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It felt very much like it was catering to what people like… which, as the big numbers put it, are Marvel films. But the way the studio decided to deliver this new type of Disney princess did not hit the right notes. She is fighting for the survival of her homeland and trying to keep her culture and people alive. ![]() Raya doesn’t have time to sing a “want” song, or wear a pretty dress or get swept off her feet by a romantic interest. I will say this: I like that Raya and the Last Dragon is challenging our own beliefs on who a Disney princess can be. ![]() (Image credit: (Disney)) Raya’s Marvel Roots Doesn’t Make Her A Better Disney Princess These stories should speak to inspiring scenarios young people can look up to, so a distant echo of something we've already seen in the MCU just pushes Raya into the background. #The brave princess and her beautiful dragon movieSo here’s the thing, I love Marvel movies and Star-Lord is great, but why does Disney need to turn to the MCU to create its latest princesses? Especially since we're talking about an established male character in that universe! It feels like the lazy way to go we have 23 Marvel films to look to, and a Disney Princess movie only comes every few years. We worked hard to make sure that if someone were willing to make a superhero that was going to be nuanced and funny and flawed, that if they needed a comp, they could look at our movie and go, hey, there's one right there. And then we realized that to build this character was going to be something that was going to take a lot of personal passion and a lot of personal effort from not just us here, but also the main story artists that were part of this, our co-writer Adele, our head of story Fawn, and our producer Osnat. We were mainly leaning into Star-Lord as a character because we couldn't find any female superheroes that were like what we needed, that was as nuanced and as funny. Raya’s co-writer Qui Nguyen even said this to Bleeding Cool: Even that third act sequence where Raya takes Naamari’s hand is reminiscent of the “dance off”-turned finale battle at the end of the 2014 movie starring Chris Pratt. I’m talking about the way new locations are introduced to viewers with large font names and sweeping wide-shot backdrops, as well as the gradual meeting of various characters throughout the film as they look for Gem pieces and save their land. Even from a visual point of view, Raya borrows a lot of ideas from Guardians of the Galaxy. When the credits rolled for Raya and the Last Dragon, my main takeaway was how Marvel it felt. (Image credit: (Disney)) Raya Was Inspired By Guardians Of The Galaxy’s Star-Lord But, if it seemed to be missing something or lacked the magic of her princess sisters in your eyes, I’ve pinpointed why. Raya and the Last Dragon seems destined to go down in history alongside Brave’s Merida, a Disney princess we respect for her movie's story and exploration of the culture it is depicting, but didn’t garner the impact of movies like Mulan or The Little Mermaid. ![]() ![]() Kelly Marie Tran’s princess is more of a Marvel heroine than a modern progression of the Disney princess, and it sadly feels like a missed opportunity for the studio. But, Disney’s latest movie, Raya and the Last Dragon, feels different. #The brave princess and her beautiful dragon free1991’s Belle progressed its values as a free spirit and bookworm much more concerned with a prince’s mind and soul than outer charms, and 2016’s Moana traded a romance storyline for an apt story about finding yourself and empowering others. It all started with 1937’s Snow White, a fair young lady who greatly reflected traditional female roles in the household of the era. Disney Princesses have been the animation studio’s crowning trademark from the very beginning. ![]()
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