Raya and The Last Dragon – Movie Review

So, I sat down and watched Disney’s latest release ‘Raya and the Last Dragon’ which is visually beautiful and wonderfully animated. It’s clear that Disney has been taking tips from Pixar and it’s paying off. Directed by Don Hall and Carlos Lopez Estrada while John Ripa and Paul Briggs co-directed, ‘Raya and the Last Dragon’ may be doomed to the confines of Disney obscurity because it was released to selected cinemas and to Disney+. The lack of box office publicity could harm the level of recognition this movie deserves as the first Southeast Asian Disney princess makes her debut appearance. However, it is quite possible for Raya to reach the level of popularity of Moana and Tiana because of the wonderful acting of Kelly Marie Tran who works spectacularly well with Awkwafina, who voices Sisu. Personally, I’m hoping that Raya makes a lasting impression and I’m going to do my best not to spoil the plot as I review this for you, so here we go!

The general gist of the story is that many years after the division of Kumandra,  Benja, the chief of Heart (one of the five lands that was once part of Kumandra), invites the people of the other lands to a feast in an effort to reunite Kumandra and restore its former glory. However, Raya is betrayed during this diplomatic effort and the dragon gem, the last reminder of the sacrifice made by the dragons to protect Kumandra, is broken and each land steals a piece which unleashes the Druun back into the world. As the Druun, a mindless plague, begin to turn the citizen of the lands into stone statues, Raya begins her quest to find the last dragon and rid the world of the Druun and restore some semblance of peace to the world.

Though parts of the story seem clunky and the general repetition of ‘go to a place, get a gem piece and collect a random person to create your motley crew to move forward’ does limit the level of surprise the story can provide, I am not the target audience for this movie and the story doesn’t linger and drag which will definitely keep little people interested. Plot points are somewhat spelled out at times but again this isn’t aimed at people like me. Of course, by this stage, no Disney princess origin story is complete without two things: 1) A cute animal sidekick and 2) Alan Tudyk; honestly, the man is in every popular Disney princess movie lately. So ‘where is Alan Tudyk in this cast of characters?’ you ask. He is the voice of the cute animal sidekick and noble steed, Tuk Tuk, who looks like an armadillo but is fuzzy underneath his shell. So, essentially, Tuk Tuk is a cute, adorable ATV. This time around there is no love interest in the story because this story doesn’t need a love interest, it’s teaching kids a different kind of lesson. Besides, we all learned from Elsa that “You can’t marry a man you just met” and it seems that Disney is following through on that lesson.

Honestly, Awkwafina was a perfect cast as the optimistic, somewhat naive Sisu while Kelly Marie Tran balances that optimism with the strength and vulnerability of Raya who was betrayed early in the movie which naturally inhibits her ability to trust others. The pair work exceedingly well together and at times it feels like Awkwafina was ad libbing and Tran’s level headedness as Raya was the perfect foil. Namaari, Raya’s adversary and fellow princess, is voiced by Gemma Chan who creates a character that is relentless and willing to do anything to protect her land and people but who is also exceptionally smart and sympathetic. The cast is rounded out by Daniel Dae Kim as Raya’s father: Chief Benja, Sandra Oh as Namaari’s mother: Virana, Benedict Wong as the one eyed warrior but actual softie: Tong, Izaac Wang as mini chef and captain of the boat: Boun, and Thalia Tran as the con baby (I kid you not!) Noi.

Each land featured in the plot was intrinsically different and easily identifiable with varying colour schemes and settings and hugely differing atmospheres. Design was never an issue in this movie except in one key area. I will admit that my immediate thought when I saw Sisu’s design was ‘It’ll be great for marketing.’ The huge eyes and a fuzzy pastel blue/purple mane will appeal hugely to kids but my initial reaction to the design overall was ‘It’s Elsa as a dragon.’ It bothered me that Disney could find no other way to convey that a dragon was female than by having its eyes take up at least a third of its face and throw a pastel colour palette at it and see what sticks. But that’s not the point of the movie.

Like every good Disney movie, Raya and the Last Dragon seeks to convey a message which, this time around, is one of unity, trust and forgiveness. In order to save Raya’s father and the land formerly known as Kumandra, Raya and Namaari, our two central characters, must unite all the pieces of the broken dragon gem. Overall, Raya and the Last Dragon was a good movie though the plot was unsurprising to mature Disney viewers. It encourages the question: Is it what we actually believe or what we are told to believe that is dividing us? The film centers around trusting people while trying to keep your prejudices from influencing how you treat people but a key aspect of the story is forgiving people who have wronged you in the past. Visually beautiful and quick paced, Raya and the Last Dragon is a good movie and definitely worth a watch to appreciate the gorgeous artwork of Disney’s latest release.