Same, considering that Disney has disavowed romance in all their new films. Raya is the strongest indicator since it doesn't seem like Lasseter would have had much, if any, influence on the film, yet it still sticks to his tropes. It also sounds like Ginnifer Goodwin and Jason Bateman really enjoyed the platonic dynamic between their characters.RyGuy wrote: I’d be really surprised if they did. Pleasantly surprised, mind you, but surprised. Much like the buddy road trip cliche, or the surprise villain cliche, as of late it seems Disney is on the “you don’t need to be in a relationship to be complete” cliche. I don’t mind that message as I think it’s healthy, but how many films will they go through before they feel like it’s ok to do a romance again? At this point we have Merida, Ralph, Elsa, Moana, Elena (if you count her), and now apparently Raya as well.
Nick and Judy at this point probably qualify as well. It’d be interesting to see whether fans would embrace a relationship as some sort of natural progression or whether there would be an outcry that Disney was selling out or insinuating that Judy or Nick weren’t complete before as single characters.
I think it's important for Disney to showcase that male and female characters can be best buddies and even partners while not being romantically involved. Past male/female relationships like Ralph/Vanellope and Maui/Moana don't really count because of the age difference so Nick/Judy becomes the main exception, even in the Revival era.