Introducing the newest Disney Princess, Raya the franchises first Southeast Asian Princess. Raya ushers in a modern era of  Disney princesses that’s aren’t romance-focused, but rather independent and intent on saving their people and their world.

Voiced by Kelly Marie Tran, the first Southeast Asian actor to lead an animated feature from the studio, the film is set in the fantasy land of Kumandra, (which Disney has said is inspired by the cultures of Southeast Asia) the story follows the quest of the titular heroine as she searches for the fabled dragon Sisu (Awkwafina) in order to restore a broken world and save her people.

The film was co-written by Vietnamese-American screenwriter Qui Nguyen and Malaysian-American screenwriter Adele Lim, the latter of whom is best known for co-writing Crazy Rich Asians. Fawn Veerasunthorn, who is Thai-American, led the artistic direction as Head of Story.

The arrival of Disney’s latest animated movie Raya and the Last Dragon, brings more representation to the Disney princess roster giving young girls one more opportunity to see themselves in a character. Honestly I’m excited and here for it.

(Before reading any further I would like to issue a spoiler warning as I will be reviewing the film)

At the begging of the film with Raya giving us the backstory of Kumandra a prosperous land rampaged by the Druun, evil spirits that turn people to stone and multiply. The dragons of Kumandra use their remaining magic to create an orb to ward off the Druun and revive everyone, but end up turning to stone themselves. A power struggle for the orb divides the Kumandra people into tribes, based on their placement of a giant river that resembles a dragon: Fang, Heart, Tail, Spine and Talon.

Fast forward 500 years later, Chief Benja (Daniel Dae Kim) of the Heart tribe has been training his daughter Raya to guard the orb while firmly believing that the tribes will be united once again. During a feast among the five tribes, Raya befriends Namaari (Gemma Chan) the daughter of Chief Virana (Sandra Oh) of the Fang tribe, due to their shared interest in dragons. Namaari gives Raya a dragon pendant and she in turn shows her the location of the orb only for the Fang Tribe to make an attempt to steal it. A fight breaks out when the rest of the tribes find out, resulting in the orb’s destruction. The Druun suddenly reawaken as each of the tribes steal a piece, with Benja among the casualties.

Six years later, Raya has been searching for the end of a stream to summon Sisu, a dragon said to have created the orb and the only surviving member of her species, to help her recover the missing orb pieces. Raya is successful in summon Sisu, but is shocked to find out Sisu did not create the orb, but can use its powers.

They recover the second piece in a ruined Tail temple, granting Sisu shapeshifting powers. They have an encounter with the hostile Namaari and her tribe, but young entrepreneur Boun, who had lost his family to the Druun, arrives and helps them escape. Despite Boun’s friendliness, Raya refuses to reveal her quest.

Sisu shapeshifting after touching the Tail tribes piece of the orb.

Arriving at Talon to claim the third orb piece, Raya encounters “con baby” Little Noi and her trio of monkey-like companions the Ongis, who adopted her after the Druun petrified her mother. After a chase, Raya takes her in, while Sisu goes into town and encounters Talon’s chieftess, who threatens her. Raya rescues Sisu and reclaims the third piece, which allows Sisu to spew out fog.

As the group arrive at Spine, we meet are final ally Tong (Benedict Wong), a fearsome warrior and the village’s sole survivor. The rest of the group arrive to warn them of Namaari’s arrival. Raya holds her off in a fight while the others escape, but as Namaari is the one winning Sisu jumps in to help Raya. This reveals to both the enemy and allies that the last dragon has been awaken to save the world. Back at the boat, Raya tells the truth about Sisu to her party and they agree to work together, with Tong handing Spine’s orb piece to Sisu, giving her the power over rain.

Raya and Namaari’s showdown at Spine

As they get closer to Fang, Sisu suggests giving them a gift and asking for the final piece, rather than breaking in.  When Raya refuses, Sisu takes her back to what is left of Heart and tells of how she was trusted by her siblings to save Kumandra. Raya gives in and decides to give Namaari the dragon pendant as a peace offering to complete her quest. Raya and Sisu meet privately with Namaari, but upon seeing her orb pieces, Namaari threatens them. Sisu tries to talk her down, but gets unintentionally shot by Namaari and falls into a river which begins to dry up.

Fang is attacked by the Druun as Raya enters to confront a grieving Namaari who is mourning the loss of her mother. The two fight while Raya’s companions rescue the people from the Druun. Raya prepares to strike down Namaari, but after seeing her remorse, they run help her friends instead. As the Druun advance toward Raya’s group, Raya tells them that they need to reassemble the orb, but her friends refuse to forgive Namaari. To show her faith, Raya gives Namaari her piece and allows the Druun to take her. The rest follow suit, with Namaari fixing the orb before the Druun take her. With the orb reassembled, the Druun become vanquished and everyone is brought back to life, including Sisu and the other dragons.

Everyone is now able to reunite with their lost loved ones, with Raya reuniting with her father. The dragons and the tribes then peacefully gather at Heart to celebrate.

Raya and the Last Dragon is now available in Cinema where theaters are open or on Disney Plus with Premier Access at a price tag of $29.99.

Raya and the Last Dragon will give Southeast Asian girls another princess that represents them in some form or fashion. As Mulan was there for young girls in the Late 90’s and early 2000’s, Raya is here for the new generation — both of whom are strong women depicted on the big screen, and both learn valuable lessons about leaning on friends and family for help.