Raya and the Last Dragon - Movie Review

A lot of recent reviews I've been going through have had something to do with culture. Minari and Wind River have taught me a lot of certain cultures and I'm very, very happy that I watched and reviewed both of these movies. But I want to go back outside of America to other places, especially from Asia because I have made a number of friends from Asia, especially the Southeastern part of it. One day I'm going to visit there, try their food, and maybe get chased by monkeys there (apparently they're a dangerous pest). This week I got to explore some of their culture in a new way with Disney's newest animated film (at long last): Raya and the Last Dragon.

Raya and the Last Dragon is about the daughter of Chief Benja, Raya. When her father tries to set up a peace talk with the other tribes of Kumandra, things go wrong and an ancient evil is released upon the land. Six years later Raya is on the hunt for the last living dragon in Kumandra, Sisu. Only with her dragon magic can the land of Kumandra be saved this from awakened threat. Upon meeting Sisu she learns that she'll need the rest of the magic lost six years ago to restore balance and bring peace to Kumandra.

This film is Disney's first original film in a very long time. When I mean original I mean not based off of something from folklore or an existing property like video games and comic books. The last one I believe was Zootopia and (possibly) Moana in 2016, so almost five years. Until this film we've had so many live-action remakes and sequels and it makes me miss the older Disney films. Especially when all these live-action movies are advertised extensively while animated films are just... there. Maybe I am being a little harsh right now, but that's because I love originality and I love animation. I'm sick of the usual Disney formula and what Disney is becoming.

This is why I'm happy to say that Raya and the Last Dragon did quite a few things different from the usual Disney film. The film does have a few problems that I'll point out, but overall this was a well done film. Not just that, but Raya was mostly done during quarantine, where voice actors, animators, production, and the rest of the crew had to work from home. To put this all together in such a way after being so far apart is quite impressive and I've got to give everyone involve in this film a round of applause.

My first big positive of the film is our leading ladies: Raya (voiced by Kelly Marie Tran) and Namaari (voice by Gemma Chan). These two have great conflict with one another, it's set up early in the movie well and after the time skip we see that these two still have a rivalry with one another that works. They bounce off each other well and their clash of beliefs and strength is great! The two have some action sequences that I found exciting to watch and that were engaging in more than just a visual sense. Raya and Namaari aren't like other women from Disney, pretty and needing a man to save them, they were strong-willed and just plain strong. With that their body types were more athletic than most women in Disney films, which I really damn liked seeing because it's different!

As for a dragon of the film, Sisu... a lot of people are miffed with her design, saying it's furry dragon Elsa from Frozen. I can see where they're coming from and Awkwafina's performance as her was annoying at times. But overall I kind of liked her and what she brought to the film. I too am a little bothered by her design, but her personality and how she helps to teach Raya and the other characters of trusting one another I found to be a great. She felt more interesting than animal sidekicks in previous Disney films and she had a charm to her that almost made her a mentor to Raya. Thankfully one of my worries of this film, that she would almost entirely be in a human form, are not true for the film and she has plenty of moments with both a human and her original dragon form.

Now I feel the story is, while not bad, not the best I've seen in recent Disney films or films in general. There was just too much going on to cram into an hour and 45 minutes (including around fifteen minutes of credits). The pacing was rushed in places, with little time to really soak in what we were seeing, and there wasn't much conflict beyond Raya vs Namarri. Most of the side characters didn't get much time to really develop and it's sad because the designs and personalities of them are all unique and interesting. I feel this could have been adverted if the movie had a longer run time or better yet was a TV series instead of a movie. The start of the film builds up the world a lot, giving it life and diversifying the tribes that make up Kumandra. That was a great start. But after the time skip everything is rushed and we don't get much time to relax and take in what's going on.

With this overly-fast pacing I fear the story of Raya and the Last Dragon won't leave a lasting impression on audiences. Films that have stood the test of time have often allowed their viewers to soak in film, to let them understand the worlds, characters, and stories they create. With the pace of this movie I'm reminded of the live-action version of Avatar: The Last Airbender. Now Raya is absolutely not that bad of a film, but both are similar in how they never let the story relax and allow us to get to know the elements of the film. I wanted to learn more about the cities of each tribe, the animals, the food, and more mythology on dragons. We got some of that, but a lot less than I wanted and it mostly delivered to us through exposition by Raya instead of coming in naturally through well-paced storytelling.

Another thing I want to mention, which I don't think fits fully with this film, but something I worry about for future Disney films, is that I feel they are stuck in their formula too much. Princesses, musicals, falling for a guy, love/ positive emotional thoughts helping to win the day, etc. Raya and the Last Dragon dispenses with a good number of these things, but some elements still remain and it slightly bothers me. Though not that much honestly, I'm very happy a lot of the usual Disney tropes aren't in Raya, but for future films I want to see Disney be bolder in what they do. One thing especially I want to see is a fully evil villain that's defeated not through love or positive emotions, but pure battle. Look at older climaxes in Disney films like Prince Daniel vs dragon Maleficent in Sleeping Beauty (1959), Shere Khan vs Mowgli in The Jungle Book (1963), Merlin vs Madame Mim in The Sword in the Stone, and Mulan vs Shan Yu in Mulan (1998). Yes, the world is more morally grey than back then, but Disney needs to expand more on what they can do. Raya is a great step in that direction and I want to see more of this, and done further, in future Disney films.

The real villain of this movie, this ancient evil called the Druun, fits into this overly evil entity idea that our hero has to fight. It's a force of nature that cannot be reasoned with, that doesn't care what is in its way, and is something that cannot be controlled or contained. The way it's incorporated into the themes of the film are also well done. The film has an excellent way, even when rushed, at conveying the power of balance and truth with others and the Druun, in multiple ways, show the dangers of lacking these traits. The Druun were also kept totally mysterious, making them more of a threat than the villains in other recent Disney films. Maybe it was because I wasn't expecting a mystical villain for the film, I thought it would be more down to earth with Raya vs Namaari.

And finally the animation... It's really good. Just like any animated Disney film it's beautiful to look at. But what does this movie do more of than other Disney animated movies? To me I think it's the visual effects throughout the film and the action that really went beyond the normal animated film. I mentioned earlier the fights between Raya and Namaari, but all of them are fluid, full of motion and life. Every part of the characters' bodies were moving and at times it reminded me of the action movies Jackie Chan starred in like Rush Hour, where he used everything around him to heighten what was happening on screen. The fights had deeper meaning to the characters involved, but they also really worked on a visual level.

Raya and the Last Dragon is a step in the right direction for Disney. It's a bit of a shaky step, but it has a number of things I really liked that payed off. It's got two great leading characters, fantastic visuals, and strong action. But it also had a rushed story and short runtime, which limited what it could show on the screen. That I think is why I am seeing a lot of people not happy with the film. Even so I think Raya and the Last Dragon is worth watching because it's do new things that I, and plenty of other people, want Disney to start doing more.

Tentative Score: 7.75/10

Definitive Score: 6.75/10

Now Disney has to fix it so people in Southeast Asia can actually watch this film, which was inspired by their own culture. The fact that this isn't (currently) available at the start for them is insulting and ridiculous. Disney, give Southeast Asia access to Disney Plus dang it!