Disney released the Raya and the Last Dragon movie trailer. It's been nearly four years since Walt Disney Animation Studios released their last original movie (2016's Moana) and after a couple sequels (2018's Ralph Breaks the Internet and 2019's Frozen II), the Mouse House is returning with an entirely new property in early 2021. Raya and the Last Dragon follows the tale of a warrior named Raya (Kelly Marie Tran) who goes in search of a dragon to help battle an evil force threatening her home. But the water dragon Sisu (Awkwafina) needs Raya's help first, and the two set out to restore Sisu to her full dragon powers and save Raya's home.
Raya and the Last Dragon is directed by Disney vet Don Hall (Big Hero 6) and Carlos López Estrada (Legion) from a script by Qui Nguyen (The Society) and Adele Lim (Crazy Rich Asians). The movie was originally intended to release in November, but due to the COVID-19 pandemic, was pushed to March 2021. While it's not yet clear what state the movie theater industry will be in at that time, Disney has kicked off the promotional push for Raya and the Last Dragon, first with a poster yesterday and now the trailer today.
During ABC's Good Morning America, Disney unveiled the Raya and the Last Dragon movie trailer, offering the first footage from the upcoming animated feature film. Check out the trailer below.
The trailer starts off with an Indiana Jones-style quest in which Raya must get through some underground obstacles until she makes it to a chamber with a glowing object of some kind. Based on the voiceover, in which Tran's Raya explains she's been trained to be a guardian of the Dragon Gem, this is all a training sequence. Even though the adversary in the chamber is painted as a villain, it's likely this is Raya's trainer, as evidenced by the little sigh he gives when she, presumably, makes a mistake that allows him to stop her from passing. So it's unlikely this sequence isn't part of the main story of the movie. That's introduced later in the trailer when Raya talks of the people of her world being divided and her needing to restore peace. Based on Raya and the Last Dragon plot details that have already been released, Raya's quest won't be as simple as that, though.
This teaser trailer for Disney's latest certainly offers hints of another magical adventure film in the vein of Moana - and perhaps there will be even more action and adventure considering Raya is more of a warrior than Moana was. The visuals in the trailer are beautiful and Tran's voice work hints at a well developed character in Raya. So far Raya and the Last Dragon has all the makings of another Disney animated blockbuster, what remains unclear is whether the movie will actually release in theaters come March. Given the state of the COVID-19 pandemic, Disney and Pixar's Soul opted for a Disney+ release this Christmas after being delayed from its original Summer 2020 slot. It's possible movie theaters will be bouncing back by Spring 2021, and Raya and the Last Dragon would no doubt make for an exciting theatrical experience, but folks will have to wait and see. For now, the Raya and the Last Dragon trailer offers a good idea of what to expect from Disney's next movie - whenever it releases.
Source: Disney
