Production on the animated project was ramped up in March, and Raya team had to quickly reshuffle, working with equipment at home and communicating through Zoom. The existing Open Comments threads will continue to exist for those who do not subscribe to Independent Premium. He transforms a formerly eccentric tale into something beautiful and, possibly, timeless. Jon Favreau’s “The Jungle Book” uses so much CGI that calling it “live-action” is probably a misnomer; there’s only one character who isn’t motion-captured, and even the realistic environments were digitally rendered. When Jon Favreau's film works, it's a visual marvel. That said, Disney’s first Southeast Asian princess does seem to be speaking to a 2020 audience: “My whole life I trained to become a guardian of the dragon gem. Also Read: 'Star Wars' Actress Kelly Marie Tran on How Racist Trolls Retriggered 'Spiral of Self-Hatred', “As filmmakers, Don and Carlos bring a combination of animation know-how and emotional storytelling to ‘Raya and the Last Dragon,’ bringing our fantasy adventure to surprising, original, and dynamic heights,” Walt Disney Animation Studios’ Chief Creative Officer Jennifer Lee said in a statement. only person to join the movie in recent weeks. When she was a kid, she was excited to get her sword. Raya’s creative team is chugging toward the finish line, Hall says, with the film 50 percent animated at this point. The plot is a leaden bore that's just an excuse to end in a big climactic battle (which gets hastily brushed off) and at the center of it all is the dumbest pipe-organ solo in cinema history. Unambitious, but sweet. Set in Kumandra, a fantasy world with five lands and a sea shaped like a dragon, the film follows Raya, a lone warrior on a quest to find the last dragon, whom she believes can save Kumandra from a so-far unrevealed evil force. An all-star cast of mo-cap animal characters keeps the film lively, although Christopher Walken is a distractingly strange choice for King Louie. Like us on Facebook to see similar stories, 'Mama, they just shot us for nothing': Waukegan police officer fatally shoots Black teen, injures woman, Workers who lost jobs because of COVID-19 find new careers in these fields. The trailer shines a spotlight on Raya and her training. The Disney movie stars Star Wars: The Last Jedi's Kelly Marie Tran and hits theaters March 2021. reported that Tran was now stepping into the role of Raya, making her the first South East Asian actor to star in an animated film from Disney. During Disney’s annual D23 Expo last year, Lim and “Raya and the Last Dragon” producer Osnat Shurer explained that the film is inspired by Hong Kong action films with a setting inspired by Southeast Asia. Tim Burton’s blockbuster retelling of “Alice in Wonderland” is unnecessarily murky and violent, and -- worst of all -- devoid of Lewis Carroll’s signature wit. But either way it’s an excellent film. 'Star Wars' Actress Kelly Marie Tran on How Racist Trolls Retriggered 'Spiral of Self-Hatred', 'Mulan:' Donnie Yen Shows Off 'Astonishing' Martial Arts Sword Play in New Teaser (Video), Sofia Coppola, Pedro Almodovar and Orson Welles Doc Added to New York Film Festival Lineup, Justin Lin Signs Multi-Year First Look Film and TV Deal With Universal, Peter Micelli’s New Management Company Sets Sights on Top-Tier Talent, Building ‘Celebrity Companies’. '” he told the magazine. So it’s especially cloying that Marc Forster’s “Christopher Robin” just plops these timeless characters into a tepid and cookie-cutter family flick about a dad who -- gasp!