Straight off the bat, I want to let everyone know that I am a huge fan of Kelly Marie Tran’s Rose Tico from Star Wars: The Last Jedi and Awkwafina’s work in Ocean’s Eight, Crazy Rich Asians, and The Farewell. So, I was excited to watch/hear them in Disney’s Raya and the Last Dragon from the moment I saw the teaser. Luckily enough, I got my hands on an early viewing of the movie (And I absolutely loved it, FYI) and, drumrolls please, I got to sit down virtually with Kelly and Awkwafina for a little chat about the movie!
In a live-action movie, you’re able to get into the skin of the character quite physically. But what was the process for doing it via voice-acting? And was there any specific moment that clicked for you and you became Raya and Sisu?
Kelly Marie Tran: “Woah! That’s a really good question! [laughs]”
Awkwafina: “Wow! That’s a really good question. The skin of a character. I really like that!”
Kelly Marie Tran: “Yeah! It’s definitely different. Also, because of COVID, we were sort of indoors, in specific spaces, while making this movie. But I’ll say that for me, I think that the process, in the beginning, is sort of similar [to live-action movies], in that I always feel like I am trying to find some commonality as my way into a character. And a lot of that work sort of feels the same. The sad part is that I am watching this movie and I am like, ‘Man, I wish I could’ve done all those stunts’. I wish I could’ve actually done all those things [laughs]. But yes, it’s definitely different.”
Awkwafina: “One thing that I liked about what you said is that when you’re playing a live-action character, you are kind of confined to that dimensionality. When you’re playing something as big as Sisu, you are kind of given the ability to get into that skin. There were lots of points in the character, while I was playing it, I felt big! I felt powerful. And I felt like I could do things that I can’t normally do as a human. It was a really cool feeling. I think you summed it up really well.”
Kelly Marie Tran: “I love that. And I also think that you’re big and powerful.”
Awkwafina: “Awww! Thank you! Hopefully not thirty feet high and a couple of tons [laughs].”
What were some of the most fun and the most difficult scenes that you got to do in Raya and the Last Dragon?
[contemplative pause from both]
Kelly Marie Tran: “I think the difficult ones are always, in animation, not being able to understand the specifics of what’s going on in something like an action scene or a fight scene. Because you’re just doing grunts.”
Awkwafina: “[echoes] Grunts.”
[both laugh]
Kelly Marie Tran: “And not knowing the context of where that grunt is gonna go.”
Awkwafina: “[laughs] Right! Right!”
Kelly Marie Tran: “I remember like pretending to wield a sword and being like [literally pretends to swing a sword while grunting and laughing].”
Awkwafina: “[laughing] I had to walking grunts! And I was like, ‘Oh man! Oh! Really?’ [makes some walking grunt sounds]. Yeah, it’s an awkward thing. I had trouble with growling. With roaring. But unfortunately and fortunately with my voice, the growls are actually feasible [laughs].”
On a slightly tangential note, I want to say that Kelly Marie Tran and Awkwafina are two of the coolest and friendliest celebrities I have talked to out of all the interviews I have done in the past year (Yes, I have been doing interviews for just one year now). I mean, these are big stars. Probably two of the biggest international stars I have talked to, yet. And as soon as I talked to them and watched them interact with the rest of the press, they exuded so much warmth and charm, that I couldn’t help myself from rooting for them (In life, in general, and in their professional sphere). On top of that, Raya and the Last Dragon is a damn good movie and they’re great in it. So, it’s what we Indians call a sone pe suhaga situation going on here, and I can’t wait to watch the movie again and I hope everyone watches it and enjoys it too!
Cover artwork by Bhavya Poonia/Mashable India
