After the success of Frozen and Moana, Disney’s ready to introduce their newest heroine to the world–Raya, a “lone warrior” on a quest to find the last dragon and save her people.

Raya and the Last Dragon is Disney’s next big release and the newest addition to the Disney Princess lineup. With the TRAILER recently dropping, Disney’s getting everyone excited for the new movie. 

According to the official synopsis, “‘Raya and the Last Dragon’ takes us on an exciting, epic journey to the fantasy world of Kumandra, where humans and dragons lived together long ago in harmony. But when an evil force threatened the land, the dragons sacrificed themselves to save humanity. Now, 500 years later, that same evil has returned and it’s up to a lone warrior, Raya, to track down the legendary last dragon to restore the fractured land and its divided people. However, along her journey, she’ll learn that it’ll take more than a dragon to save the world—it’s going to take trust and teamwork as well.”

The movie, which faced setbacks due to COVID-19, is set to release March 5th in theaters and on Disney+’s Premier Access subscription. Although it’s been in progress for years, (and was originally supposed to premiere November 2020 before the virus interfered), doing the brunt of the animation and voice acting from home was a unique challenge for Disney. The studio’s workers had to put extra effort into putting it all together virtually.

Raya and the Last Dragon’s star-studded cast had to record separately, but their talents all come together for the final product. A few recognizable names include Kelly Marie Tran as Raya, Awkwafina as Sisu the dragon, and Gemma Chan as Namaari, another warrior described as Raya’s nemesis. Other characters include Raya’s father, Benja, Namaari’s mother, Virana, and the rest of Raya’s crew–a “formidable giant” named Boun, a mischievous con-baby, a 10-year old entrepreneur, and of course, in classic Disney fashion, multiple animal sidekicks.

With Raya and the Last Dragon being the first Southeastern Asian inspired lead, lots of fans are looking forward to their culture and heritage being recognized in the franchise. Just from the trailer, people have many mixed reactions about the upcoming film. Of course, a movie like this will mean different things to different fans. Still, with Disney’s reputation with princesses, it’s bound to get lots of recognition when it releases. We’ll have to wait and see if Raya does the Southeast Asian community justice.