Raya and the Last Dragon

[Disney's Divinity]

The picture of Raya and Sisu is amazing.

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Eo6mxStUYAA ... name=large
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Eo6muxbU8AI ... name=large

I saw the tweets describing the other characters, but who are these?

[Tristy]

New poster to accompany the Disney+ premier access announcement.


Source: https://www.facebook.com/rayaandthelast ... 7390606927


Close-up.


Source: https://twitter.com/DisneyRaya/status/1 ... 4760300547

I dig it! Really loving the colors of the poster.

[robster16]

The picture of Raya and Sisu is amazing.

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Eo6mxStUYAA ... name=large
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Eo6muxbU8AI ... name=large

I saw the tweets describing the other characters, but who are these?

The monkey's are called Ongis and they belong to the baby called Not. The big guy is "formidable giant Tong"

[Disney's Divinity]

The monkey's are called Ongis and they belong to the baby called Not. The big guy is "formidable giant Tong"

Oh! Thank you. For some reason I thought "Ongis" was referring to the bowls beside Not in that picture of her (as if they were a weapon that would have a name). The fact that the monkeys are paired with her makes a lot more sense.

I think this band of outcasts could be fun after all! I was afraid they'd be more like the thieves in Tangled.

[Clindor]

Now that all these characters are officially announced and their names, I can say Boun was the little boy shown at D23 who accompanies Raya (and being the narrator at first) in that clip before they encounter Sisu under her dragon form. The rest has to be discovered with the movie

[D82]

Now that all these characters are officially announced and their names, I can say Boun was the little boy shows at D23 who accompanies Raya (and being the narrator at first) in that clip before they encounter Sisu under her dragon form.

I imagined it was him, but thanks for the confirmation!

[D82]

The entire Investor Day presentation is available to watch again here: https://thewaltdisneycompany.com/disney ... -day-2020/

Here are some screenshots of the Raya footage shown at the event:















EDIT: Here's also a video where the Raya part of the presentation is featured.

[DisneyFan09]

Well, to give my thoughts about the presentation: It was nice to finally see some new footage from the movie. Yet still I have mixed feelings about the new characters. Most of them just seem like comic relief that will be grating and off-putting than appealing. But it was still nice to hear some bits of what supposedly will be the score.

[Clindor]

*Elsa vibes*

[blackcauldron85]

I got Elsa vibes, too! I did not send the clip to my dad, even though he's somewhat looking forward to this film, because of the comic relief feel of the new characters. I am fine with that kind of character, but I tend to be happy with whatever WDAS (and Pixar for that matter) throws at me.

[Disney's Divinity]

I thought Elsa, too. I almost wonder if the color changes to Sisu's dragon design were to make her more similar to Elsa now.

[Farerb]

Don't really care for the new characters. They feel like secondary characters I won't really care about, they will probably be like the Big Hero 6 characters. Personally I find Disney films to be better when they are not overcrowded with a lot of characters.

[DisneyFan09]

Speaking of new characters, the monkeys look somewhat like Monkey from Kung Fu Panda. Don`t you think?

[Disney's Divinity]

Speaking of new characters, the monkeys look somewhat like Monkey from Kung Fu Panda. Don`t you think?

They do remind me of that character.

Of the ragtag group, I'm probably most worried about the boy and the monkeys--as far as if any of these characters potentially end up being very annoying, I mean.

[Jules]

I thought Elsa, too. I almost wonder if the color changes to Sisu's dragon design were to make her more similar to Elsa now.

I sincerely and honestly do not believe they would do this. Love it or hate it, I am confident the Sisu redesign was a creative decision taken independently. That doesn't mean I agree with it, though.

[D82]

There are some new details about the characters revealed yesterday in the official captions of the stills:

Boun is a street-savvy 10-year-old entrepreneur.


Tong is a formidable giant.


Noi is a thieving toddler with a band of Ongis.


Part monkey, part catfish, the three Ongis are resourceful con artists from the trading port of Talon.


Sisu is a magical, mythical, self-deprecating dragon.

Source: https://bleedingcool.com/movies/lets-me ... st-dragon/

[unprincess]

I haven't had time today to look at all the new info/links here but wow I love Sisu already! Ive loved dragons since I was a girl and I can already see me going crazy with Sisu merch! Also I was thinking with the earlier pics that this movie was giving me Moana vibes but now with the new pics Im thinking Star Wars b/c of the dusty desertlike colors. Looks like the film will have different environments.

regarding the Sisu changes, I dont mind that they simplified it, I do think it was a tad busy looking in the concept art but its interesting how mammal like... cat like??? she looks. I wonder if it was an attempt to make her more appealing to girls? I do think I would have liked a little more reptile or fish in her...

