Four Vietnamese artists will appear in the upcoming Vietnamese film Raya and The Last Dragon.
As the new animated film by Walt Disney Animation Studios, the film is inspired by Southeast Asian countries, about Raya – a brave warrior woman living in the land of Kumandra, carrying her quest to find the last dragon together to prevent the bad forces trying to invade the kingdom.
Kelly Marie Tran voiced Raya
The main character of the film is voiced by Vietnamese-born actress Kelly Marie Tran. She was born in 1989, is currently residing in San Diego and has Vietnamese parents.
Before joining the voice of the film, the actress was known for her role as Rose Tico in two hit movies: Star Wars: The Last Jedi (2017) and Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker (2019). In addition, she also participated in the voiceover for the cartoon The Croods: A New Age (2020) and the upcoming Monster at Work series (2021).
Although she is a famous actress in Hollywood, the actress born in 1989 has frankly expressed in The New York Times: “I was the first woman of color to play a leading role in a part of the Star Wars franchise. I was the first Asian woman on the cover of Vanity Fair magazine. My real name is Loan and my story is just beginning. ”
Thalia Tran voiced Little Noi
In the movie, Little Noi is a 2-year-old girl, lost from her family and raised by the Ongis tribe. She leads a group of children who specialize in deceiving passers-by at the Talon harbor.
This character is voiced by Thalia Tran. She is a Vietnamese actress of generation Z in Hollywood today.
In 2019, she caught the attention of a supporting role in the movie project Little (2019). In addition, the actress also appeared in the series Council of Dads, which was released last year.
Patti Harrison voiced Tail Chief
While Tail Chief is a small role in the film, it means a lot to Patti Harrison because she is the first transgender actress to voice an animated film. Patti is the youngest of seven children with an American father and a Vietnamese mother. Right from college, she decided to transgender and pursue her passion for acting.
In 2018, Patti Harrison acted in A Simple Favor (2018) alongside two stars Anna Kendrick and Blake Lively. After that, she became more famous when she took the lead role in the comedy series Shrill (2019).
The actress also left a mark when she starred with Ed Helms in the independent film Together Together (2021) premiered at the Sundance Film Festival.
Screenwriter Quy Nguyen
Quy Nguyen is a talented screenwriter of Vietnamese origin in areas such as cinema, television and theater. He used to be a student of the screenwriter training program organized by Marvel Studios.
His works include Dispatches from Elsewhere (2020) starring Jason Segel and Andre 3000, The Society (2019), Incorporated (2016) or animated film Peg + Cat (2013). He and his team also won the Daytime Emmy Awards in 2016 with Peg + Cat.
Sharing about the filmmaking process, the talented screenwriter said he wanted to focus on sisu – the legendary water dragon because he thinks it is a symbol of luck, a sign of strength for the East Asians.
The film was written by screenwriter Quy Nguyen and Adele Lim – Malaysian-American screenwriter, who adapted the novel Crazy Rich Asians on the big screen in 2018.