#i mentioned namaari and raya and Disney better make them a thing too | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

nerissalmao · 3 months

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I’m back on Tumblr, so it’s time to talk about GAY FROZEN! The movie is gay. All of it.

Okay, not all of it. But a lot of it!

Daily reminder as I yeet myself back onto Tumblr that Elsa is freaking gay okay? That’s how we’re gonna start this and the main thesis of this bullcrap will be Elsa’s obvious gayness.

I’m sorry, but in this scene (only moments before Elsa is shown talking to Honeymaren while holding her hand and gazing at her face) there is clearly some gay stuff going on. Note the absolute HOPEFULNESS on Honey’s face when she looks at Elsa and says “you belong here, you know?” in an extra hopeful tone? And the way Elsa actually does stay there with her?!

And earlier in the movie when they’re talking to each other it looks just like that scene from Tangled where Rapunzel is talking to Eugene! If it was a girl or boy the calm and wholesome way they talk to each other while maintaining steady eye contact and all that wholesome stuff would be read as a romantic connection, yet here it’s just shrugged off by the people who watched it as friendship. Yes, it could be that, but it also could be more and y’all aren’t even willing to suggest that alternative simply because they’re both girls.

Let’s talk about Oaken! He’s gay and has a husband and kids, and it’s clearly seen in the first movie.

Yes, I’m aware the tall girl with brown hair could be his (snore) wife. But all the kids honestly look more like the possible mother other than the blonde hunk, so it doesn’t make too much sense. If that woman was the wife and mother, why does she look just like all her kids except one, and the one doesn’t even look like her or Oaken? It would make much more sense if the blonde guy, who looks older anyway, was his husband and the kids were adopted. Yes, realistic genes usually don’t mean much in animated films, but then why are Elsa and Anna and their family designed to look related? And Honeymaren and Ryder from Frozen 2 look related as well. So yeah.

BACK TO ELSA! So, you see, if Oaken is gay, it would be perfectly reasonable for her to be given if this is true the franchise has tackled gay characters before. A gay Disney Princess would be awesome and given the first two movies showcased Elsa’s own personal journey and journey to mend her relationship with her sisters, a third movie could in turn have her beginning a romantic relationship with someone who very well may be a woman, and very may well be Honeymaren given the way they behave in the second movie. It seems to me like the Frozen 2 interactions are like Raya and Namaari from Raya and the Last Dragon— homoerotically toned friendships that seem to all but outright say that the two characters are gay. Except with Honeymaren and Elsa their friendship is shown a lot less given the movie is about Elsa’s self discovery. Unless, you know, Frozen 2 is merely setting up the building blocks for them to get in a relationship later. A girl can dream.

Did any of that make sense? I hope so. Because come on, Disney. A lot of people don’t like you know and some of your actions have gone to crap, but you can at least try to fix things by ceasing to support genocide and just maybe hearing us out and giving us a gay Disney Princess— hopefully Elsa, because that girl is gay-coded as all hell.

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moveslikeanape · 2 months

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oh no worries at all! i post a lot and nobody can catch every single post on their dash anyway haha. i'm sorry you were having internet issues, i hope things are working better now.

aww, that's adorable how oliver basically named himself. reminds me that my dad used to have a cat named iam (pronounced the same way as "i'm"), who was named that because when he first got him he asked the cat what his name was, and his meow sounded to my dad like he was saying "iam".

oh yeah, i guess it's true that playing the events and leveling up your cards definitely can get time-consuming, and you need to level them up a lot to win the battles! there are people who post videos of the story on youtube as well as wiki pages that have transcriptions of the text, so that would be another option if you were really interested in the story but couldn't keep up with the game. were there any particular character designs you liked best? i love riddle's, of course, but i also really like idia's design.

yeah, unfortunately my first reaction to moana 2's announcement was confusion because i saw it on twitter, thought "uhh, that's weird, what about the show that's supposed to come out this year? they usually announce movies so much further in advance too", and actually wondered if it was a fake tweet for a second... i was excited about the show but i agree that this has the same vibes as those old direct-to-video sequels, which were very hit or miss. also agree about toy story 4 lol, i basically just remember that they went to a carnival and that's only because woody's dreamlight valley house is a carousel. and i remember the ending, but that's because i wasn't a fan of the ending. in my opion toy story 1-3 were a perfect trilogy.

raya is one of those movies that i feel very mixed on, honestly. i really like raya's personality and character arc, but i always thought the movie had a lot of writing flaws that made the story and its message feel rushed and confusing. i think a big reason why some people like it is because raya and namaari are... very shippable lol, so much that i believe raya's voice actress once said she'd like for them to get together in a sequel. but i agree about the animation being gorgeous!

exactly LOL, and i'm glad for those who did genuinely enjoy wish, but i think even they should be able to admit that it's a flawed movie and that others aren't "anti-disney morons" for criticizing it. a lot of the criticism is coming from people like me who love disney movies and expected better from them, and that's why people are so passionate about creating fanfiction and art based on the ideas shown in the concept art as well. somehow the concept art did a better job of reminding people of the classic disney movies we all love than the actual film did.

i think what i like about the trolls movies is that even though they are a bit cheesy and childish, they just feel very self-aware and fun. they also have some really nice stylized animation where they try to make everything look like it's made from felt/fabric/craft materials in general.

i would absolutely love if disney filmed their musicals and put them on disney+! in general, i've always thought that more broadway musicals should do that for people who can't travel or afford the tickets. also, with princess and the frog i feel like sometimes people forget that a live action remake would have us watching a bunch of CGI animals almost the whole time... i mean, tiana and naveen are frogs for 90% of it and then there's ray and louis too. i'd much rather see how disney could bring it, and the emperor's new groove as well, to the stage.

it's too bad your book didn't seem to mention why they changed terk! do you happen to know if they gave a reason for removing tantor? i imagine it was because they thought having an elephant character was too difficult to pull off, but i agree with you that it would've been really cool to see how they did it.