[nomad2010]

I’m in awe of how bad the Sisu design change is. Those colors... not one single graphic design principle was used for that. It’s a terrible, flat combo. And it doesn’t even contrast well with the environments she’s going to be in. Something about it just gives me, “a child grabbed two crayons that don’t work well together and colored her that way” or off-brand Pokemon vibes. She’s a dragon! A water dragon! There’s so many ways they could’ve gone with that. What a shame.

[Sotiris]

First look at what probably is Sisu's final design in dragon form and more new looks at Raya.

I prefer Sisu's previous design. I feel it was more distinct and dragon-like. She looks much more feminine here. They removed her dragon mustache and made her snout shorter and smoother. She now looks more like a unicorn from My Little Pony than a Chinese dragon. I also prefer her previous tail which was more elaborate and colorful. My biggest concern is that she doesn't look close enough to her human form anymore. The previous design did. I hope they have at least changed her human form to match the new dragon design.

Source: https://www.instagram.com/p/CHv33kHnjvw/

I like how Raya looks in this pic. Her features look more proportional than usual.

The current color scheme immediately makes me think of Sully from Monsters, Inc.

It does now that you mention it.

Plus, it seems they've replaced all those beautiful fins for just one on the back and what looks like feathers in the tail, which is a shame.

I miss those fins too. They were very striking.

I think Sotiris was right that the horns had changed. I'm not sure which ones I prefer; I would need a better look at the new ones to decide.

I prefer the previous one. It looked like one sprung out of the other which is more unique than having a long one behind a short one.

And I've now noticed another thing that's different in that pose from the doll box you mention is that she holds the axe there instead of the sword.

I didn't notice that. Nice catch.

It's strange that on the leaked posted, that featured an earlier design of the character, she has the sword, but here on the toy box she has the axe. Has her weapon changed several times or is it possible that she uses both in the film?

I think when it comes to clip-art and publicity art, they just edit them and mix and match elements depending on the updates in design. I doubt she uses both in the film. If you ask me, they should have just kept the axe. It made her stand out more. Not to mention, axes make badass weapons and you rarely see women in fantasy yielding them.

One more here which might be a bit spoilery: https://www.instagram.com/p/CHwvkmJHYGs/

That cements Namari as an antagonist of sorts. I see they kept the hairstyle she was sporting as a kid and doesn't have a pixie cut like in the concept art. In that storybook cover, it looks like the white tribe tried to prevent her from leaving. Did she steal something from them or are they trying to stop her from finding the dragon gem?

I've found the source of the book covers from the last image and link: https://www.scholastic.co.nz/media/5123 ... parade.pdf

Thanks for tracking down the source!

I miss having lead female Disney characters smile ... they barely smile in anything anymore? Either snarling or smirking or looking kind of vague, and blankly posing. Raya certainly falls into the former category of snarling/smirking.

In general, I agree, but in this case the poses and expressions suit the character given she's a tough warrior and all.

My guess is the sword is something special and dragon-related, just like the dragon stone/gem, which she may find in a temple or something.

The sword might be the reason the white tribe is after her. Maybe she stole it from them to help her track down the gem. I think the sword might double as a tracking device for it.

It would emphasize her as a Chosen One even moreso, and I kind of like the idea of her being a King Arthur type of character who attempts to unite multiple warring factions together around one Round Table.

I hadn't noticed that before. I like the Camelot parallels too.

If I had to pick a least favorite, it would be the one of Raya leaning against Tuk Tuk.

I actually like how she looks there.

Reading about her being a "Princess" definitely made me assume that she will join the Princess line, but I had forgotten that Moana hasn't been inducted...

Moana has been fully inducted into the brand. She's on the Disney Princess website and everything. She simply didn't get a coronation ceremony.

James Newton Howard Scoring Disney’s ‘Raya and the Last Dragon’
http://filmmusicreporter.com/2020/11/23 ... st-dragon/

I wonder if he'll write a song for the end credits like he did with Atlantis.

Treasure Planet wasn't a musical, but at least it had "Always Know Where You Are" and "I'm Still Here," both of which I enjoyed.

