My Movie Review on Raya and the Last Dragon · 12:50am Oct 15th, 2021
Yo, what's up, Kemosabes?
This is your friendly film, TV show, and episode reporter here with another review.
Today, for the 3rd analysis of my "Spook Spectacular", I'm gonna give you guys my take of Disney's "Raya and the Last Dragon".
Here's the rundown of this tale:
Long ago, in the fantasy world of Kumandra, humans and dragons lived together in harmony. However, when sinister monsters called the Druun threatened the land, the dragons sacrificed themselves to save humanity by storing their magic in a gem. In an act of trust, they hand the gem to a dragon named Sisu so that she could wield it and banish the Druun, ultimately making her the last dragon in existence.
Despite Sisu's success at getting rid of the Druun, though, Kumandra's people became distrustful of each other after they started fighting over the gem. Especially to the point of where they split up into five tribes: Fang, Talon, Heart, Spine, and Tail, with the Heart tribe being the one who ultimately claimed the gem.
500 years later, a fierce and courageous warrior princess from the Heart tribe named Raya revives Sisu to ask for her help. Apparently, during Sisu's extended slumber after saving the world, the gem was unwittingly broken during a fight between the tribes, which allowed the Druun to return and takeover the land. The good news is that Raya still has one piece of the gem with her. The bad news is that the gem's other four pieces are each in other separate parts of Kumandra. Separately guarded by the other four tribes, of course.
Realizing that the only way they can fix this mess is to put the gem back together, Raya and Sisu go on a quest throughout Kumandra to find the other pieces and defeat the Druun for good. Along the way, the two of them meet the most unlikely of allies.
I wasn't originally intending on reviewing "Raya and the Last Dragon" this year. But, I later decided to do so based on my desire to check out "My Little Pony: A New Generation", mainly because I had a feeling I was gonna be making a lot of comparison notes between the two films in my review of the latter.
The first time I saw this movie was a few months ago, which was not long after it became available for free on Disney+. In preparation for reviewing it, though, I watched the film a 2nd time so that I'd be sure about what I think of it.
So, what do I officially think of "Raya and the Last Dragon" in words?
I really can't lie, this movie was awesome with a capital 'A'!
For instance, the direction by Don Hall, Carlos Lopez Estrada, Paul Briggs, and John Ripa, the story by them, Adele Lim, Qui Nguyen, Kiel Murray, and Dean Wellins, and the screenplay by Lim and Nguyen, were fantastic!
One of my favorite things about this movie were its themes about friendship, trust, prejudice, and unity. The messages and morals revolving around those elements were nicely done too. In every way, the problems that the characters were facing reflected the struggles that we as people have in the fallen world we live in, and the way the filmmakers incorporated them didn't have any sense of political-leaning. It really did feel like they were wanting to show how important friendship was and why people shouldn't isolate themselves from others, and in a time where people are constantly being pressured by pompous figureheads into not even leaving their own homes...well, this movie struck home with what it was teaching.
The greatest thing about the film's theme on trust is this: The filmmakers were showing that trust isn't something that can be given willy-nilly. It needed to be earned.
For example, when Raya was trying to befriend Namaari in the beginning only to be double-crossed by her, it showed that we shouldn't put our trust in someone right away, let alone someone we meet for the first time. When Raya and Sisu befriended Boun, Tong, and Little Noi, though, the three new friends worked to earn the trust of Raya, Sisu, and each other. The latter thing I mentioned is an important part of forming friendships, and it was nice to see Disney wanting to address that. The reasons for why Raya was hesitant to trust the three were likewise quite valid, and they certainly weren't exaggerated either.
The rest of the aspects in the direction and story were excellent as well.
Based on how difficult the development process must've been and the changes that were made, I could tell that the filmmakers were determined to make this movie a wonderful thing to see. And that they were highly committed to it, of course.
Despite this movie not being an all-out comedy, the film team incorporated witty and humorous moments that were undeniably entertaining, such as the jokes revolving around Sisu. The comedic side of the movie also helped the tone be evenly balanced, in that it provided a lightheartedness that can help audiences relax from the dramatic and tension-filled moments. Speaking of drama, that element was well-worked every step of the way, and the movie contained heart and emotion that was undeniably soul-tugging. The backstory revolving around Kumandra's division provided a great understanding of the overall situations at hand, if I may add.
In addition to this, the animation was astonishing!
I loved how the animators brought out the textures of the characters, clothes, and environments. The movie was also one of the most colorful of Disney's animated features, and the animation used to create water was beautiful. Considering the fact that this was Disney's first animated feature to be made during the COVID-19 Pandemic, which is a time where animators often had to work from their homes, the results of the team's work on this movie was so good it was worthy of an Academy Award. There were no signs at all that the pandemic affected the process, and the visuals looked like they were actually created with a greater amount of technology than anticipated.
