Yes proves Pixar or Disney Animation, a Disney animated feature film is never the same in the end as it is at the beginning. The production model is such that, in the years to come a movie like Stripe and the last dragon, anything and everything it can change, as long as that change makes it better. During production on Raya, this remained true, with one particularly important exception.
“We knew we wanted to tell a story that reflected what we see in the world,” producer Osnat Shurer told io9. “The biggest issue, which is the sense of division, of division, of using our differences between us instead of coming together for the good of this so charming planet that we call home. So we started to work on the idea “.
It is an understatement to say that things have been very tense in the world in recent years; it seems like everything gives people a reason to get angry with each other. It is the same a Stripe and the last dragon, in which the five tribes of Kumandra “Heart, heel, fang, spine, and tail.” They disagree with the possession of the dragon’s magical jewel. But, through the actions of Raya and the last titular dragon Sisu, perhaps this has a chance to change.
“When you make a movie like this, it takes a long time to make. You really can’t plan when it will come out compared to the rest of the world.” Kelly Marie Tran, said Raya’s voice to io9. “So the fact that it’s coming out now and the message seems so relevant, I think it says a lot more about our filmmakers and just knowing that there’s one thing that Disney animated films do really well and they’re taking advantage of that universal humanity and this a humanity interrelated between generations “.
G / O Media may receive a commission
Tran continued: “It’s very difficult to do, but specifically with this film and what is happening in today’s world … I think the lessons that Raya learned are lessons that we can all take with us. I know it’s a lesson I personally want to learn from not being able to interpret it. “
According to Shurer, outside of Raya’s general characters, the dragon, and the idea of a divided world, the message of trust and togetherness was the other main element that came out from the beginning. It is what became the backbone of everything else that was developed.
“Almost everything changed about the film during the five years I was in it,” Shurer said. “But not some of the key ideas, [such as] we always wanted it to be a film about union. But it gets deeper and deeper as we make the projections, as we work on and refine them, and we begin to ask ourselves, “What does it take to come together?” It’s not that simple … What we thought was trust. That you have to learn to trust each other … So it deepened and many other things also changed ”.
What things exactly? “The characters of each of the lands, who they are and how they play in the story that unfolded [changed]”Shurer continued.”There was a time when they were from different places. Rebound [a young boy who helps Raya on the journey, voiced by Izaac Wang] it was from Talon and we rearranged it as we deepened our understanding of each land and what its psychology and social position in the world is. So there was a big rearrangement. “
According to Tran, there were also changes in the main relationship of the film. “The relationship between Sisu and Raya changed a bit because we just wanted to make sure it was right,” Tran said. “And I don’t think we even knew what that meant. But I think once we had a few more sessions and we are able to figure out its dynamics, now it’s so wonderful. But, without a doubt, it was something that changed constantly through the sessions ”.
Another thing that changed as everyone was doing Raya it was, therefore, the real world. The last five years have been very taxing for everyone and even though the filmmakers didn’t set out to make a film that felt so good right now, when they released the news, they saw it coming.
“There were definitely times during the making of the film where we were very aware of how this film, which was supposed to be timeless, was incredibly timely,” director Don Hall said. “I think he encouraged us to keep going because we felt we had something to say.”
Stripe and the last dragon now it’s in theaters and onwards Disney + with Premier access.
For more information, be sure to follow us on our Instagram @io9dotcom.