Walt Disney Animation Studios has released an official trailer for their upcoming fantasy film Raya and the Last Dragon. The story follows warrior-princess Raya (Kelly Marie Tran), as fierce monsters known as the Druun attack her home. Centuries ago, dragons fought the Druun, sacrificing themselves to destroy the threat. Now that that threat has returned, Raya must find Sisu (Awkwafina), the “last dragon”, and convince her to save humanity.
The MPAA issued Raya a PG rating, a fairly predictable outcome for the Disney adventure. Their description of it mentions “violence, action, and thematic elements,” so at least it’s thrill-heavy, but not graphic … right? After all, while Disney may have made plenty of PG-13 films, their animated output is strictly all-ages. They have a reputation to uphold. But no, according to the directors, Raya could have been an R-rated film.
The two minds behind Raya and the Last Dragon belong to Don Hall and Carlos López Estrada. Hall was the director of Disney’s Big Hero 6, for which he won an Academy Award. Estrada’s main claim to fame is the R-rated feature Blindspotting, although he’s also directing Disney’s Robin Hood remake. In an interview with Empire (via comicbook.com), the pair said (somewhat jokingly) that Raya could have received an R-rating for violence. Notably, they mentioned that “there is a cut of the movie with broken bones and stuff” just sitting around somewhere. However serious they are about that, it wouldn’t be the first time. Disney has actually been in a very similar situation before with their film The Black Cauldron.
In 1985, Disney released their fantasy film The Black Cauldron into theaters. It cost them $40 million to make, more than anyone had spent on an animated film up to that point. To make matters worse, the film made back just under half its budget at the box office. It was an event that called the studio’s future into question, and would eventually lead to their renaissance. But why did The Black Cauldron perform so poorly compared to Disney Animation’s previous releases?
One of the main reasons it didn’t draw in audiences was its dark tone, which didn’t bode well with children. And because of “some scary images,” it was the first Disney Animation film that the MPAA gave a PG rating. But it could have been worse: according to Slate, more than 10 minutes of the film’s “goriest” footage was cut. It’s entirely possible that The Black Cauldron could have earned an R rating, had Disney left those deleted scenes intact.
Other films have met with the same problem when attempting to push the boundaries of children’s entertainment. Even the original cut of 2002’s Scooby-Doo couldn’t escape that dreaded R rating. According to writer James Gunn, this was all because of “one stupid joke the MPAA misinterpreted.” Still, many changes had to be made to give the film a more “family-friendly” feel before sending it back. In the end, it earned the desired PG rating and ended up making more than $275 million worldwide.
But even though the original cut had adult moments, the makers of Scooby-Doo clearly intended to make a family film. That’s why the MPAA’s strict rules are a bit of a double-edged sword. On one hand, the rules keep filmmakers from sneaking inappropriate content into kids’ movies. But given the right circumstances, even a film like Raya could run afoul of the rating system’s standards. And that raises an even more interesting question: was making an R-rated Raya a missed opportunity for Disney?
R-rated movies have flourished in recent years. In 2019, Joker became the first R-rated movie to make more than $1 billion dollars. And though the golden age of adult animation may have passed, the genre is still very much alive. In the last few years, successful animated films have been the ones that aren’t afraid to take risks. The crass comedy Sausage Party made more than $100 million. Charlie Kaufman’s stop-motion experiment Anomalisa ranks as one of the best-rated animated movies ever on Rotten Tomatoes. And an adult-oriented fantasy film, made by Disney Animation? It might not end up becoming the next Lion King, but it could definitely work.
One of the biggest plusses for Disney is that they have such a talented animation team. Imagine if the titans that made Frozen and Zootopia decided to create their own version of Game of Thrones. The character designs alone would be enough to make it worth checking out. Another spot where the R-rating could improve things is the action. Raya is packed with action sequences. If Disney wasn’t stuck with a PG rating, imagine how much more intense the film could be.
An R-rated film would also give Disney the chance to deal with mature concepts more seriously. They tried this already with The Hunchback of Notre Dame, but ended up holding themselves back to secure the G-rating. And Hunchback hardly needed Disney’s patent one-liners or goofy sidekicks; they were just part of the formula. If the studio was truly uninhibited, who knows what they could create.
Ultimately, Disney Animation is in the business of providing entertainment that both parents and kids can enjoy. There’s nothing wrong with that; many of their G-rated films are bona fide masterpieces. It’s nice to consider what could occur if they did decide to eventually make an R-rated film. Until then, however, there’ll always be shows like Rick & Morty and Samurai Jack to scratch that itch.
Raya and the Last Dragon will release in theaters and on Disney+ Premier Access on March 5th.
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