Celebrating Pride Month: Raya and the Last Dragon aka the Gayest Animated Disney Film Yet

[Winter]

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.

[CharlesPhipps]

I maintain they went as far as they were willing with Elsa being a lesbian by having her go off to live with her Northuldra girlfriend.

So I say Frozen 2 still wins.

[Winter]

I maintain they went as far as they were willing with Elsa being a lesbian by having her go off to live with her Northuldra girlfriend.

So I say Frozen 2 still wins.

I don't know, while I ship Elsamaren I still don't think it holds a candle to the intense gay energy that is Rayaari. It doesn't help Elsamaren's case that they only get about 5 minutes of screen time together and Honeymaren isn't that important to the plot or Elsa's character while Rayaari gets about an hour together and both are not only important to the plot (one is the hero and the other is the main antagonist) but both are invaluable to each others characters.

Combine that with the fact that whether it's intended to be romantic or not in the end it's Namaari's love for Raya that saves the day and their relationship is what drives the story forward. Again, as much as I love Elsamaren and feel that Honeymaren is an underrated character if you cut her out of the film nothing would really change as Elsa is staying because of her connection to the other spirits and the land.

Hopefully that will change when Frozen 3 and 4 come out but as of right now when it comes to Disney's gayest film I still say Raya and the Last Dragon wins as it's basically Disney's answer to She-Ra and Madoka Magica. Aka a story driven by two dump lesbians who nearly doom the world only to save it because of their love for each other.

[hammerofglass]

Hopefully that will change when Frozen 3 and 4 come out but as of right now when it comes to Disney's gayest film I still say Raya and the Last Dragon wins as it's basically Disney's answer to She-Ra and Madoka Magica. Aka a story driven by two dump lesbians who nearly doom the world only to save it because of their love for each other.

Fine I'll watch Raya, twist my arm why don't cha...

[Winter]

Hopefully that will change when Frozen 3 and 4 come out but as of right now when it comes to Disney's gayest film I still say Raya and the Last Dragon wins as it's basically Disney's answer to She-Ra and Madoka Magica. Aka a story driven by two dump lesbians who nearly doom the world only to save it because of their love for each other.

Fine I'll watch Raya, twist my arm why don't cha...

... Huh, that's not the reply I expected to get from this post today but, sure I'll take the win.

[hammerofglass]

Ok so I definitely thought it was more of a romance than Frozen, but Frozen was barely a meet cute. On a scale of "implied but not directly confirmed lesbian romance" with "yeah I guess I can see that" at a one and "basically canon" being a ten (Madoka Magica, Arcane) it's like a seven. Those two definitely enjoy their pre-battle flirting.

Honestly it's the same criticism I have for the whole movie: it didn't have remotely enough screentime to develop. I'm not going to say it needed to be a series but it desperately needed another half hour.

[Winter]

Ok so I definitely thought it was more of a romance than Frozen, but Frozen was barely a meet cute. On a scale of "implied but not directly confirmed lesbian romance" with "yeah I guess I can see that" at a one and "basically canon" being a ten (Madoka Magica, Arcane) it's like a seven. Those two definitely enjoy their pre-battle flirting.

Honestly it's the same criticism I have for the whole movie: it didn't have remotely enough screentime to develop. I'm not going to say it needed to be a series but it desperately needed another half hour.

What I find funny about this criticism is not only the fact that Raya and the Last Dragon is actually Disney's second longest Animated film (the longest is Fantasia at 2 hours), clocking in at about 1 hour and 37 minutes (1 hour and 47 minutes if we count the credits) so it was already pushing the limit of a Disney Animated film's runtime. I do think the film would be better served by giving more time but only about 10 or 20 minutes, not counting credits that would have the film be about 1 hour and 50 minutes, but not a full half hour. Most of the issues here come from Raya's companions and Sisu but they ARE needed but sadly they take time away from the world of Kumandra & Raya and Namaari's relationship which, again, is the real focus of the film.

I do think that this film deserves a sequel and I'm actually working on one I hope to pitch soon (video game Trilogy and I'm proud to say I've got the gameplay concepts mostly worked out and I'm writing up the story now (Wish me Luck)) because this world is honestly really interesting. And in a sequel more of these ideas set by the film have more of a chance to be fleshed out with a great focus on the Tribes, the themes and of course Raya and Namaari's relationship.

