Raya and the Last Dragon finally comes into its own at the climax, offering some "okay, that's different and inspired" plot beats and a (temporarily) unconventional resolution that plays into the overriding themes at play. Now it's the by-default event movie of the moment and expected to be all things to all demographics. Moreover, in a less monoculture environment, Raya would be one gorgeously-animated three-star kid's toon that succeeded in entertaining the adults as well. Had I seen this in a theater as intended, I may have been slightly more forgiving of the adherence to no harm/no foul franchise-friendly formula. Part of my indifference comes from how spoiled we've been both in terms of jaw-dropping animation and comparatively serious-minded animated fare. My nine-year-old enjoyed himself while my 13-year-old echoed my moderate nitpicks and complaints. However, Disney still seems afraid to make an action drama at least as violent, intense and thematically potent as, say, Gargoyles, which safely aired on afternoon television 25 years ago. There are many "fierce" gif-friendly poses. Likewise, the action works except for how it avoids any injury or consequence. The more dramatic/adventurous moments concurrently feel like a loose approximation of what that 2000 Disney comedy was supposed to be back when it was the far more serious Kingdom of the Sun. I will note that, commercial cynicism aside, the humor often plays closest to The Emperor's New Groove (yes, that's a compliment). In a vacuum, these characters both offer potent comedy and examples of those left behind to mourn the "dead" (actually temporarily turned to stone), but I couldn't help but think of each of these folks hosting their portion of the Kumada attraction (including Boun's Shrimporium). Along with the dragon and the childhood rival, we meet an orphaned baby who has turned to crime (Thalia Tran), a ten-year-old chef (Izaac Wang) and a desperately lonely strongman (Benedict Wong). Still, the extent to which Awkwafina's Sisu shames Raya for not trusting the woman who broke the world is frankly skewed.Īs befits future sequels or episodic Disney+ shows, Raya encounters colorful allies on each step of the journey, each from one of the five separated lands. Raya and Namaari have a flirtatiously adversarial relationship that will inspire think pieces and slash fic. That would be Namaari (Gemma Chan), a warrior princess of the Fang Land and the woman who (as we see in the prologue) befriended and betrayed a young Raya with world-changing consequences. The notion of trusting someone who may be your enemy is a valid one, even if Raya is continuously shamed for being suspicious of the one person who caused the horrific circumstances in the first place. The notion that nobody trusts each other is somewhat countered by how reasonable most friends and foes turn out to be in this hero's journey. Moreover, the journey to reunite the broken pieces of the Dragon gem or whatever it's called is almost too easy, to the point where it's inexplicable that the folks involved didn't briefly work together to save the proverbial day, right when the initial disaster occurred. Raya and the Last Dragon features an outstanding voice cast, including Kelly Marie Tran as the voice of the intrepid warrior Raya Awkwafina as the legendary dragon, Sisu Gemma Chan as Raya's nemesis, Namaari Daniel Dae Kim as Raya's visionary father, Benja Sandra Oh as Namaari's powerful mother, Virana Benedict Wong as Tong, a formidable giant Izaac Wang as Boun, a 10-year-old entrepreneur Thalia Tran as the mischievous toddler Little Noi Alan Tudyk as Tuk Tuk, Raya's best friend and trusty steed Lucille Soong as Dang Hu, the leader of the land of Talon Patti Harrison as the chief of the Tail land and Ross Butler as chief of the Spine land.Without going into details, I was impressed at the film's ability to tell what a post-apocalyptic tragedy without the body count yet disinvested in the emotional stakes by the explicitly temporary nature of the carnage. However, along her journey, she'll learn that it'll take more than a dragon to save the world-it's going to take trust and teamwork as well. Now, 500 years later, that same evil has returned and it's up to a lone warrior, Raya, to track down the legendary last dragon to restore the fractured land and its divided people. But when an evil force threatened the land, the dragons sacrificed themselves to save humanity.
Raya and the Last Dragon takes us on an exciting, epic journey to the fantasy world of Kumandra, where humans and dragons lived together long ago in harmony.