Internet seems to be all better now, thank you!

Awwww, that's such an adorable story! I love fun cat names like that, especially when they're so unique that no one else could possibly some up with it. Also love cats that have such distinctive meows/sounds.

Ooo, I'll have to look into those videos and wiki pages, thanks for the heads up! As for the designs, I think my favourite is a toss up between Leona and Kalim, although leaning a bit more towards Kalim. I definitely would have an easier feeling about Moana 2 if it weren't coming so fast. I could see how they could maybe do a decent job and make whatever the series would be a decent movie if they dedicated the time to it, but the time between the announcement of the series to it becoming a movie is just way too short, no way this is getting the proper treatment it needs.

Totally agree about the rushed feeling of Raya. The story should be the number 1 focus. You can add fun stuff (jokes, cute characters, etc...) once they story is tied down and if there's room for it, but if you rush the story to fit anything else in, you've just ruined the movie. No matter how visually stunning, it's not going to connect with the audience if the story is struggling.

That's so neat about Trolls, I love animation styles that go for a certain look, and making it look like the world is made of crafting materials is genius! I'm going to have to watch them someday!

Completely agree with you about PATF and ENG... one of the many things that annoyed me with the Lion King remake was calling it live action... it was made to look realistic, but it was still all animated! They really need to stay away from live actioning any mostly animal cast movies. making the animals so photo realistic takes away so much of the heart, its so hard to emotionally connect with the characters story when their facial expression permanently bland/bored.

I didn't see anything about Tantor in it, but then again I only just quickly browsed through it. Someday I'll find time to read it, lol. I'm assuming it was to avoid making an elephant. Would have been neat to see if they had, or maybe they could have made him a different non-gorilla animal (kind of like how the baboons became a giant spider). I'm thinking their focus was too much on the main "wow factor" of the show... the vine swinging/gymnastic elements.

#stranger like me

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yourockthebeatofmyheart · 2 years

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Rachel (re)watches: Raya and the Last Dragon

this is one of those movies that I really enjoyed in the moment but the more thought I gave it the more holes I noticed. But my sister hasn’t seen it yet so I guess I’ll give it another watch

oh also SPOILERS, obviously

I don’t want to judge this too harshly since it was made during quarantine, but I could hear EVERY hitch in the audio of the opening narration

…should I get into audio editing?

god, even Daniel Dae Kim’s voice is attractive 🥰

Um, aCTuALly, Dr. Seuss invented the word ‘nerd,’ so a fantasy character wouldn’t—

y’all, young Namaari’s VA is only seven years younger than Gemma Chan??? truly what’s the point?

what’s the last Disney movie I thoroughly enjoyed?… oh fuck I think it was Moana

Strange World better break this streak, but I kiiiiinda doubt it will (I don’t mean I think it’s gonna suck but I just don’t think it’ll be as good as Moana - who am I kidding nothing will ever be as good as Moana)

AND ANOTHER THING - why’d they have young Namaari played by a different actor but not young Raya? like it’s not a big deal but???

I agree with that one person on letterboxd, the message of this movie is hella irresponsible

that said, this would make a perfectly good YA novel

also the soundtrack SLAPS

why is every Disney animal sidekick’s personality just “dog”?

I do appreciate what they were trying to do with this movie, I'll give ‘em that

Awkwafina did nothing wrong. If Mulan or Tarzan came out now people would be dragging Eddie Murphy and Rosie O'Donnell for their performances and you know it

lotta weirdly modern jokes/references in this

no seriously what is Sisu’s magic??? (wow a revival era disney movie not tying up a huge loose end who coulda seen that coming)

wait, is this still the revival or are we in a new era now? I feel like this should be a new era - like RBTI and onward

oh wow Gemma Chan does a really good American accent (idk if this reads as sarcastic but I do mean it)

if I have to keep watching my sister and her boyfriend be all gross and sappy out the corner of my eye I will leave the room

uM, aCtUaLLy, water doesn’t cancel out spici—

I will say my sister just made a Great Stone Dragon joke that gave me a good laugh

I don’t know why the whole “modern-feeling jokes in a rural fantasy setting” thing works in something like, say, Avatar but it just doesn’t work here (“rural” might not be the right word but hopefully you know what I mean)

for a movie that tries to hammer in its message so intensely, they do absolutely nothing to try and pay it off, and I think that’s really my biggest issue with it overall

update: I left the room but it wasn’t because of them… okay, not entirely because of them

did he just say “bad-axery”.

every time she mentions Pengu all I can think is “noot noot”

“I don’t know why they chose me.” And frankly neither do I because the movie never explains it

if I control-F the word “trust” on this screenplay how many hundreds of results do you think I’ll get?

okay the sad scene’s coming up and I have now well and truly left the room

holy shit I just came back and the movie’s almost over how long was I gone???

aaaaand that’s the end of the movie. I hate to say it but I think I actually liked it less this time around- it’s like the anti-Turning Red

oh my god even the ending song says “trust” a million and seven times (still love Jhené Aiko though)

#rachel watches #not tagging this so it doesn't clog up search results #maybe it will anyway though bc tumblr's search function is Trash

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asexualone · 3 years

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(pls take the time to read)

Signs I should have known I was aro: Disney edition

I think this topic has been stressed a lot already. But here is my take, anyway.