I like those songs too. It's a shame the film version of "Always Know Where You Are" performed by John Rzeznik is not on the soundtrack. His version is much better than BBMak's.

A new book cover gives us a look at another outfit for child Raya.

I prefer this green outfit to her blue one.

It's probably the one she wears in this shot.

I'm confused by that shot. There are supposed to be five clans, right? Do Raya and her father belong in the green tribe? Them wearing green in that shot seems to indicate that. Or do they belong in the blue tribe? I'm assuming there's a blue clan based on kid Raya's other outfit. Come to think of it, we never got to see what the fifth clan looked like. Could the fifth clan be the dragons that got extinct?

The fact that this cover (second image from the slideshow) already showed her as an antagonistic character made me think that as well. If she was a twist villain, they wouldn't have revealed that on a cover and she doesn't look like a classic one either. Her doll has a grumpy expression, but her design and the fact that she's as old as Raya make me think she'll be just a rival, as you said. She'll probably start as an adversary at first, but I think she'll change and Raya and her will end up as friends.

I agree. There's no way she's a twist villain now. I think she'll be an antagonist and a rival who genuinely cares about the welfare of the kingdom, but has a different approach to Raya's on how to protect it. That's where they'll clash. I, too, believe they'll become friends (or at least learn to value each other) by the end.

Raya's palace Lego set.

Her palace looks nice. I like the architecture of it and the color scheme. The fact it's predominantly turquoise is another indication that Raya may belong to the green clan.

Yes, when they said there would be a third female protagonist I guess they were referring to her.

I think so too, but then why are they keeping her a secret? I think it will all come down to the next trailer. If she's not present in that one, then something's up.

And you're right, maybe the teamwork part was between Raya and her. Or between Raya and the misfits. We'll see.

Maybe both. Perhaps after Raya returns home, they'll all have to work together to defeat the enemy.

That explains why the gem Raya has in her hand in the Japanese poster looks different from the spherical one shown in the teaser. It's probably just a piece of it.

This means that to find all the fragments they'll have to visit various locales. I assume Raya will first meet Sisu and then find each misfit at a different location. This plotline reminds me of Sailor Moon where they had to find the Rainbow Crystals to re-assemble the Silver Crystal.

Her new design is still cute (I understand now the Elsa vibes), but a bit more commonplace unfortunately.

She does kinda look like Elsa. The eye shape, the color purple, the hair when she's in profile, her smile...

By the way, I think you were right they modified Raya's design to make her look more similar to Kelly Marie Tran, Sotiris. I definitely see the resemblance in this latest poster.

Yes, I see it too. Raya here is clearly holding just a fragment of the gem. The entire thing must be huge.

The monkey's are called Ongis and they belong to the baby called Not. The big guy is "formidable giant Tong"

If they Ongis belong to the baby that means only four out of the five clans are represented by the outcasts. Unless, Sisu is one of them and my theory that the fifth clan was comprised of dragons is correct.

Most of them just seem like comic relief that will be grating and off-putting than appealing.

That's highly likely. I already find the Ongis annoying.

*Elsa vibes*

The way she walked on water reminded me of Elsa too. The similarities keep piling up!

Don't really care for the new characters. They feel like secondary characters I won't really care about, they will probably be like the Big Hero 6 characters. Personally I find Disney films to be better when they are not overcrowded with a lot of characters.

I see your point. Boun seems like the typical cocky male character like Flynn and Maui, Tong the silent brutish character who just grunts, and the Ongis the obligatory comic relief ones who keep making silly jokes or engage in physical comedy.

Sisu is a magical, mythical, self-deprecating dragon.

That's intriguing. Perhaps Sisu is hesitant or afraid to go against the Druun at first, but with Raya's help she'll be able to overcome her insecurities and self-doubt. It'd be interesting to see the dynamic between them given the difference in their personalities.

I do think it was a tad busy looking in the concept art but its interesting how mammal like... cat like??? she looks.

She does look a bit cat-like. I think it's the fur and her posture in that still that give off that vibe.

[blackcauldron85]

I wonder if this film will get a Disney+ documentary show, and they'll mention Sisu's design change...

Moana has been fully inducted into the brand. She's on the Disney Princess website and everything. She simply didn't get a coronation ceremony.

Thank you for clarifying that!

It's a shame the film version of "Always Know Where You Are" performed by John Rzeznik is not on the soundtrack. His version is much better than BBMak's.

I think I recently read (on here??) that John's record label made an agreement with Disney that he'd only have one song on the soundtrack...