Kelly Marie Tran & Awkwafina: ‘Raya and the Last Dragon’ Is Changing the Idea of the Disney Princess

Disney’s latest Certified Fresh epic, ‘Raya and the Last Dragon,’ marks another step in the evolution of the Mouse House’s idea of what makes a princess – and a hero. Raya (Kelly Marie Tran) is the first Southeast Asian Disney Princess and the movie draws its lore, visuals, and story – a warrior princess’s quest to find the last dragon and reunite her divided land – from the nations of that region. Ahead of the movie’s release on Disney+ as well as in theaters, Rotten Tomatoes correspondent Maude Garrett sat down for an extended talk with Tran and Awkwafina (who turns in an instantly iconic voice performance as the dragon Sisu) about the evolution of the Disney princess and how ‘Raya’ is “opening up doors” for representation. Plus, Tran, Awkwafina, co-star Gemma Chan, writers Adele Lim and Qui Nguyen, producer Osnat Shurer, and directors Don Hall and Carlos López Estrada share their favorite Disney sidekicks, reveal what it was like to make a blockbuster while in lockdown, and talk about the importance of food as metaphor in this very hungry-making movie.