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a p r i l • m ay • j u n e 2 0 2 1 c g w 7 R aya, the lead character in Raya and the Last Dragon, the latest fea- ture from Walt Disney Animation Studios, is not your typical Disney princess of yesteryear. Rather, she is a fierce warrior, albeit one with trust issues. And with good reason. Raya and the Last Dragon builds on technology from several of the studio's last films, only here, instead of focusing on one of those big technical achievements, the filmmakers expanded and utilized a number of them to bring the amazing, diverse worlds and characters of Raya to life. In the fantasy world of Kumandra, humans once lived harmoniously alongside dragons within a peaceful paradise. When an evil force called the Druun threatened the land and all in it, the dragons sacrificed themselves to save humanity. Life was restored, except to the dragons. And all that remained of Sisu, the very last dragon who saved the world, is the precious Dragon Gem. But instead of reuniting the people of Kumandra, borders formed, and Kumandra was divided into five lands: Heart, Tail, Talon, Spine, and Fang – each with different cultures, inhabitants, customs, and terrain. And the people of the five lands became enemies. In the land of Heart, Raya's father, Benja, the chieain, guards the precious dragon crystal used to expel the mindless plague that consumed life and turned all it con- sumed to stone. As a young girl, Raya began training and eventually passes a complex test so she, like her father and ancestors be- fore her, can become a guardian of the gem. Meanwhile, Raya's idealistic father at- tempts to unite the five lands and calls for a meeting among the tribes. Warily, the tribes meet in Heart. During a welcome feast, Namaari, a young daughter of the Fang clan chief, pretends to befriend Raya. Proud of her skills, Raya successfully traverses the In- diana Jones-like gauntlet and proudly shows off the gem to her new "friend." Only, it is a trap by Fang. Rival tribes appear. A fight en- sues, and the stone shatters, as the various tribes snatch up pieces and retreat to their homelands. Only, the shards did not contain enough dragon magic to restrain the Druun, which aer 500 years, descended upon the land once again, turning the people to stone – Raya's dad among them. Several years pass, and now a lone, no- madic Raya travels with her friend and trans- port, the pangolin-like Tuk Tuk, to collect the pieces and find the mythical Sisudatu, maker of the original gem, in hopes that this last dragon can restore it. Along the way, a distrusting Raya must rely on the help of a diverse group of strangers and learn to trust once again before she can unite Kumandra and bring her father back to life. The adventure of Raya (Kelly Marie Tran) through the five lands starts at Tail, whose once mighty waterways have now become tiny streams. She is searching the tributar- ies for Sisu (Awkwafina), who legend has it washed away and rests at the end of the Dragon River aer creating the gem. Out of the mist appears Sisu, who turns out to be funny and self-deprecating, but not the most competent of dragons, especially the one of legend. As it turns out, Sisu did not even make the gem all those years ago. She just "turned it in." Despite this, Sisu – who assumes human form – agrees to help Raya find and reassemble the pieces. Raya and the Last Dragon is directed by Don Hall (Big Hero 6) and Carlos López Estrada (Blindspotting). Veteran artist Paul Briggs, known for his work as head of story on Frozen and Big Hero 6 and longtime animator/story artist John Ripa (Moana and Zootopia) are co-directors. Osnat Shurer, who was nominated for an Oscar for Moana, and Oscar-winner Peter Del Vecho of Frozen fame are producers. Rob Dressel is director of cinematography layout; Adolph Lusinky, director of cinematography lighting; and Kyle Odermatt, visual effects supervisor. A New Spin Over the past several years, Disney Anima- tion has released amazing CG features with increasing levels of sophistication, each ac- complishing a particular technical milestone or more, with subsequent features building on the technology. And those animation developments all combine in Raya. "I see this as the final version of the pipeline that we've been working on for the last 10 years," says Kelsey Hurley, technical supervisor. "For ex- ample, we have camera improvements from Zootopia, water from Moana, the complex en- vironments of Ralph Breaks the Internet, and the volumetrics of Frozen 2. And of course, this was all rendered [with global illumina- tion] in Hyperion, which we first saw in Big Hero 6. Raya combines all these together to just [present] an amazing world." The film is steeped in Southeast Asian culture. In fact, Raya and the Last Dragon A young Raya and her chieain father in the lush land of Heart before the Druun reappears.