.instagram.com/p/CMQ8ZdQBc0V/

James Richard Woods
https://www.instagram.com/p/CMQZHydD9nS/
https://www.instagram.com/p/CMQlweBDSzn/
https://www.instagram.com/p/CMSOmH4DYhJ/
https://www.instagram.com/p/CMSivNSDHUO/

Armand Serrano
https://www.instagram.com/p/CMFdsuihWeO/
https://www.instagram.com/p/CMJjHVSBF68/
https://www.instagram.com/p/CMNkiOShAnA/
https://www.instagram.com/p/CMQEsA7hrEN/

Adil Mustafabekov
https://www.instagram.com/p/CMS5JDsJqJN/

Benson Shum (animation crew T-shirt design)
https://twitter.com/bshum79/status/1368049677640232968
https://twitter.com/bshum79/status/1368415252073779207

[Disney's Divinity]

https://i.imgur.com/otmIzM3.jpg

I do like this one quite a bit. I almost wish the finished product looked a bit more like this. None of those dragon designs really worked, so I definitely think they ended up in the right place. The one with color is my favorite of those, but I think all of them are designs that work if the character is merely being looked at rather than talking and interacting with the other characters.

As for Namaari, I had actually looked back in this thread yesterday, and saw that old picture which first clued us into the female character opposite Raya. She was in a dress there, too. Very interesting to imagine the character in a dress like the mother's design, considering she has to fight at several points.

[Disney's Divinity]

Looking at the box office, I have to say that I remember being angry when the film was delayed and slotted into March instead of the Summer, and I'm even more angry now. If it had come out in the Summer, it likely would've done much better than this because the vaccine would've been widely available by then. Especially having seen the film and loving it--a rare thing with Disney these days--it feels like such a monumental misstep. Still, I do hope the film does well-enough to get a sequel and have a second chance at the apple, so to speak.

[blackcauldron85]

It's funny you mention box office, because at lunch today I started a small project about box office #s. I think these days, Disney obviously has to look at more than just box office to know that a movie is successful. Raya has stellar reviews, and hopefully merch is selling well, and hopefully the Blu will sell well. Hopefully a lot of people bought the Premier Access on Disney+.

My Art of Raya book and the Junior novel arrived today in the mail. I didn't have time to flip through much, but one concept art of Tuk Tuk had a cat-like face!

[DisneyFan97]

This movie was great !

[Disney's Divinity]

It's funny you mention box office, because at lunch today I started a small project about box office #s. I think these days, Disney obviously has to look at more than just box office to know that a movie is successful. Raya has stellar reviews, and hopefully merch is selling well, and hopefully the Blu will sell well. Hopefully a lot of people bought the Premier Access on Disney+.

My Art of Raya book and the Junior novel arrived today in the mail. I didn't have time to flip through much, but one concept art of Tuk Tuk had a cat-like face!

Yes, I hope its Disney+ numbers have been unprecedented for them (like 2 or 3x what Mulan did at least). That would help to justify a sequel.

I have three Funko + the soundtrack so far, and I plan to get the Blu-ray of course. Interesting to think Tuk Tuk was originally a catmadillo... I'm not sure I can imagine it. The change must've been around the time they decided to give every group its own animal creature. I think cats suit Namaari and Verona really well--very pretty on the outside. Not hollow within though, I love cats.

[blackcauldron85]

Okay, when I said I flipped through it quick on my break, it was quick. Looking at it again, it's definitely more red panda than cat.

http://imgur.com/a/MvT2aVg

(Sorry for the gross dog toys- I try to make not the best photos when posting from a Disney book so Disney might not get as mad...)

*edit*
Easter Eggs You Missed In Raya And The Last Dragon
https://www.looper.com/358370/easter-eg ... st-dragon/

[blackcauldron85]

Kelly Marie Tran & Carlos Lopez Estrada Welcome ‘Raya’ Fans At El Capitan As Pic Posts Firm No. 1 Hold
https://deadline.com/2021/03/weekend-bo ... 234718593/

That's awesome that they got to go to the screening. (And where did they get their long-sleeve Raya shirts? The only long sleeve shirts I've seen are the Her Universe one, which isn't Raya enough, or the ShopDisney one, which might fit weird so I haven't gotten it.)