Of course, romantic love had been, is and will always be one of the main themes in kids' movies. Why, I can never fully understand. I'll explain below how I like other themes more.

Some time ago, I did a post on the kiss/hug scenes in Rapunzel which depicts how much more I value acts of showing love that don't include kissing.

Not only those two. I have a history of hating Disney on-screen smooches. As a kid, I thought, "Well, maybe, I don't like seeing these characters kiss because it's a grownup thing."

Could you blame me? When my parents were in the room and a kissing scene appeared on the screen, they changed the channel. So my toddler brain concluded that the reason I didn't like watching kisses was because I wasn't of age to like it. Or something.

At the time, I had no idea that I was hand-picking my favorite movies by the level of romance they had in. Or lack thereof. And I was a very judgemental kid. Let's go through my original thoughts on some Disney classics.

Snow White — No. Just no. She's a child, fourteen. Marrying an older guy she doesn't even know. After he kisses her corpse. NO.

Cinderella — The age difference is a little better, I guess. So is the age of consent. But they only talked one (1) night and he relied on that slipper to find her instead of asking to meet all women and see for himself. Fairytale logic I guess. I didn't like how she called it love immediately and kissed the prince at least once that same night. Or how they got married immediately.

The Sleeping Beauty — Must I even explain? Aurora didn't even know Philip that much, had only met him once (if you exclude the "dreams"). And yet, he's her true love, the only one who can revive her corpse. Ridiculous. And yes, kissing a comatose body, ew. Also, the arranged marriage trope pisses me off, royalty or not. Aurora was engaged as a newborn baby, come on.

Mulan — Cinematic gold. I didn't know it back then, but the fact that romantic love is such a pushed-aside aspect in this movie gives me life. The songs give me life. Especially when the trio dresses as concubines and "Be a Man" plays in the background. An absolute gem, lmao. The sequel however ruined the story somewhat for me, too much lovey-dovey stuff. I like Mulan more when she's fighting than when she's acting all sappy towards Shang, sorry not sorry.

Peter Pan — Loved it, still do. But I did dislike the mermaids, the image of fangirls who are petty towards other girls. And Pan's brief "relationship" with Tiger Lily was nauseating to me. I couldn't explain it but when Pan blushed at her nose-nuzzling thing, I always pulled a face.

The Princess and the Frog — In my opinion, (remember, always my opinion): Tiana, this hard-working girl who doesn't belong to anyone, was lost to love. Well, not lost. But falling for Naveen in the course of three days? Unrealistic and kinda unnecessary. Sweet, but still. I adored the "relationship" between Ray and Evangeline more. Either way, it's a movie that I enjoyed when love wasn't that prominent on screen.

Aladdin — I love this movie because of the Genie. The relationship between Jasmine and Aladdin is meh. She forgot his face and didn't recognize him until later. Their coming together is a lot like that trope "first guy who treats her right sets the expectations and wins her heart". Usually that's a thing, not only in Disney movies but media in general. The female lead settles for the first guy that treats her right because the bar is that low. A good movie, all in all. Love how Jasmine stands up for herself at least. Not a lot of princesses fight against the objectification of women.

Pocahontas — I used to hate this movie. I didn't sit right with me: the racism in it, the manipulation, the murders. And the romance, yes. Pocahontas fell for the strange man who tickled her curiosity in the span of two days. I also hated how her father just sold her to marry Kocoum like that. I know it's tradition. Heck, that's a tradition that still goes on in my country. Maybe that's why I didn't like seeing it on screen. And Pocahontas doesn't even end up with John Smith. The second movie definitely ruined the story. So yes, she's the first princess who fell for a man in three days, TWICE. Needless to say, only the songs kept me from blacklisting the movie entirely.

The Little Mermaid — I actually loved this movie for some reason. I can't explain why, maybe it was my obsession with mermaids. Yeah, that was probably it. But I was pissed when Ariel exchanged her tail for legs. Not to mention human periods and overall, all the bad in the world, for a man she'd only seen once. As I grew up I realized just how f*cked up that story was: Ariel giving her entire lifestyle, family and identity up for a guy she hadn't even spoken to. I don't know why I loved that movie, alright? Hell I still do a little. The sequel too. Say what you want.

Brave — (I know this is technically Pixar, shut up) Much like the paradox with Ariel, I didn't like this movie. I can't explain it. Maybe because Merida wasn't the typical Disney princess I had been used to seeing. Now though, I ADORE that story. No, it's not because Merida knows archery... Okay, yes maybe a little. I love the aro-arrow word play, alright? Anyway, the way Merida fights against being shipped to a husband like the "tradition" I aforementioned asks her to, has always had my heart, even when I didn't like the movie. The focus on the mother-daughter relationship is special, I love it. Stellar movie.

