Since 1992
Print and digital marketing
Raya and the Last Dragon
(Walt Disney Pictures)
By Lucas Allen
With DreamWorks wiping its hands clean of the “How to Train Your Dragon” franchise, it’s Disney’s turn to try to deepen their money pockets further by creating their dragon-based adventure on their own. In all seriousness, “Raya and the Last Dragon” offers a fun adventure with lessons in both friendship and trust. It also delivers on the studio’s highest quality in their animation, which is very impressive considering that much like Soul, much of it was finished during the 2020 lockdown.
The peaceful nation of Kumandra had been shattered 500 years before by evil shadowy monsters known as the Druun, who turns humans into stone. After that, a group of magical dragons sacrificed themselves by using a special gem that held the dark creatures back. Ever since, the stone has the country divided into five different sections vying for possession of it.
One of them is Heart, led by Chief Benja (Daniel Dae Kim) who trains his daughter Raya (Kelly Marie Tran) to protect the stone from evil intruders. One day, he invites the royal tribes of Tail, Talon, Spine and Fang for a gathering hoping to bring peace. However, a betrayal by Virana (Sandra Oh) and her Fang tribe causes the stone to be shattered and returning the Druun to spread their shadowy death.
Six years later, Raya ravages through the nations with her pet armadillo Tuk Tuk (Alan Tudyk) searching for the last dragon that could help fix her world. She eventually finds the one named Sisu (Awkwafina) who is reawakened and quickly agrees to help. Their mission is to steal back pieces of the blue gem from the other nations and use them to prevent the end of the world. Along they way, they allied themselves with Tail’s kid chef Boun (Izaac Wang), Spine’s only surviving warrior Tong (Benedict Wong), and Talon’s con-baby Noi with her cohorts being some monkeys called Ongis. But to complete their mission, they must incur the wrath of Virana’s daughter Namaari (Gemma Chan) and her Fang army looking to finish the job.
The movie is one part “Indiana Jones” and equal parts “Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon,” with a dash of that classic Disney magic. Though without any musical numbers, audiences of all ages will still enjoy all the wondrous entertainment with colorful characters and hilarious comedy. The action scenes are surely the big highlight with lots of kung-fu fighting and swordplay that’ll surely delight any fan of martial arts action films. These scenes alone would make anybody happy for coming back into the theater.
Of course, there are also elements for the little ones as well. This movie offers important lessons in friendship and trust that could help them understand how good communication can be helpful for them. They will also be enthralled by the animation with more consistent designs than in “Croods 2.” Both the dragon fur and the wavy waters look amazingly realistic giving the film an eye-popping experience. As said before, it’s very impressive how the animators were able to finish it all up while stuck in quarantine last year.
The movie is also backed up by a stellar voice cast of Asian actors, adding to the film’s authenticity. Marie Tran finally breaks out of the shadow of Star Wars in a fantastic performance giving her a chance to shine as a talented actress. Awkwafina’s performance as Sisu is a little reminiscent of Robin Williams’ Genie from Aladdin, but the comedienne was able to bring her own touch of humor and heart to her character. Chan makes a good villain in Namaari, while Wong has some scene-stealing moments as the comic relief.
While it does follow the classic Disney formula, “Raya and the Last Dragon” is a rousing adventure full of emotion and laughs that everybody can enjoy. It’s a testament to the studio’s continuing evolution in creating great storytelling for a new generation.
THE MOVIE’S RATING: PG (for some violence, action, and thematic elements)
THE CRITIC’S RATING: 3.75 Stars (Out of Four)
