'Raya And The Last Dragon' makers want kids to identify with film's theme

The makers of the animated film, Raya And The Last Dragon, state the film aims at reiterating the need for trust, and hope the film's primary audience -- children -- look at the young protagonist Raya and see themselves in her.

"I want my son, and my grandson, and my great-great grandchildren to understand that this film is about the need for trust in each other so that we can come together to make this world a better place," the film's co-director Paul Briggs said.

Screenwriter Qui Nguyen said that it was an opportunity for him to write a hero his children could watch and feel that Raya looked like them.

"For me, being Asian-American with a Southeast Asian background, it was an opportunity to write a hero that my kids could look at and see that she looked like them, and she looked like their grandparents and their aunts and uncles...and me. It is a positive influence in their lives, especially in these very formative years where their self-esteem is being built," Nguyen said.

The tells the tale of the fantasy world of Kumandra, where humans and dragons lived in harmony. When an evil force threatens the land, the dragons sacrifice themselves to save humanity. Now, 500 years later, that same evil has returned and it is up to lone warrior Raya to track down the legendary last dragon to restore the fractured land and its divided people.

"Divisiveness in the world and the need to come together for the greater good, despite our differences, is something that is top of mind for so many of us," producer Osnat Shurer said.

Raya and the Last Dragon releases across theatres in India on March 5. The Disney feature has the voice of Kelly Marie Tran as Raya and Awkwafina as the mythical self-deprecating dragon named Sisu.

The makers of the animated film, Raya And The Last Dragon, state the film aims at reiterating the need for trust, and hope the film

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