Tangled — One of my favorite Disney movies, my favorite princess. But her relationship with Eugene.... Well. Again, three days. That's all it takes to fall in love. Classic of Disney. Not only that, but Eugene is literally the first man person Raps has ever since, besides Gothel. The bar is nonexistent for her, she would have fallen for anyone. He lied to her and she still... Well, I won't stress that any longer. Their relationship in the end is sweet, one of the few cases where we are actually shown that they would risk their lives to save each other. Respect that. Mostly, I love her magical hair and Pascal. And the guys of Snuggly Duckling.

Moana — EPIC MOVIE. The story, the culture, the character growth, the plot twist, everything! Loved it at first sight, at second and forever. Even more when I became aware that there's no romance in it. I don't think I need to say more.

Frozen — My opinions on this movie have always been changing, accompanied by mixed feelings. So the relationship between sisters was cute, but Lilo and Stitch made that more realistic. Anna's relationship with Hans, ugh. I think that for a long time I used the fact that he was the antagonist to justify my absolute hate for the way Anna "fell" for him in one evening. Again, Anna sweetheart. This is the first man you've met. The bar is nonexistent for you too. God bless Elsa for forbidding her to marry Hans. And while it's cute to think Elsa as a lesbian, she has aromantic vibes. Sorry not sorry, but she's also a God by the end of Frozen 2. Gods are beyond attraction, I said what I said.

Raya and the Last Dragon — Loved it, still do. Say what you will about "dragon Elsa". Sisu is her own character, and I adore her. And yes, I love the lack of romance in the movie. Make no mistake, I shipped Raya and Namaari from the first moment they smiled at each other. I swear on my name that I paused the movie and screamed, GAYYYY, at the top of my lungs. Luckily, I was home alone. If only Disney directors would do the right fcking thing and give me a queer main couple!! I swear I wouldn't mind the lovey-dovey romance one bit.

Of course, I've left dozens of movies out. This post is already way longer than I wanted it to be. But I think that was enough to make a point.

While I'm not romance-repulsed, seeing animated kisses (and unnecessary relationships) on screen makes me uncomfortable. As a child and as a grownup. It just doesn't sit right with me. Not to mention all these princesses who identify with their princes and specifically their relationships with said princes when they're perfect on their. Wreck it Ralph 2 made them a favor, I think, by making them work together and showing their strengths. Another movie I love.

Friendship just makes an overall better theme to apply to kids shows, my opinion. Family, work, self-discovery, mental health, happiness. These are all better themes to portray in media dedicated for children. Which is, again, my opinion.

And yes, Disney has been getting better. They've fixed the age difference and the age of consent. The female characters no longer depend on the male ones, at least not as often. They understand the assignment, alright. There are still many questionable things about Disney's reputation though, things we all choose to overlook for the sake of the good movies. But who knows? They might change. Hopefully soon we'll also have an obviously queer couple in a movie. Hope dies last.

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itsmoonpeaches · 3 years

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Raya and the Last Dragon and Southeast Asian Food Culture

Disclaimer: The following is from the perspective of a Filipino SEA. Please feel free to add or edit from other perspectives. There are *spoilers* under the cut.

A thing that Raya and the Last Dragon got right? The homely, welcoming food culture of Southeast Asia. This is one of the most integral parts of SEA culture. Food defines who we are as a people, not just by what we serve to you, but how it is served.

There are many food scenes in RATLD, but each build up in the movie and really drive to the point what sharing a meal means.

Disney made a short featurette on food culture, but it’s barely the tip of the iceberg.

Ready to eat? Below is a breakdown and analysis of SEA food culture as it is portrayed in this movie.

First, how about food that is familiar to most of SEA? I’m just going to list a few fruits that I saw in this film just casually being thrown about or eaten. I’ve also listed them here in a short post about cultural nods I spotted.

To quote what I originally said:

Random fruits I saw that are native to Southeast Asia: longan, rambutan, dragon fruit, mangoes, jackfruit

Since then I have also noticed that I left out durian, mangosteen, and bananas. The fruits that might be unfamiliar to much of the Western world are linked for your own further reading.

Now, let’s get into the meat of things. No pun intended.

Family

What does food in SEA culture mean more than family? At least, in a Filipino household, oftentimes a family eats together for every. Single. Meal. (Or most meals.) Breakfast, lunch, and dinner? You better be sitting with your immediate family if they’re at home. If your extended family is there? Better eat with them too.

Sometimes it might be considered rude to eat without them when you’re all home together. Unless, of course you’re in a hurry or there’s an emergency. There’s an exception to every rule. Some families might even wait for everyone to be at the table in order to start eating.

Every meal is and should be made for everyone that intends to eat, and you should be eating at the same table. Eating is a time for a family to have a conversation, to share what they are going to do for the day, what they did, and anything new going on.

Raya has an important conversation about trust and togetherness with the other tribes with her father over a meal.

Not to mention that family means recipes. Versions of traditional dishes that you are taught by your parents, your grandparents, or any of your elders really. Cousins, and other extended family might share their food secrets too. You can learn to cook something by watching or learning the ingredients. Or, if your family is a cooking family, you can learn by doing.

Chief Benja teaches his daughter Raya how to make stew with different ingredients and she passes down the recipe later to her friends. It’s lightly touched upon that her father’s way is her own “best” way to cook this particular dish. Because, well, your parents or grandparents always cook it the best. (This is not an opinion. This is a fact. That’s only a little bit of sarcasm in there, but you get the point.)

