‘Raya and the Last Dragon’ — A study on representation

Disney’s first Southeast Asian princess is finally here in their latest film Raya and the Last Dragon. The film has been hailed as a landmark breakthrough in representation for Southeast Asia and a showcase of minorities not often represented in western media. But some audiences feel that its attempt at representation still leaves much to be desired and Hollywood continues to settle for imperfect depictions. Does Raya and the Last Dragon hold up to its promise of representation for Southeast Asians? What does the movie get right and wrong about the region? And does it deserve any of its hype or criticism?

The film takes place in a land broken into five tribes after the dragons that protected them used the last of their energy to banish the evil spirits called Druun. Our protagonist Raya (Kelly Marie Tran) is a princess from the Heart tribe, tasked with protecting the magical orb created by the dragons. Her father Chief Benja (Benedict Wong) invites the other tribes — Fang, Talon, Spine, and Tail — to Heart in hopes of making peace and reuniting them, but they end up fighting for the orb and breaking it into five pieces. This brings back the Druun and each tribe hastily grabs a piece for themselves before fleeing. Raya spends the next six years pursuing a legend that says the last dragon Sisu (Awkwafina) is still alive and slumbering somewhere. After finding and awakening Sisu, the two join forces to retrieve all the orb pieces from the tribes and drive the Druun away.

The filmmakers were said to have travelled all over Southeast Asia while researching for the film. Raya, therefore, focuses not on one specific Southeast Asian country, but rather weaves together elements from the various cultures.

WHAT RAYA AND THE LAST DRAGON GETS RIGHT

The opening animation is spectacular and a great introduction to some Southeast Asian themes. The colours are reminiscent of batik, an Indonesian textile-dyeing technique, and the paper puppets are a clear homage to wayang kulit, or Indonesian shadow puppets. It was refreshing to see Disney attempt a different animation style albeit only for a short segment. Despite Disney feeling comfortable in 3D animation, some of the best animated films of recent years are memorable for their own unique style, such as Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse. Animation is a medium that knows no bounds, and I would like to see Disney step out of their comfort zone to create more artistic films rather than safe and formulaic cartoons.

The film uses the aesthetics of the different tribes to showcase its Southeast Asian inspiration. These are most clearly seen in Fang, which was inspired by Angkor Wat and also very reminiscent of the lavish white and gold colour scheme of Thailand’s temples, as well as Talon which is essentially a floating market full of bustling street vendors.

Small details such as Raya removing her shoes before entering the cave where the magical orb is held are heartwarming to see and help to bring the Southeast Asian influences deeper beyond just the film’s aesthetics and solidify them in the culture of the world.

Other details that were derived from Southeast Asia include the fighting styles. At the start of the movie, Raya wields two arnis sticks in a duel against her father and arnis is the national martial art of the Philippines. Later in the movie, we see Raya wielding a kris which is a curved Indonesian blade and her fighting style is inspired by the Indonesian martial art pencak silat. The princess of Fang, Namaari, has a fighting style inspired by Muay Thai which fits into the backdrop of Fang’s Thai-Cambodian aesthetic. Raya’s animal companion is even named after a very popular mode of transportation using motorised rickshaws called Tuk Tuk.

One detail that particularly connected with me were the scenes featuring the characters sharing a meal with one another. Food has always brought people together in Asian culture and to see it used in this way in the movie felt like a true slice of Southeast Asian life. Raya’s father, Chief Benja, first uses food to symbolise unity when he adds ingredients from the lands of the different tribes to create one delicious bowl of soup. Later in the movie, Raya and her team also share a meal while they are travelling to the next tribe and this scene takes a step away from the action of the movie and allows the audience to bond with the characters just as they are bonding with one another. In other scenes, we also get to see glimpses of native Southeast Asian fruits such as durians and rambutans, which is a familiar sight that helps make the world in the film feel more familiar too. Food has such a unique role in Southeast Asian culture and I actually wish there was more emphasis on this throughout the movie.

