Raya and the last dragon (2021) Review
“If we don’t stop and learn to trust one another again, it’s only a matter of time before we tear each other apart.”
There’s a lot that Disney gets right with Raya and the Last Dragon. The thing is — it’s nothing they haven’t gotten right before. Feeling as if it’s a retread of past animated endeavors — Raya and the Last Dragon at least somewhat breathes new life into its story with gorgeous animation, setpieces, and a strong titular lead voiced by Kelly Marie-Tran.
Through a hefty amount of exposition, the story world is introduced to the viewers in a pretty stale manner of narration; though it isn’t terribly done, even in family movies, it feels lazy. With a movie already this beautifully animated, I would rather see more than have it told to me. The “lore” itself feels pretty standard as well though it’s entertaining enough to be exploring this kind of “epic” storytelling through the lens of an animated blockbuster. Though, as usual with many recent Disney endeavors, “safety” can be its downfall as well. If anything, I would have wished this film to be forty-five minutes longer because though it tells the initial story it wants to tell, it feels like wasted potential to not simmer in this wonderfully crafted world for longer.
The story begins with the land Kumandra being invaded by the Druun, dark magic entities that steal the life force from beings and turn them to stone. In order to stop this, the dragons of Kumandra use their power to create a magical orb and stop this dark force — destroying themselves in the process. Now, centuries later, Kumandra has split into five nations and each holds a piece of the orb so it’s up to Raya to reunite the orb and nations alike. Kelly Marie Tran does a fantastic job at voicing Raya and is easily likeable; once again though I just wish we had more time to get to know the character before jumping heavily into the main narrative. A perfect example of this in a Family Movie is in Pixar’s masterpiece, Wall-E, where viewers are introduced to the loveable robot in the middle of his usual day before his life is completely interrupted. We see he is a simple, yet caring, robot in these early moments and it affects the entire lens in which we view the movie afterwards. In Raya and the Last Dragon, there is never a moment that takes a break and every emotion you are supposed to feel is fed to you. Though not a bad film by any regards, I don’t think it lives up to its potential entirely either and doesn’t push the boundaries of what it could be.
As the story progresses, we get to meet Raya’s ragtag group of miscreants — each from a different nation with the addition of Sifu (Awkwafina), the dragon she brings back to life. These side characters add a lot more fun and humor in the film — which feel like a good balance while Raya is taking everything much more seriously. All the characters feel energetic and playful — especially the bandit baby and her trio of monkey thieves. It’s all in good fun but the pacing feels as if it would have felt more comfortable being an animated series as we jump from nation to nation with a subplot in each. The action throughout is really well done and seeing a Disney animated film tackle more intricately choreographed scenes really pays off; though it definitely feels uncoincidentally inspired by newer Star Wars at times.
The story obviously concludes with a happy ending with the world returning to its former state — this time with all the nations in total harmony with one another. The moment before we get here though, Raya’s “nemesis” is the one who needs to let go of her ego and choose to do the right thing in order to save the world. It’s rare to see this “hero” trait passed off from the lead in a family movie like this but instead of exploring the theme of morality it touches upon here — it ends up masking itself with a blatantly underdeveloped theme of “unity”; feeling like the safe way out again. But, once again, complaining about the themes in a Disney animated movie feels irrelevant as well.
Overall, the film is an absolute visual delight with an energetic range of voice actors to back it up. Though the story feels “tired” — seeing it told through Asian inspired setpieces/art design definitely allows it to stand tall amongst other animated features right now. Seeing this kind of representation in all forms of media is always a positive in the industry and it’s great seeing studios taking this into account. If it’s worth anything, I think the world of Raya and the Last Dragon is one with a lot of potential and allowing the viewer to be a part of it, instead of just the journey, would have benefited this epic animated romp. Maybe in the sequel?
