The story of diversity and representation in cinema is about evolution. Take Disney and depictions of Asian life and culture. When the studio released
Mulan in 1998, it was in part a reaction to the gross stereotyping in "The Siamese Cat Song" in
The Aristocats. Two decades later, and
Mulan has its own issues, but
Raya and the Last Dragon, the 59th animated feature from the House of Mouse enters the discussion.
Where it starts is by throwing out the idea of Asian as it stands in American cinema, which is too often a clumsy mish-mash of Chinese and Japanese influences. The sumptuous mythical world of Kumandra draws in real-world Asian influences: Yet they are not monolithically East Asian, instead evoking Southeast Asia, most especially Malaysia, Myanmar, and Brunei. This is where Raya (Tran) is on a search for a legend, and the shattered remnants of a magical stone that contains the magic of the last dragon, Sisu. What she actually finds is Sisu herself (Awkwafina), slightly scatterbrained and big of heart. Now if she can only reunite the fragments with Sisu, maybe she can overcome both the world-threatening Druun (a shapeless cloud of malice that turns people to stone) and Namaari (Chan), the warrior from a rival tribe that she blames for the world's woes.