

While Zootopia is populated by anthropomorphic animals, its heroine, like Raya, inhabits a world of diverse realms and populations uneasily coexisting in the shadow of a dream of utopian harmony.

Just as notable, though, are ties to Zootopia. The two films also share weaknesses with regard to their mythological elements, particularly when it comes to archetypes of harmony and life on the one hand and chaos and destruction on the other.


( Moana’s milieu is Polynesian, Raya’s Southeast Asian.) Not only is Raya, like Moana, a mythic tale about an intrepid young princess leaving her homeland on a quest to save her world from an intangible menace, in both stories what broke the world was an act of greed for a magical stone. To do this, however, she must rebuild the fragile trusts between regions in order to give Kumandra's people a true fighting chance.The more obvious point of comparison is Moana, Disney’s other action-princess movie with Asian-Pacific cultural and mythological roots. After an attempt to reunite the regions again goes wrong, Raya (Kelly Marie Tran) must seek out the water dragon Sisu (Awkwafina) in hopes of saving the world from a revived Druun. The story of Raya takes place in a world known as Kumandra, which comprises the five dragon-themed regions Heart, Fang, Spine, Talon and Tail, and was formally guarded by living dragons until they sacrificed themselves 500 years ago to stop the Druun forces from overrunning humanity. Since then, the five regions have grown more estranged. This extends to its fight scenes, which, according to new footage for Raya and the Last Dragon, showcase characters battling each other with techniques native to that region, like muay Thai and Krabi-Krabong. In addition to boasting a more action-oriented direction in its trailers and Super Bowl promo compared to previous Disney animated movies, Raya and the Last Dragon also notably contains a predominantly Southeast Asian cast and world inspired by Southeast Asian culture. RELATED: Raya and the Last Dragon Is Gorgeously Animated, Action-Packed Family Entertainment
