Celebrating Pride Month: Raya and the Last Dragon aka the Gayest Animated Disney Film Yet
Posted: Tue Jun 18, 2024 1:36 am
Disney has always had a pretty notable LGBT fanbase and Disney itself has been pretty supportive of the LGBT over the years, even supporting the unofficial LGBT week at Walt Disney World. But sadly as far as films go the most we've gotten in terms of LGBT representation is Strange World with the character Ethan Clade who is openly gay and we see his love interest in the film and see them be really cute with one another.
But sadly all their other films have been on the Can Ask But Won't Tell side of things with films like Frozen, Frozen II and Encanto with some characters that could MAYBE be LGBT but most of that boils down to interpretations of the characters because some of their musical numbers and overall character arcs have themes that people who are gay, bi, pan or trans can relate to. Obviously the most notable example being Elsa whom many have interpreted as being a lesbian thanks to her iconic song Let It Go which is all about her embracing herself while also changing her outfit to a more outlandish, and dare I say it, fabulous one. This, along with her interactions with the character Honeymaren made people think that Elsa is a lesbian with a smaller portion of the fanbase assuming she might instead be ace thanks to her Show Yourself and the line "You are the one you've been waiting for all of your life."
Encanto is similar with the character Isabela and her song and arc also making fans assume she might be gay or ace.
The problem is both of these are just fan theories and while the creators have been supportive of the idea and also open to the idea of going forward with that the songs and scenes with these characters were, as far as I know, not written with the idea of them being gay or ace.
Thus we enter Raya and the Last Dragon and the relationship between Raya and Namaari. Unlike Elsa and Isabela there WAS the intention of presenting Raya as gay and having romantic feelings for her friend turned adversary Namaari mainly through her actor Kelly Marie Tran. Tran has stated, several times, that she views Raya as LGBT and whenever Raya and Namaari were interacting she recorded her lines in, mostly, a more flirty way.
Now this is ONLY Tran's interpretation of the character and the relationship while everyone else who worked on the film hasn't said anything for or against the relationship being romantic. But the fact remains that this is the first time someone playing a Disney Princess has stated to not only interpreted their character as LGBT but did the best they could to play that character as gay.
And with that it colors the rest of the film because while Tran has been the only one open about playing Raya as gay the way the film's plot plays out and the interactions between Raya and Namaari are handled does make it feel like more of a Enemies to Lovers story. While the film is titled "Raya and the Last Dragon" a more accurate title for the film would be Raya and the Princess of Fang because the film isn't about Raya and Sisu but the complex relationship between Raya and Namaari.
It's worth noting that there are a number of parallels between the relationship between Raya and Namaari and other Disney couples. The first time they see each other and talk to one another is very similar to how most couples from the Golden Age to the Renaissance Era had their first meetings with it almost coming off as a case of Love at First Sight. But the film also plays up on more modern tropes like not just lunching into a relationship and giving your heart to someone you just met like in Frozen.
Even their final scene together feels like the two fully realizing the depths of their feelings for one another and choosing to try and make their relationship work.
This fan video actually sums it up pretty well
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e8DQIYrL4xU
Now, again, this hasn't been confirmed by Disney themselves and unless a sequel is done in another media (most notably a show or a game) we might never get more then just how one actor saw and played the character. But with that the fact remains that this is the closest we have to a official Gay Disney Princess and as someone who actually likes this film and sees it as underrated I love that about it. Raya is currently my favorite Disney Princess and the idea that she might be a lesbian like me makes me relate to her all the more.
But sadly all their other films have been on the Can Ask But Won't Tell side of things with films like Frozen, Frozen II and Encanto with some characters that could MAYBE be LGBT but most of that boils down to interpretations of the characters because some of their musical numbers and overall character arcs have themes that people who are gay, bi, pan or trans can relate to. Obviously the most notable example being Elsa whom many have interpreted as being a lesbian thanks to her iconic song Let It Go which is all about her embracing herself while also changing her outfit to a more outlandish, and dare I say it, fabulous one. This, along with her interactions with the character Honeymaren made people think that Elsa is a lesbian with a smaller portion of the fanbase assuming she might instead be ace thanks to her Show Yourself and the line "You are the one you've been waiting for all of your life."
Encanto is similar with the character Isabela and her song and arc also making fans assume she might be gay or ace.
The problem is both of these are just fan theories and while the creators have been supportive of the idea and also open to the idea of going forward with that the songs and scenes with these characters were, as far as I know, not written with the idea of them being gay or ace.
Thus we enter Raya and the Last Dragon and the relationship between Raya and Namaari. Unlike Elsa and Isabela there WAS the intention of presenting Raya as gay and having romantic feelings for her friend turned adversary Namaari mainly through her actor Kelly Marie Tran. Tran has stated, several times, that she views Raya as LGBT and whenever Raya and Namaari were interacting she recorded her lines in, mostly, a more flirty way.
Now this is ONLY Tran's interpretation of the character and the relationship while everyone else who worked on the film hasn't said anything for or against the relationship being romantic. But the fact remains that this is the first time someone playing a Disney Princess has stated to not only interpreted their character as LGBT but did the best they could to play that character as gay.
And with that it colors the rest of the film because while Tran has been the only one open about playing Raya as gay the way the film's plot plays out and the interactions between Raya and Namaari are handled does make it feel like more of a Enemies to Lovers story. While the film is titled "Raya and the Last Dragon" a more accurate title for the film would be Raya and the Princess of Fang because the film isn't about Raya and Sisu but the complex relationship between Raya and Namaari.
It's worth noting that there are a number of parallels between the relationship between Raya and Namaari and other Disney couples. The first time they see each other and talk to one another is very similar to how most couples from the Golden Age to the Renaissance Era had their first meetings with it almost coming off as a case of Love at First Sight. But the film also plays up on more modern tropes like not just lunching into a relationship and giving your heart to someone you just met like in Frozen.
Even their final scene together feels like the two fully realizing the depths of their feelings for one another and choosing to try and make their relationship work.
This fan video actually sums it up pretty well
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e8DQIYrL4xU
Now, again, this hasn't been confirmed by Disney themselves and unless a sequel is done in another media (most notably a show or a game) we might never get more then just how one actor saw and played the character. But with that the fact remains that this is the closest we have to a official Gay Disney Princess and as someone who actually likes this film and sees it as underrated I love that about it. Raya is currently my favorite Disney Princess and the idea that she might be a lesbian like me makes me relate to her all the more.