Raya and the Last Dragon

[Sotiris]

Sony's Wish Dragon has released its first trailer. It's similar to Raya in that it's also about an Asian straight man and a wacky, comic-relief dragon going on a road trip. It was supposed to be released this November, but it'll probably be rescheduled for next year. Do you think by the time Raya is released, people will claim it copied Wish Dragon?

[Disney's Divinity]

I wouldn't doubt it. Too bad Raya isn't getting released this year. It was so far-off in the first place, you'd have thought its release date would've been safe. Oh, well.

[UmbrellaFish]

Sony's Wish Dragon has released its first trailer. It's similar to Raya in that it's also about an Asian straight man and a wacky, comic-relief dragon going on a road trip. It was supposed to be released this November, but it'll probably be rescheduled for next year. Do you think by the time Raya is released, people will claim it copied Wish Dragon?

That trailer is very Aladdin, right down to “Genie, make me a Prince.”

I think “Raya” will look much more beautiful.

[Sotiris]

Sure, but people online were really angry when Coco was being released, claiming it copied The Book of Life even though the similarities were superficial.

[DisneyFan97]

Will this still happen ?

[Sotiris]

Kellye Perdue, a Black female artist who had been working as a storyboard artist on Raya is blasting WDAS on social media. I don't know what happened exactly. She must have deleted previous posts of hers explaining the situation, but here's the latest thing she had to say about the studio. If anyone knows what happened, please fill in the blanks for us.

Yo, real talk, all I wanted to do was be a storyboard artist at Tonko House. Because what they make feels authentic and has real heart to it. I wanted to be a part of that. I want to help craft their stories. There was a job opening for a story artist at Tonko House when I was going into Disney and I thought, "No, I should be polite and try out this job first, at least." Big mistake. Always stay true to yourself. Find confidence. Stay confident.

Realistically, I may not be able to change I may not be able to change the animation industry. At all. I've been so angry because they literally shunned me for speaking my mind. So I let out what was in my mind for the world to see. I can't be silenced. You can't break me. It's already happened and I'm still here. And the fact they believe they can get away with it too is just awful.

My anger is really waning. I'm just sad and tired now. I'm tired of being angry. For now, at least, I won't be bitterly silent behind closed doors. I've removed this studio from all of my resumes and profiles. I'll listen and support to the best of my ability. It's one of my favorite things to do. Walt Disney Animation Studios is not a good place to work at. And it pains me to say this: please stay away from this studio, especially if you're a Black woman. I just wanted to help tell good stories. I believe this studio still has great potential. They're just not ready for us yet. I'm so sorry.

I hope you're happy reading this. You know who you are. Come after me, call me a liar, I don't care. Thank you for setting me free.

Source: https://imgur.com/a/d4lkqzD

[Disney's Divinity]

I'm sorry she had a bad experience at WDAS, though it doesn't seem tied to Raya specifically. Hopefully she'll find more work in animation elsewhere.

[Jules]

Hmm ... I wonder if this an issue with co-workers or higher up in the company. Certainly doesn't reflect well at all, not just on WDAS but all of Disney, at a time when big corporations want to look all saintly by pretending to care about minority groups.

[DisneyFan97]

I am REALLY REALLY SUPER MUCH looking foreward to this

[Sotiris]

Another upcoming animated movie involving dragons has released its first trailer. It's called Dragon Rider. That's looks more similar to How to Train Your Dragon though. It's funny we already have trailers for these other movies, but we have next to nothing for Raya. I get that the film isn't out until March, but I wish they'd give us a little tease or something. Like the footage that was shown at D23 Expo or some concept art. Something to create awareness for the film. Aside from Disney/animation fans, I doubt it's on people's radar.

[DisneyFan09]

I know, right? Sighs. At least Moana had more information revealed when it was announced on Disney D23 Expo and that was even a year before the movie was released. Regardless of how little it was revealed about it then, at least there was more revealed about it than with Raya. Which in turn, there´s just been concept art revealed, some sparse information and nothing else. And why are Disney so secretive about revealing information, anyways?

[Sotiris]

And why are Disney so secretive about revealing information, anyways?

The crackdown on leaks happened when Lasseter took over. He was against employees revealing things about upcoming films by talking about them to people outside the studio or posting artwork on their online portfolios and blogs. Then it just became a policy that Disney as a whole adopted that persists to this day. Still, it's much easier to find info on upcoming live-action Disney films than animated ones because there are things Disney can't hide when dealing with live-action like production grids and casting notices.

As to why they aren't releasing anything officially, it's been their marketing strategy for years to wait until their last tentpole is released before starting publicity on the next. This results in getting nothing but breadcrumbs of information on a film for years until the last three months before its release where we get bombarded with all sorts of publicity materials.

[blackcauldron85]

^ So you think if Mulan had been released earlier (like its original date), Disney would've thrown some Raya breadcrumbs at us?!

[Sotiris]

They'd probably have started some early publicity for Raya after Soul premiered in mid-June or early July.

[blackcauldron85]

Oops, I forgot about Soul coming out first. My timeframe of movies is all warped!

[Sotiris]

Disney has changed their release schedule so much, it's hard to keep track.

[Sotiris]

Q: I know the next Disney Animation film is Raya and the Last Dragon. Are you working on that? Anything you can tell me about that film?

Malerie Walters: Yes, I’m animating her right now. I don’t know what I can say beyond any other public info that’s out there. We haven’t gotten to release the trailer for it yet. I’m currently animating Raya right now. I’m very excited for this movie and I think people will love it!

Source: http://www.animationscoop.com/malerie-w ... frozen-ii/

[DisneyFan09]

The crackdown on leaks happened when Lasseter took over. He was against employees revealing things about upcoming films by talking about them to people outside the studio or posting artwork on their online portfolios and blogs. Then it just became a policy that Disney as a whole adopted that persists to this day. Still, it's much easier to find info on upcoming live-action Disney films than animated ones because there are things Disney can't hide when dealing with live-action like production grids and casting notices.

As to why they aren't releasing anything officially, it's been their marketing strategy for years to wait until their last tentpole is released before starting publicity on the next. This results in getting nothing but breadcrumbs of information on a film for years until the last three months before its release where we get bombarded with all sorts of publicity materials.

OK. Thanks for the head-up.

[Disney's Divinity]

Yeah, it's such a shame we'll have to wait even longer to find anything out about this film now. :/

Anyway, I just wanted to say your new avatar is very pretty, Sotiris. The Spring Sprite is definitely the best thing to come from Fantasia 2000. And thank you for continuing to support the forum and bring us all updates.

[Sotiris]

Anyway, I just wanted to say your new avatar is very pretty, Sotiris. The Spring Sprite is definitely the best thing to come from Fantasia 2000.

Thanks! I love the Spring Sprite! The Firebird Suite is my favorite sequence from Fantasia 2000.

And thank you for continuing to support the forum and bring us all updates.

No problem!