Wealth

I think this might be something that is universal, but food in SEA culture can mean wealth. What ingredients do you use? How much rice do you have? Do you eat something with your rice?

Now, “wealth” in this sense does not necessarily have to mean monetary wealth. It could be the wealth of the land you live on.

I’ve already talked about how important rice is here. However, here is a quote from that analysis to highlight the importance of the above scene:

There is a scene towards the beginning of the movie when Raya asks Namaari, “Stew or rice?” when asking which she would prefer. Namaari never answers the question, but she says that it is her first time eating rice in a while. Though it’s never explicitly said, it could be implied that it is because they did not have as much rainwater for irrigation at the time.

Namaari’s people lacked wealth of land in the beginning. With rice being such an integral part of SEA food culture, that is sad.

A welcome into a home

One of the first things Raya says to the other tribes at the beginning of the movie is, “Who’s hungry?” You can hear phrases similar to that peppered throughout RATLD. “Have you eaten yet?” is another one.

When Raya asks, “Who’s hungry?” in the beginning, it is to welcome a huge crowd of tribes into their land to share a meal. The first thing someone in a Filipino household would do when someone is visiting is to ask if they’ve eaten yet. If they haven’t there is always a meal that is ready for them. Honestly, the meal might even be prepared for them already even if they weren’t asked.

Here, Raya and Namaari share their first meal together as the very first thing they do before they do anything else. It is food to welcome Namaari and the others into her home.

You can notice that they are sitting on the floor. This doesn’t necessarily happen in all of SEA, but sitting on the floor on top of mats or a spread like banana leaves to eat is common practice, even for royalty.

Togetherness and friendship

Eating with family or to welcome someone into your house are not the only reasons why eating together is important. It is also a symbol of being together. Even if you don’t have a family and you just live with roommates or friends, you might eat meals with them on the daily.

You share the food. That’s important. Say if you lived with a roommate. In this culture, you might cook a meal for both of you, not just yourself. You might cook together and contribute different dishes. That’s not to say there aren’t exceptions, but this is what I’ve personally observed between my own SEA friends versus my non culturally Eastern friends.

This is where culturally, the East and West seem to differ a lot. Western society is based on an individualistic culture. Meaning, the focus is on the individual and independence. There is less group mentality. Eastern society is based on a collectivist culture. The whole group is taken into consideration. This can be true for both East and Southeast Asia.

You can see this as the case in RATLD. As the movie progresses, so do the meals. Raya sits down to eat with her friends, and there is rarely a time she eats without someone.

Gift giving

I’ve mentioned that welcoming someone into your household with food is a part of SEA culture. However, it is important the other way around as well.

Sisu does mention a few times that she thinks that they’re best off giving offerings or gifts to the chiefs to show that they mean well. Now, it is common practice in some SEA cultures (and particularly from a Filipino lens), to give someone something when you visit. This doesn’t have to be every time you visit, of course, but it’s seen as nice and polite if you give a host something if you plan on staying there a while.

For example, if they are providing room and board for you on a visit for a few days. Even if the host is a family member, you should offer them something. Anything could work, but food is a good option. And it’s a great, safe option. Who doesn’t like food?

Sisu does try the gift route in Talon. She tries to buy a bunch of trinkets, which inevitably fail. The second time she tries? She snatches a pot of (what I’m assuming) is congee to offer to the chief of Spine.

It’s also interesting to note that this is the only time in the whole movie that gift giving doesn’t backfire on them. In Spine, they meet an enemy-turned-friend, Tong.

Trust

Ah, the theme of the entire movie...trust. What does sitting down for a meal equal? Trust. You’re trusting someone to feed you, to give you something good to fill your belly, to essentially be vulnerable with you. Sleeping is a vulnerable time, but eating is as well.

You naturally let your guard down when you eat, and if someone cooks for you, you don’t expect to be poisoned by it.

In the start of the film, Raya is skeptical of the congee that Boun makes. She eats it anyway when she sees that Sisu isn’t poisoned. Obviously, this is a particular issue specific for Raya’s character development. However, it is a part of the process.

By the time we reach the end credits, things come full circle.

Raya expresses throughout the film that she wishes she could eat a meal with her father again. I’ve also pointed out how important it is to eat together with friends. All of that is showcased in the credits when the cultural importance of food, trust, and togetherness return.

Raya and Namaari share a meal again. This time, as real friends. (Maybe even...lovers? I cannot unsee it, Disney.) This meal they have together is more of a snack, but that is something of note as well. It’s something intimate because they’re sharing sliced green mangoes with shrimp or fish paste dip (bagoong in Filipino Tagalog). They trust each other enough to share the same dip, to cut up the same mangoes, and to sit together over a meal.

If that isn’t the essence of SEA food culture, I don’t know what is.

#raya #raya and the last dragon #ratld #ratld spoilers #raya spoilers #disney #raya analysis #analysis #raya and the last dragon spoilers #sea #southeast asia #philippines #food culture #this is what i did instead of writing what i should've been writing #sisu #namaari #boun #tong #kumandra

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luckycheesefoodie321 · 3 years

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Before I completely forget... my uh SPOILER thoughts on Raya (Long post) or should I say some random strung together opinions rather than my usual coherent movie reviews that I occasionally do...

