Walt Disney Animation Studios has been on something of a roll in recent years. Between the likes of Tangled, Frozen and its sequel, and Moana, it's reinvented its mainline animated adventures – and now the Mouse House is back with a new tale and another not-so-Princess-y heroine in Raya And The Last Dragon. The film stars Kelly Marie Tran as Raya, a warrior on a quest to discover the water dragon Sisu (voiced by Awkwafina) to save the world – and it’s just debuted a surprisingly action-packed trailer. Watch it here:
While the likes of Elsa and Moana have pushed forward the archetypal female Disney lead, Raya looks like an all-out action hero here – springing across rooftops, fighting with graceful style, and raiding tombs with ease. And if there’s little hint to the full story or world here, the film looks spine-tingling and mythical with all kinds of gorgeous imagery. Did you see that photorealistic water crawling up the steps? Stunning stuff. Raya And The Last Dragon is helmed by Big Hero 6 director Don Hall and Blindspotting’s Carlos López Estrada, with a screenplay by Qui Nguyen and Crazy Rich Asians writer Adele Lim.
Originally slated to arrive this year, Raya And The Last Dragon is now due to come out on 12 March 2021 – a blast of vibrant, colourful escapism to look forward to in the new year, when we'll all be in need of a little bit of Disney magic.