[Kyle]

This is def one of those movies that got lost in the transition from concept to final product. The final wasn't bad, but the concepts were on another level. I even found myself wishing those not 2d but kinda stylized sequences to be the default movie. I was looking at those just thinking, there's your movie right there, why doesn't the whole thing just look like that?

[Vlad]

I watched this one last night. I was blown away by the beauty of the animation and the visuals. The characters' facial expressions were so life-like and realistic, and the voice acting was really impressive. I also loved the story, it was fresh, new and original. I was kinda surprised that it wasn't a musical though.

[Disney's Divinity]

So will the soundtrack only be released digitally for this film? I mean, I understand it since it's not a musical, but it's a little disappointing not having an album cover and so on. Is this the first of the Revival not to receive a physical soundtrack release?

[Farerb]

Frozen II deluxe soundtrack was only released digitally unfortunately, only the songs got a physical releases, so it seems like Disney might have stopped releasing physical for soundtracks.

[Jules]

This is def one of those movies that got lost in the transition from concept to final product. The final wasn't bad, but the concepts were on another level. I even found myself wishing those not 2d but kinda stylized sequences to be the default movie. I was looking at those just thinking, there's your movie right there, why doesn't the whole thing just look like that?

Haven't seen the movie yet. (No way for me to do so, cinemas currently shuttered in my country and no Disney+ yet.)

I suspect the filmmakers might worry that an overly stylised look for the entirety of the film's runtime may tire viewers. I certainly wouldn't mind, though.

Perhaps the Lasseter mentality of "it looks too distracting" will need a few more years to flush itself out.

@Divinity and farerb

Oh God. I knew CDs are a niche market now, but it's disgraceful that the soundtrack to a big-budget mainstream film doesn't get a physical release in 2021. I guess it might be released on vinyl, since that's hot right now, but the quality of the cut and the pressed disc will likely be questionable.

Unfortunately it is my understanding that many modern vinyl albums do not sound very good simply because the people doing the mixing, the mastering, the cutting of the master disc and the pressing are relative youngsters who do not know the ins and outs of creating a great sounding vinyl record. Either that, or they just do not care, because y'know ... VINYL SELLS anyway!

Of course, I am sure there are people involved in modern vinyl production that actually know what they are doing, but I suspect they are in the minority.

[Disney's Divinity]

Yeah, I just find it amazing that something like Over the Moon gets a physical soundtrack release, but not the newest big WDAS film? Whaaa? But I know pushing things further towards digital-only is one of Disney's priorities these days.

[Jules]

Yeah, I just find it amazing that something like Over the Moon gets a physical soundtrack release, but not the newest big WDAS film? Whaaa? But I know pushing things further towards digital-only is one of Disney's priorities these days.

To be fair, I think in terms of music - the whole industry is going that direction, not just Disney.

Vinyl records are now selling more than CDs. Weird seeing the undisputed king of 90s and 00s music formats becoming obsolete, while vinyl emerges from the ashes of the 80s and early 90s.

If Raya gets a physical soundtrack, my bet is on a vinyl album. However, as I mentioned in my previous post, I would not expect the greatest sound quality from such a release due to questionable QC. If it does happen, it'll likely be a special edition pressed in coloured vinyl or maybe a picture disc so they can sell it for an even greater premium.

I like picture discs, but if the only release is on a picture disc that's just stupid. Any vinyl record enthusiast will tell you that picture discs have vastly inferior sound quality. They are fun to have, look at, and, I daresay even play. However, you would certainly want to own a regular black vinyl version of any picture disc in your collection for serious listening.

If you guys don't stop me I am hijacking this thread into a vinyl collector's club. lol