Thematically rich, the scenery and animation design was fantastic (putting aside how stereotypically "Disney" the dragons looked)... but pacing was insane... and the narrative progression suffered as a result

The ending where all the tribes came back to Heart when… aside from them all being turned to stone, there’s no moment where they realised the error of their ways… like yes Fang instigated the scrabble for the Dragon Gem, but all the tribes joined in anyway, and it ended up with the gem breaking, all of them running away with a piece and allowing the Droon to grow as much as it did

Namaari’s Mom too, right until she was turned to stone, was still scheming to get the other shards of the gem as well as Sisu; for equally selfish reasons as Raya’s initial intentions (to save her father rather than save the world) which was to restore basically the honour of Fang as the supposed instigators of the return of the Droon, as well become the indisputable leaders of the five tribes... going against the reservations of a clearly conflicted Namaari...

And one time stoned later, she’s there bowing to Raya’s dad as if nothing happened... which for HIM, JUST HAPPENED!

I would argue that her saying “it’s ok” to a “nervous” Namaari before stepping forward to meet Raya is about as misleading as Hans smiling at Anna after he gets dropped into the water by his horse... I AM GENUINELY BAFFLED BY THE REVEAL THAT BABY NAMAARI WAS SCHEMING TO STEAL THE DRAGON GEM... honestly if the mom was more imposing or said something like “go uphold your duty as the representative of Fang” then I could buy Namaari being in on the schemes but still totally enamoured by legend of Sisu and surprised by her connection with Raya which leads to her betrayal but sets the groundwork better for her inner conflict later in the film!! I mean she could’ve looked more regretful...

While I did enjoy the MCs returning to their families…there needed to be an actual verbal acknowledgement between the remaining chiefs on what went wrong, and then even do a little callback to how Raya and Namaari were the first to meet in the middle, while it at first was just a trick, now became a genuine union between the tribes…

Like an acknowledgement from Tail’s new chief that they lost their leader due to their greed and desperation, and they want to work with Heart and achieve the dream the Chief of Heart had so many years ago… we needed more than just a bow of acknowledgement and apology when they met with Raya’s dad again…

Some people died! And it will take a lot of work to reach any sort of peace or utopia that 500 years ago they supposedly once had. While all those turned to stone came back, similar to those dusted in Endgame, as well as the dragons, things aren’t magically all better.

SIX YEARS HAVE PASSED. Those in the initial fallout, especially at heart, have a lot of catching up to do.

Actually what I would’ve loved is if instead of a happy happy ending and Raya says “Welcome to Kumandra” she says something like “Let’s rebuild Kumandra, together” which would continue the themes of banding together for the greater good but it doesn’t mean the past is erased.

This is only the first step to that. (See the full circle themes?????)

Disney's had many "first gay character in a Disney movie" moments... like so many...often with side/unnamed/non-speaking characters... but at least if they do decide to make Raya canonically lesbian/wlw then it won't be some random throwaway character...

not to mention the clear chemistry/enemies-to-lovers tension between Raya and Namaari... they will have included such a character in their most lucrative and revered "club", the Disney Princess line up... which, putting aside all other issues with the film, would be a wonderful opportunity for representation...

Like Kelly Marie Tran is very open about how much she ships Raya and Namaari soooooo

That said I’m ready for Disney Princesses rolling back around to enjoying formal wear? Women can love being warriors and enjoy dresses... these facts are not mutually exclusive? That whole convo about how both Namaari and Raya don’t enjoy formal wear and only like swords was a bit aggressive against more “traditional” femininity.. honestly felt a touch forced... that said, we’ve had excellent “warrior/hard worker” types in Mulan, Tiana and Moana, and Rapunzel even who do enjoy a little dress up/are confident regardless of what they’re wearing... so idk just seen some complaints about this aspect so thought I should address it?

But all that aside, I loved the outfits. The pants??? We love a strong woman in pants. Namaari’s biceps? Raya’s super cute sash top thing with her arm guards?!?! Hell yeah

Oooh but animation? Designs of the characters?? The clear care put into researching Asian cultures, much like Black Panther, without specifically landing on any one Asian culture and just making the designs of all the tribes so distinct and rich and not a caricature that Asian and POC characters so often tend to be...

Anyway yeah idk what else. Just wait for it on Disney plus honestly. It’s a great albeit flawed movie but charging an extra $30 is nonsense.

#spoilers #disney #raya and the last dragon #raya x namaari #raya and the last dragon spoilers #long post

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a-dumb-sarcastic-bisexual · 3 years

Text

So I rewatched Raya.

And I was really trying to watch it without a skeptical lens. I wanted to be able to act like the oblivious kids in that theater and just enjoy the movie. But I just couldn't. I've mentioned it before it's a gorgeous movie but there are so many things wrong with it that just bug me. And I’ve mentioned before the changes that could be made to fix it and the main one being just completely scrapping the movie and starting from scratch with a tv show. And because I’m on spring break and I have nothing to do (also I’m a perfectionist and I tend to hyper-fixate on things that I know have easy solutions) I broke down how I would make it better in two different categories. The first one being kind of baseline stuff like animation and character designs and other stuff I had small problems with and the second being plot.