And in a game or show the chances of Rayaari becoming canon would go up because film's are limited in what can be done with LGBT characters thanks to needing to release the films in not so friendly LGBT countries like China and Russia. Here's hoping because I for one really love this movie and this relationship and I feel it has more to offer then what we were given.

[CharlesPhipps]

We also have the fact that it's now blindingly obvious from Captain Marvel and the Marvels that Carol is meant to be a lesbian in this continuity.

[hammerofglass]

Actually thinking about it you wouldn't even need more time. The baby+monkeys and everything that happens in the kingdom where they recruit them is compete filler that could have been cut and lost nothing. Sisu learns a lesson but she's rejected it by the next town anyway. That's a good fifteen minutes that could be put to better use.

[Winter]

Actually thinking about it you wouldn't even need more time. The baby+monkeys and everything that happens in the kingdom where they recruit them is compete filler that could have been cut and lost nothing. Sisu learns a lesson but she's rejected it by the next town anyway. That's a good fifteen minutes that could be put to better use.

The companions have their issues in regards to the film but it's not like they can just be gotten ride of. A major plot point and a huge part of Raya's character is about her opening up and trusting others and each member of the group all giving their piece of the Dragon Gem to Namaari is vital to her character. I will say that the bit in Talon isn't complete filler as it's were we get the next Dragon Gem, pick Noin and helps further develop the world the Kumandra. So it does contribute the story the real problem is how the film is structured.

Everything that happens in the film either helps further advance the plot or helps develops Raya and Namaari's character. The problem again comes down to the films runtime. Generally speaking a film is split into three acts and during those three acts certain events happen in a certain order.

Act 1

We're introduced to the main characters, the central themes and major plot points.

Act 2

The characters go on their journey as the themes are explored, the characters are pushed to their limit and the plot is constantly moving forward.

Act 3

The story reaches it's climax, the characters reach the conclusion of their journey and the plot wraps up.

The problem with Raya comes in the nature of the First and Second act. We're not introduced to all the characters until about an hour into the movie. This is wouldn't be a problem if, as you noted at the start, the film had a longer run time because Star Wars" Episode IV A New Hope also doesn't introduce us to most of the main characters until we're an hour into the movie but it works here because Star Wars' runtime lends gives the film the room it needs to breath because it has an extra hour to spare after the first act is done.

However, another problem comes in how RATLD is trying to present itself. The film is mainly an action film BUT it's also trying to be a more contemplative and reflective film. Notice how during certain scenes of the movie there's barely any dialogue like the Dragon Graveyard or how the music stops for a bit to allow the characters a chance to talk like Raya and Sisu's talk about how hard it is to trust people.

Again a lot of the film's problems comes from the need for a longer runtime because we need the extra time to fully develop the characters and explore the themes the film just doesn't have that.

Compare this to Encanto. The main cast is all introduced in the enter cast, the central theme and know what the plot is going to be about in 10 minutes and the first act ends at about the half hour mark. Each act of Encanto runs in at about 30 minutes each giving each act more then enough room to breath and explore the story which is helped further by the film being mainly about Mirabel with everyone else working as support. Further helping matters for Encanto is the fact the rest of the cast share screen time while Mirabel's sisters gets their own songs to explore and, in Isabella's case, resolve character arcs at least partly.

Now this works for Encanto because of the is isolated to a single area so it doesn't need a longer run time (1 hour and 30 minutes without credits). Raya however is covering an entire continent so the shorter runtime hurts the film.

Further complicating matters is the focus Namaari. She is effectively the second main character of the film, getting more screen time and development then Sisu, as I've said the film is about Raya and Namaari with Sisu as a major supporting character to further help the development of Raya and Namaari which is the case for all other characters.

It all comes back to runtime had the film been 1 hour and 50 minutes or 2 hours it likely would have given the film the room it needed to fully explore it's ideas. 1 Hour to act 1 and half an hour each to act 2 and 3 which would give Sisu and the rest of the supporting cast the time they needed help flesh their characters out while still making the film about these two dumb lesbians.