The evolution of Asian leads in American animated films since the 2010s
I've noticed an uptick in Asian leads for American animated films over the past decade. To specify:
Hiro Hamada ("Big Hero 6," 2014) is half-Japanese, half-white, and lives in an alternate universe where California (specifically San Francisco) was heavily influenced by Japanese culture due to immigration.
Yi ("Abominable," 2019) is Chinese and lives in Shanghai.
Fei Fei ("Over the Moon," 2020) is Chinese, and her film draws on Chinese mythology.
Raya ("Raya and the Last Dragon," 2021) is from a fictional land influenced by Southeast Asia (specifically Laos, Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, and the Philippines).
Din Song ("Wish Dragon," 2021) is Chinese and lives in Shanghai.
Meilin Lee ("Turning Red," 2022) is a Canadian girl of Chinese descent.
Ember ("Elemental," 2023) isn't human, but since the director of "Elemental" is Korean and based it on his experience as the son of immigrants in NYC and Ember's VA is of Asian descent, I count her.
Kenji Sato ("Ultraman: Rising," 2024) is Japanese.
Rumi ("Kpop Demon Hunters," 2025) is Korean. While her father is a demon, the culture/world he comes from is Korean, so IDK if she counts as mixed from an ethnic perspective.
Stevie Ting and Elliott Ting ("In Your Dreams," 2025) are Americans with an Asian father. IDK what his ethnicity is, but since his VA is of Chinese descent, I'm guessing they're half-Chinese.
Mabel Tanaka ("Hoppers," 2026) is an American girl of Japanese descent.
Aang ("The Legend of Aang: The Last Airbender," 2026) is from a world influenced by South Asian, East Asian, Southeast Asian, and Native American cultures, with the specific culture he comes from being inspired by the monks of Tibet. I know he's originally from a 2000s tv show, but it felt wrong not to count him.
Jo and Raissa ("Forgotten Island," 2026) are Filipina.
While "Ultraman: Rising," "Over the Moon," "Abominable," and "Wish Dragon" were co-produced by Asian companies, they were still co-produced by major American animation companies (Netflix Animation and Dreamworks), I still count them. I think someone also mentioned that Billie from Disney's upcoming "Hexed" is Filipina, but that may just be because her VA has some Filipino ancestry. Gotta wait to see if that's true.
Also something I hadn't paid attention to before: someone mentioned on Twitter that out of the SEA rep we get in western animation (both films and TV shows), Filipinos usually get the most attention. What other ethnicities would you like to see from SEA depicted in animation, specifically animated films? Vietnam, Singapore, and Thailand come to mind for me.
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