Section One:

Okay so I know we all hate Sisu’s design. As someone who grew up with Naga carvings and paintings all around my house seeing this Elsa fursona was like a slap to the face. Like I know I really shouldn’t expect more from Disney but I did. I mentioned in this post that I would have loved to see a longer series even if it meant the animation quality went down. And I feel like Neeith_ on TikTok did a great job of drawing what Sisu could have looked like which only disappointed me more. Caldatelier on Twitter also pointed out the many flaws with Raya’s outfit design which fully proved to me that Disney did little to no research and chose style points over historical accuracy. I also felt like the designs of the main characters were very unremarkable and before you’re like “that the whole point it’s supposed to be normal people saving the world” I don't mean that I mean it feels like they took previous designs and just made them Asian. Like my sister and I were talking about it and she said the baby just reminded her of the boss baby and Tong reminded her of one of the twins from rapunzel with a little more depth. This is also kind of a small thing but it kind of bugged me that they were all the same skin tone if not lighter. SEA is incredibly diverse and if they weren’t going to represent all of the cultures in full then they could at least shown their features. I feel like the food should have been more important. I know I mentioned it in my last post but food is an incredibly important part of our culture. It’s not a placeholder or a set-piece to make a scene look more aesthetically pleasing. It’s a way for us to bond and show each other we care it’s a way we show genuine love and appreciation. And when you have a main character who is emotionally stunted it felt like food was a perfect way for her to show her love and they blew it. Like can you imagine Raya and her dad getting into huge fights and then bringing each other food as an apology sitting in front of that window not needing to say a word because they simply get each other? Can you imagine Raya visiting Namaari and stocking up on foods that she knows Namaari loves but also hasn’t been able to eat for a while? We could have had genuinely heartwarming scenes centered around food but instead, we got set pieces and props. And one more thing that stuck with me was the voice acting this movie should have been a change for SEA voice actors to really put their names out there and be a part of a really big Disney project but as always out voiced were overshadowed by someone lighter.

Section Two:

(I’m going to warn you this is gonna be really long because I’m essentially rewriting the entire plot because as I said before I’m a perfectionist)

I feel like the first ep should be dedicated to the backstory and the lore

How were the Druuns made how where they defeated

I feel like it would have been interesting to see them fighting over the gem

But I think it would have been really interesting to see from the get-go how Sisu wasn’t the one who made the gem

So instead of having this big reveal alongside Raya, we would know that her hope of finding this all powerful Naga is hopeless because the story was a lie

Another thing I think another person who should have had more screentime was Raya’s dad

I think it would have been interesting to know his backstory and get some questions answered like “why does he have so much faith in the other rulers to help him on his journey to make Kumandra a thing?” “When did he become the protector of the gem?” “And how many attempts of stealing the gem has he thwarted”

Also as much as I love him I feel like his personality incredibly unrealistic because all SEA men I’ve met have been really emotionally stunted

Idk it’s just a small thing that made me go “eh he talks to his daughter. What kind of magic world is this?”

I would have liked to see Raya’s various attempts at becoming a protector of the gem

I think it would have been a really good way to show how resilient she is from a very young age

And when she finally succeeds the audience could have celebrated with her like a small “yes she finally got it and all her hard work finally paid off” moment

I feel like we should have gotten more Raya and Namaari moments right from the start

Like how they meet is basically the same but Raya doesn’t trust her with the gem’s location an hour after meeting her

It's a trust that both of them fought for in their own way

Like you get to see them bond over their mutual understanding of “well the worlds fucked”

So when Namaari finally stabs Raya in the back when she betrays her for the first time it hurts when she says the throwaway line about them being friends in another world in burns Raya

Because she thought they were friends and she genuinely trusted Namaari

Which would have really justified her distrust in the world

And again I feel like we should have seen that 6 year period of Raya trying to find Sisu

We would get to experience the frustration of building up the hope of finally finding her just to have it knocked down when she’s not there

It could also do two more things

Raya making genuine connections with people

And Raya and Namaari’s strange alliance forming

Now for the first one, I feel like it would have been really cool for Raya to be introduced to the different lands

And yeah sure I feel like it would make her feel like kind of a tourist but I feel like it would be really interesting to see her go through culture shock

Because she really thought she knew these places but boom they’re completely different from what she was told

And while she’s making her way around she learns about the different lands and the people inhabiting them and also their culture

We could have seen Raya make genuine connections outside of the main cast

And if you’re feeling a little masochistic we could see her lose those people because of the druune or simply because they died

But the main point is we would be able to see her become less and less selfish

Now back to Raya and Namaari’s alliance/romance later on

I mentioned in my other post that when Raya trusted Namaari to put the gem back together it felt very flat very fake

So I feel like it would be cool for the series to be split into two parts the first part being from Raya’s perspective and the second part being Namaari’s

I also feel like Namaari would have to be a constant in Raya’s journey

And what I mean by that is like she’s there every other episode either trying to stop Raya or she’s trying to save her from life or death situations

And later on down the line, we find out the main reason why she kept helping Raya (in her own way) was that she didn’t want to see her get seriously hurt

But anyway that’s mostly backstory and now we’re in the present tense

And like I said before we know that Sisu wasn’t the one who made the gem so we know that Raya’s quest is pointless

But because we’ve seen her various attempts at becoming the protector of the gem and the six years of looking for Sisu we know she’s too stubborn to give up just yet

