Disney's Raya And The Last Dragon

[Ben]

Bet she does it.

[Farerb]

Teaser Trailer:

[Farerb]

My name is Raya
Raya who?
Raya Skywalker

[Farerb]

The teaser trailer was underwhelming, I also prefer Raya's previous design and something about this film reminded me Star Wars more than anything, especially the desert scenes. However I also remind myself that Frozen II had an exceptional teaser trailer and the film itself turned out to be underwhelming, so maybe this will be an opposite situation. We'll see...

[Dacey]

So it's Disney's Mission: Impossible, basically. Though the final film probably won't be quite as heist and action-heavy as this trailer implies.

Good to hear that Kelly Marie Tran sounds good here. I had been worried her voice wouldn't "work" for this kind of role given how "soft" her character was in Star Wars (still feel pretty bad for Cassie Steele, though, who had given this film so much of her time and energy before being unceremoniously recast for reasons that almost certainly didn't have to do with her talent).

Still...no way this opens in March given how expensive it looks!

[Ben]

You loved Mulan! You loved Moana! So we took themes and imagery from both, added in a little Star Wars (pod racing!?), and a Wonder Woman music riff...and give you...um... Molana? Muana?

I swear at the end I thought she was going to say "My name is Moana...er, uh, no...Raya!"

When Disney starts remaking their *current* animated and live-action properties before the animated one has even had a chance of a live-action remake yet, then maybe that "Disney's Frozen" joke isn’t actually so funny...

[EricJ]

Again, it's the problem of having Jennifer Lee (oo, Women in Hollywood!) as the fox running the chicken coop just because everyone went running off to Frozen for reasons having nothing to do with the film:

Ask a female filmmaker to describe their movie, and they'll tell you about its message...And who it's for...And the way it will touch and speak to them....And what qualities the heroine has that will inspire others...
I've written a few children's books, and the first thing we used to tell newbies who wanted to write one even though they never have before is, don't...EVER...tell an editor what "message" you're going to "teach" children with it. That's a big red flag that you're not giving the kids (and the editor) what they want: A story. (Which also means you don't really understand the appeal of them yourself, and the editors have a lot more time they can devote to people who do.)

Insert Brenda Chapman "Brave" joke here.
Ever since Frozen, the basic backhanded female-Disney-fan "Snow White" paranoia, that Disney Princesses are teaching our daughters to give up their dreams and embrace married servitude, has been allowed to rule the boardroom roost, we're getting more Role Model Protagonist Heroines, like spunky Moana, and independent Elsa (now upgraded to Nature-Goddess), and sporty Raya, and bold Merida. None of whom were in anything resembling a coherent A-B PLOT.
Something that John Musker & Ron Clements practically redefined at the studio with Mermaid, Aladdin, Great Mouse Detective, and most of the 90's Renaissance, because they had a little more defined grasp of what movies were for, let alone classic Disney movies. And even they sure had their work cut out for them giving Moana & Maui something to do.

[Farerb]

You're talking about female filmmakers but Moana was created by men.

Should I remind everyone Tangled's awful teasers and trailers and overall marketing? Eventually we got a good film so IDK I'm willing to give WDAS the benefit of the doubt.

[Bill1978]

The trailer has me intrigued even if it was giving me Indiana Jones crossed with Star Wars crossed with Mulan crossed with Nausicaa vibes. It looks very promising.

And at least now I know how to correctly pronounce the lead's name.

[gaastra]

Campea said the d23 trailer was ten times better then this one and was more magic and lighthearted then this trailer.

[Farerb]

The directors were replaced and the film has gone through major changes since D23, so for better or worse that version from D23 is irrelevant.

[Daniel]

I thought the trailer was rather good. Gives me "The Legend of Korra" vibes. The animation looks amazing, particularly the water on the stairs. The high note throughout reminded me of Frozen II.

[Dacey]

I also found the trailer more lighthearted than others seem to be taking it? Sure it was action-heavy (nothing wrong with that), but they still included a few gags with her weird cute pet thing.

[Daniel]

Tuk-Tuk is so cute! Shame he doesn't stay that small.

[Randall]

Ask a female filmmaker to describe their movie, and they'll tell you about its message...And who it's for...And the way it will touch and speak to them....And what qualities the heroine has that will inspire others...
I've written a few children's books, and the first thing we used to tell newbies who wanted to write one even though they never have before is, don't...EVER...tell an editor what "message" you're going to "teach" children with it. That's a big red flag that you're not giving the kids (and the editor) what they want: A story. (Which also means you don't really understand the appeal of them yourself, and the editors have a lot more time they can devote to people who do.)

Maybe the children's book industry needs more female editors?

It's true that the female perspective often skews more towards the emotional aspect of things, but that's' not necessarily a bad thing. It's just not a typically "masculine" thing. And not every book or film needs to be for the boys. (Having said that, I certainly do cry every time I watch It's a Wonderful Life. Beware generalities!) As I said, I felt that FII was aimed at me more than Frozen, though I can enjoy both. That's fine.

Look at Asian cinema, and you get a whole new perspective, of course. Their stories are not always coherent in plot, but often they rather emphasize the emotions or themes. It's a big world out thee, and there are lots of ways of doing things.