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Scene from "Raya and the Last Dragon": Grim determination
Photo: Disney +
The days when Disney's heroines were mostly cute are over for good.
The title character of the animated film "Raya and the Last Dragon" speeds through the desert with grim determination.
Anyone who dares to stand in her way must expect to be beaten by her.
Because Princess Raya is quite defensive and a master of martial arts.
The film, which can now be seen on Disney +, takes place in the fantasy world of Kumandra, where humans and dragons live together peacefully.
But a destructive force, called Druun, turns living beings into stone - including Raya's father, Chief Benja, who has ruled the multiethnic state wisely and justly up to now.
Quarrels and hostilities then break out.
Raya, now on her own, must save the world by reuniting its inhabitants.
Originally, »Raya and the Last Dragon« was supposed to come to the cinema last November.
But because of the pandemic, the group decided to postpone and a so-called "hybrid" start.
While the film will first be premiered on Disney + in Germany, it will simultaneously be shown on the big screen in countries such as the USA, China and Japan.
The directors Don Hall and Carlos López Estrada apparently primarily thought of the audience in Asia.
»Mulan«, Disney's real-life remake of the cartoon classic of the same name, launched last year, aimed at this growing market.
The fictional kingdom of Kumandra in "Raya and the Last Dragon" was modeled on the landscapes in Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia.
A research team made up of experts, anthropologists, linguists, architects and musicians advised the production.
Chases from the blockbuster drawing board
The film begins in the old, classic Disney world, in which the heroes and heroines repeatedly have to make ends meet as orphans.
But from there "Raya and the Last Dragon" makes long leaps.
In between you almost have the feeling that you have landed in the dystopian world of the »Mad Max« universe.
Hall and Estrada rely on chases and action scenes.
With all the artistry, the concept of this film shines through.
Behind the pictures you can see the drawing board on which a blockbuster was constructed that has to work all over the world.
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"Raya and the Last Dragon": Why guys when you have strong women?
Photo: Disney +
In the past, Disney simply grabbed European fairy tales, Americanized them and cleared box offices around the world.
Today, on the other hand, there is already bad PR when Southeast Asian characters are spoken by actors from another part of Asia.
A villain suitable for the world market today should be neither black nor white, neither brown nor blue eyes, nor a male nor a female voice.
So it's best if he doesn't have a face and doesn't talk.
Druun, the nemesis in this film, looks like a mixture of whirlwind and lightning, turns blooming landscapes into stone and dust and also works well as a symbol for climate change.
The story has been reduced to a common denominator for the global market.
Who seriously wants to say something against a film pleading for diversity and tolerance, when it talks about the fact that people have to pull themselves together across all differences in order to preserve a world worth living in?
Only "Raya and the Last Dragon" carries this message in a somewhat striking way.
Surprising ideas beyond political correctness are more likely to be found in the secondary threads of the plot.
Even a baby turns out to be amazingly sly and ensures moments of enjoyment - even if the film at the end does not want to leave any doubt that there is ultimately a good core in every person.
Men are almost total failures in this film
Because Disney has found in recent years, especially with the hugely successful »Frozen« films, that one can largely do without male heroes if the female identification figures are strong enough, women make the fate of the world in »Raya and the Last Dragon «among themselves.
An opponent and her mother make life difficult for the princess, but the female dragon Sisu fights at Raya's side.
Men, on the other hand, are almost total failures in this film, cheeky tots, gigantic boobies or petrified guys.
As Raya struggles to bring her father back to life, viewers have the feeling that he is hardly absent.
Maybe everything is much more fun without him.
Disney's heroines have become quite independent.
You can also say: grown up.
Icon: The mirror