So she and Sisu head out to find the other gem pieces

Now with context, her and Namaari’s standoff has more tension because for the first time in years Namaari doesn’t know the motives behind Raya’s actions

I don’t really have many ideas for Sisu other than she starts to trust people less and less

Like she’s still really innocent for the most part but there’s a small part of her a really small part that’s kind of lost faith in humanity

And after this, we meet Boun

I feel like we should have known more about Boun considering the fact he’s the first side characters we met

But it’s very clear they gave no thought to his character I’m sure they just wrote down “funny kid who lost his family”

This is such a shame because he could have been so much more than just “Raya’s funny younger brother”

Like he could have been this selfless kid who hands out food to the orphans around and offering his ship to homeless people during the night

Next with the baby and the monkeys, there’s really not much you can do with them unless you seriously age them up

Like at the very least have Noi be a grade-schooler who can express more emotions than mad and hungry

Like she can still be the baby of the group while taking care of herself and expressing her emotions a great example of this is Polly from amphibia (which is a great show with a SEA main character you should check it out)

With Tong, I have two words: Survivors Guilt which is something Raya would be able to relate to in fact they all would

I feel like Tong’s entire character arc would be him realizing that he can’t save everyone

Which yeah sure would seem pretty contradictory with the ending being them literally saving everybody but I have a fix for that too

And finally, we get to Namaari who is selfless to a fault

Giving me very much typical Disney princess she gives up food to kids who seem particularly hungry

She’s usually the one who tells the stories to the kids but her mom was taking over that day

She helps her people in any way she can and honestly, she’s wearing herself a little thin

Because while she’s doing all that she’s also saving Raya & co from their own mistakes

Giving me very much burning the candle at both ends

So you see all these characters bonding over the course of at least a year

Making and losing more allies along the way

And because Namaari has been helping them they trust her… for the most part

But there have been times when she trips them up and makes their end goal all the more difficult

And because they haven’t known her as long as Raya has each character has at least one moment when they look up at the sky and scream in frustration “What is this binturi’s deal!”

But anyway they finally get to fang and Raya is more open to the idea of just talking to Namaari because she trusts her not because Sisu told her to but because she’s seen Namaari do good

And Namaari is even more reluctant to take the gem pieces by force because she has a decent relationship with Raya like yeah sure they’re not best friends but they’re in a good place

And shocker shocker she’s maybe just maybe head over heels in love with the princess of heart

But her mother gives her an ultimatum and that is “either you take it from her or I will”

Because here’s the thing, Queen Virana isn't a moron the exact opposite in fact and she knows her daughter has been going easy on Raya these past six years

She also knows that she could squash Raya under her shoe if she damn well pleased and Namaari knows this too

So when Namaari gets her necklace back she doesn’t even hesitate to take her crossbow when she leaves

The meet up goes basically the same except its more Raya talking Namaari down than Sisu

And while they’re having their little heart to heart Sisu notices Namaari’s finger twitch and she goes to jump in front of Raya

And Namaari was shaken by the sudden movement and fires and kills Sisu

I feel like this would make Raya furious for two reasons one she killed her best friend and two she deep down trusted Namaari to do the right thing

So when the fight goes down instead of the whole “I don't care if you trust me because Sisu did” it would be “I trusted you and you murdered her”

And when the dust settles Raya realizes that this battle doesn’t matter because fighting Namaari isn’t going to bring Sisu and she’s also sick and tired of hurting the people she loves

And she decides to help people instead not because Sisu would want her to but because its the right thing to do

Which is cliche sure but its better than the scene they gave us which really wasn’t faithful to her character arc of not caring for people who aren't close to her

And I feel like Namaari joining her makes more sense with my context if anything else

And here’s how I would fix this scene even with them fighting the Druune off to the best of their abilities there are still falling buildings and the gem can’t really save people from that

So they lose some people not because of the Druune but because death happens even when the heroes are fighting their hardest

And because I feel like this would just affirm Tong’s character arc because there are people dying under these buildings he knows it’ll take too long to save them and its not time they have

So he leaves them behind prioritizing the people he knows he can save

Anyway, after a long battle scene, they finally end up underground

And it goes basically the same except it doesn’t take Raya as long to convince them

And instead of Raya’s reasoning of “Sisu told us to” it's more “all this fighting isn't going to bring Sisu back” and “I know she’s done something terrible and you can be mad at her after this but for now trust her”

So when they all make their sacrifices it’s less “I’m doing this for Raya” and more “I’m doing this because deep down I know you’ll do the right thing”

And Namaari does do the right thing obviously

Sisu comes back and it's all “yay we saved the world!” but it doesn’t really end there

Because I hate the “lifetime” ending of “even though we all went through incredibly traumatic events we’re all fine months later” no they’re running around for months and years fixing their mess

And while this is happening Raya and Namaari is mending their relationship they’ve apologized for all the terrible things they’ve done to each other

And when they’re fixing their world they’re helping each other become the best versions of themselves

That’s when they really fall in love

Like don't get me wrong they loved each other when all the bad shit was going down but there was too much bad blood them to really process it and talk it out

But that’s exactly what they do when it’s all over they talk it out for hours

In fact, they both said its the most they’ve heard the other speak

They both agree they’re in the best place to start a relationship and so they do

#disney raya #raya #namaari #rayaari #raya and the last dragon #did I just basically write the rough draft for a tv show in the span of 4 hours #yes yes I did

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