The global events of 2020 haven’t stopped Disney from bringing joy to our screens- in fact, it’s been a bumper year for them with the launch of Disney Plus. Just last month we saw a tantalizing teaser drop for their next spectacular hit. With Moana and Frozen both proving to be massive cash cows for the Disney empire, it’s not surprising they would have another Princess-focused release on hand. Luckily for us all, it seems to be a Disney trend to embrace cultures from around the globe on screen at the moment. With Raya and the Last Dragon, it was time for Southeast Asia to represent!

Via Disney Studios// Raya and the Last Dragon Trailer

What we know about Raya and the Last Dragon

Raya, a courageous young woman, is on a mission to unite the nations of Kumandra…. and she needs the last of the dragons to do so. Be sure to factor in her cute sidekick, Sisu, a water dragon who’s just adorable if the recently dropped trailer is anything to go by. 

Via Disney Studios// Raya and the Last Dragon Trailer

Many people dismiss the idea of Disney representing other cultures as unimportant, but it’s anything but. Just in the small teaser we’ve had for Raya, we see the arnis as her weapon, Khmer architecture in the rooftops she jumps from, a cute shout-out to the tuk-tuk, and even the Indonesian roots of her name. It’s been lovingly done, and the directors and writers for Raya actually took the time to visit Southeast Asian countries to explore the cultures they would be portraying. It’s a chance to see and explore these areas in a way many Westerners don’t. It’s also a chance for those with Southeast Asian heritage to see themselves portrayed on the screen with positive role models. Raya and the Last Dragon also lightly touches on the area’s history, showing divided nations and a land under stress, sides you don’t often see presented sympathetically. This is, after all, the same geographic area that the Maphilindo aimed to unite.

Following a trend

Of course, this isn’t the only representation from Asia that Disney has ever made. Aladdin, with West Asian Princess Jasmine, and Mulan, with East Asian Mulan, both bring to life heroines with non-Western roots. They’ve also both received the live-action makeover that seems to be Disney’s 2020 trend. Perhaps Southeast Asia was just a logical next choice for a Princess.

That said, the area doesn’t get as much love as it should in Hollywood. Sure, we see Filipino Mateo Liwanag in Superstore,and Bangkok got some love in The Hangover Part II, but many of these projects show the characters as ‘novelty’ additions to the script, with small parts and often comedic roles- hardly representative of the rich and varied populations in the area. The phenomenon has been offset slightly by the successes of films like Crazy Rich Asians and Parasite (widely thought to be one of the best films of the decade)- but these are movies for grown audiences.

Via Disney Studios// Raya and the Last Dragon Trailer

The importance of representation for young children

To see themselves represented to impressionable youngsters of ‘Princess Age,’ especially from a massive studio like Disney, represents a bold new step in representation we’ve never seen before. Especially as Raya is a hero, anchoring her own film and ready to join the ranks of Disney Princesses and hold her own, not a comic foil or an easily forgotten bit part to someone else’s story. How wonderful for youngsters to see a person who looks just like them, living in a world similar to theirs, on the silver screen as something to be admired!

It’s easy to dismiss the importance of this phenomena as ‘silly’, but psychological studies of childhood development has shown that the ability to see admirable heroes that look and sound like them on the screen really does affect the way in which our children perceive their place in the world. By providing a range of positive on-screen heroes for them to emulate, we help encourage confidence and belief in themselves. This positive reinforcement and introduction to diversity at a young age can also help raise a more caring, accepting generation of people- something the world needs right now.

Via LucasFIlms //A Disney subsidiary

Raya and the Last Dragon currently has a projected release date of March 12th, 2021, although that may be adjusted as we see how studios adapt to the fallout from the global heath crisis. We don’t have a lot of details about the cast at the moment, but Kelly Marie Tran (notable for her role in the new Star Wars films) will star as Raya and it seems Awakafina will take the role of Sisu. What else lies in store for us in this exciting new Disney release? We guess we’ll have to wait and see!