The voice acting, casting, characters, and character development were fantastic as well.
Having been aware of the criticism towards the cast not being Southeast Asian, I really must say that I can't understand the reasons for it. With the exception of Alan Tudyk (who provided the animal vocals of Tuk Tuk), every cast member was of Asian descent and heritage! I mean, come on! They're all Asian performers, so why does it matter what region they came from?
In my opinion, people shouldn't constantly concern themselves with casting for an animated character based on race or ethnicity. What really matters is finding the right person whose voice can give their character texture and enable them to be fully-realized, and in animation people can play anyone no matter the race or gender. "Raya and the Last Dragon" is no exception to this sort of thing, because the cast members played their parts with incredible personality, wit, and emotion. They sounded like they were having loads of fun, and any piece of dialogue they had was transformed into a memorable quote thanks to their performances.
If I had to pick what my favorite performances were, it'd be Kelly Marie Tran as Raya, Awkwafina as Sisu, Benedict Wong as Tong, and Izaac Wang as Boun. Thalia Tran was likewise awesome in the role of Little Noi, even if she merely provided baby sounds.
The characters themselves were welcoming additions to the Disney family, if I may add. Each of them had a quality and personality that helped them instantly standout, and the developments the characters were having as the movie progressed proved to be extremely powerful. On top of that, they drove the story like they were the beating heart of it, which made it one of the most impressively character-driven stories around. Even the Druun were undeniably important elements to the plot, despite them being more of a dark force rather than classical antagonists.
And I gotta be honest about this, Sisu was one of the best Disney comic reliefs to have been brought into the world recently. Her sense of humor and comedic-timings were entertaining, and she's so lovable that I can't help but want to hug her every time I see or think about her. Sisu's contributions to the story and messages also helped her part be one of importance. Especially to the point of where she's not just a comic relief. Plus, Raya was the most complex Disney Princess yet, and she was not only beautiful without trying to be but constantly proved herself to be a fresh addition to the lineup.
Finally, the music by James Newton Howard was magnificent.
Ever since I found out that Howard was gonna compose for this movie, I got excited because I was interested in seeing him compose for a new animated Disney film for quite a while. Once I saw the movie, I wasn't disappointed by Howard's work in the slightest. His score carried a sense of human emotionality and depth, and the way it reflected the feelings and personalities of the characters and matched the Asian-based landscape and world was breathtakingly beautiful. Everything about the music also reminded me of why James Newton Howard is one of my favorite composers, and how much of a great combination he and Disney make.
In conclusion, "Raya and the Last Dragon" is truly one of the best animated features to be made and releasing during the COVID-19 Pandemic, as well as a wonderful new member of Disney's filmography. It has meaningful themes and messages, spectacular storytelling, brilliant characters, everything!
So, I rate "Raya and the Last Dragon" a solid five out of five stars.
I watched it, and it's pretty good. Sure, it is cliched, but even so, it's so well-written as the worldbuilding is a metaphor for the ecosystem, where dragons are the apex predators and keystone species of this world, while the Drunn are portrayed as the consequences of mankind's sin, and served as humanity's biggest predators, yet the dragons use their magic to destroy them in order to restore balance. If you have heard of the wolves and the beavers at Yellowstone, that might be the case, because without either of them, the environment would proliferate out of control.
I'm not going to lie: I liked the graphics and the soundtracks (features expected from Disney's animation). The voice cast were pretty good, each actor played the characters as it should be.
My problem with the movie - and it's my own oppinion - is the plot. I felt it was unoriginal and somehow a content very, very, very familiar with 'Avatar: The Last Airbender'. Long ago a friend told me once "The special effects, music and graphics of a movie are of no use if the main plot lacks solidity and conviction", and I believe that is the major flaw about 'Raya and the Last Dragon'.
5596043
True. They do have a certain similarity in terms of the landscape and world.
Of course, for me what really counts is the story and how Disney went about the film as a whole, and I think they did a great job doing that.
You review of this film encourages me to watch it.
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Fair enough. I hope Disney production team learns and improves their storylines in order to get more A+ films.
Has to say this movie was great to watch and when I saw the trailer with my mom she was excited to watch it
agreed 5 out of 5!!
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Of course.
I’d love to have a request from you.
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I’ll see what I can do.
5596404
By that time, no.
But, I’ll see what I can do about posting a review sometime in 2021.
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Of course.
I remember how some people were miffed that a bunch of the voices in Kubo and the Two-Strings were Asian. While the main cast weren't, quite a few other characters were, some by even prominent ones.