WHERE RAYA AND THE LAST DRAGON MISSES THE MARK

The choice to incorporate multiple aspects of different cultures unfortunately muddies the world-building and creates confusing environments at times. The floating markets in Talon are an iconic feature of Thailand, but the people of Talon can be seen wearing sarongs which are typically worn in Malay and Indonesian tradition. Tail and Spine also have very different climates from Southeast Asia’s characteristic tropical climate. Tail is a hot and dry desert, however Southeast Asia does not have deserts because it is very humid and receives a lot of rainfall all year round. In contrast, Spine is located in a snowy bamboo forest, but snow is extremely rare in Southeast Asia and bamboo forests are more commonly associated with East Asia. It seems that the inspiration behind Tail and Spine have been confused with other Asian regions, such as the Middle East and East Asia, which distracts from the focus on Southeast Asia and creates an inconsistency in the environment’s atmosphere.

Perhaps the biggest offender when it comes to weird artistic choices that inaccurately portray Southeast Asian culture is the design of Sisu the dragon. The first thing most people would notice is that Sisu’s head and neck are covered in fur, almost like a mane. Dragons in Southeast Asian culture have never been depicted with fur and are often scaly like reptiles. They bear some resemblance to East Asian dragons in that they have long bodies and do not have wings, but they are also symbols of power and majesty. Dragons are common motifs in architecture, religious art, textiles, and even furniture. Because of what they represent, some might even say that dragons in Southeast Asian culture can be quite terrifying to look at.

Understandably Disney would have wanted a more kid-friendly design. However, in the scene where Sisu rescues Raya from a duel with her rival, Namaari, it’s difficult to feel any level of awe or grandeur when looking at Sisu. With the humour that is constantly interjected into her character, it is also evident that Disney wanted to recreate the likability and charisma of Mushu from Mulan. However, Mushu was not a main character in Mulan and largely functioned as comedic relief, whereas Sisu at times seemed to act as Raya’s mentor figure. Perhaps the writers wanted Sisu to have different characteristics during different points of the film depending on what the plot called for, but as a character it is simply hard to believe that a magical dragon can be both formidable and gullible at the same time.

My immediate instinct is to believe that Disney put fur on Sisu for the sake of selling toys. Especially so for children’s movies, Merchandise sales are a huge part of a movie’s success. A good movie can sell toys, but good toys can’t sell a movie. Movies should be driven by artistic choices, not business choices. Thinking back to Joel Schumacher’s Batman & Robin, the design of the costumes and the Batmobile were clearly intended to be made into toys, but the film is not remembered for its merchandise, it is remembered for the universally critical response to it.

Critics of the movie have called out Disney’s preference to cast familiar A-list stars even if it compromises on the film’s representation rather than opening up opportunities to those of Southeast Asian descent. Of the main cast members, only Kelly Marie Tran who voices our main character Raya is of Southeast Asian descent. Awkwafina, Gemma Chan, Benedict Wong, and the remaining members of the main cast are all of East Asian descent. Some have argued however that roles for Asians can be hard to come by in Hollywood and therefore Asian actors take what they can get even if they are not fully representative of the role they are portraying.

The controversy does not end there as Disney did not provide access to the film for all of its Disney+ subscribers. Unlike its other releases during the pandemic such as the live-action Mulan, Disney has placed the film behind a $38.98 fee. Some have referred to this as gatekeeping and fear it will unnecessarily make minority representation even more difficult to reach mainstream audiences.

Southeast Asia has produced several prominent actors who could have easily fit into some of the roles in this film. Just a few names that come to mind include To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before star Lana Condor who is Vietnamese, Crazy Ex-Girlfriend male lead Vincent Rodriguez III who is Filipino, and Crazy Rich Asians cast members including Henry Golding and Michelle Yeoh who are both Malaysian.

For all its shortcomings, Raya and the Last Dragon has helped put Southeast Asia on the global stage. We can only hope that this is the beginning of more minority representation in media, and that Hollywood will continue to be held to a higher standard when it comes to accurate portrayals of other cultures. Southeast Asia has a rich and diverse culture that can be turned into colourful pieces of art if done right. In the years to come, perhaps more filmmakers will step forward to share the beauty of Southeast Asia with the rest of the world.