Film
Due to Pandemic is the first Classic to be released simultaneously in cinemas and streamed on Disney+. A journey through Kumandra, a fantasy kingdom inspired by many Southeast Asian nations and where humans and dragons once lived in harmony. The story is that of Raya, who embarks on this journey to make up for a mistake she made as a young girl, when betrayed by her friend Namaari, in an attempt to steal the dragon gem she was guardian of, she destroys it and ends up unleashing the monstrous Druun, a terrible scourge capable of turning people to stone. Six years later, in a world now torn apart and consumed by mistrust, Raya tries to put the pieces of the gem back together by travelling one by one through the five kingdoms that make up Kumandra. As in a video game quest, each of these settings will have to offer a fragment of the gem, a short adventure and a new ally, rebuilding in small steps that sense of unity and brotherhood that seemed now unattainable. With the figure of Druun, who with his multiplying victim after victim appears strikingly similar to a virus, the film unwittingly speaks its mind at a time in history when distance, prejudice and division seem to be predominant even though it was in the works long before the pandemic.
Art
The imaginary world of Kumandra is threatened by Druun, an evil spirit who spreads rapidly in the form of ominous purple clouds, turning everything he touches into stone. Or into terracotta? In 1974 as many as 10,000 terracotta warriors were found in Lintong in Shaanxi near the Mausoleum of Qin Shihuangdi. Their faces were different from each other, as if they were real people who had been victims of Druun's passage. They are statues slightly taller than real, ranging between 1.80 and 2 metres, and are flanked by wooden chariots and horses (over 500). The racial types are also different, testifying to the emperor's dominance over the people of the vast territory. Equipped with full military equipment, archers, foot soldiers, charioteers and horsemen possessed weapons of excellent material and sharp blades. A true terracotta army that was commissioned by the first Chinese emperor to accompany him in his life beyond death, so that he would not be alone in the huge mausoleum in which he was buried.
External links
Guarda Raya and the last dragon on Disney+
The artwork:
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