Disney’s Raya and the Last Dragon was released on March 5th, 2021 to select theaters and for premier access to Disney+ subscribers. The film is the 59th feature in the Walt Disney Animation Studios cannon. I had the privilege of seeing the movie in theaters this weekend and in today’s blog, I thought I would do a review of the film.
“Raya and the Last Dragon,” is the story of a young warrior named Raya who lives in the “Heart” Tribe of the fictional land of Kumandra. Kumandra has been divided into different tribes because each of its people groups fought to have control over a magical orb that would fend off evil magical creatures called Druuns who turn the people into stone. The tribes all have the names of dragon body parts, named for dragons who also fought to protect the people from the Druuns. The dragons wound up getting turned into stone themselves—all except for one: Sisu. Raya makes it her mission to find Sisu, who helps her figure out how use the orb correctly and destroy the Druuns.
During their adventures Raya has trouble knowing who she can trust, given all the tribes are at war. Sisu helps Raya learn that she can make friends of enemies, and help the other tribes trust each other. Even experiencing bullying and the loss of family and friends can be overcome by trusting those around you.
“Raya and the Last Dragon,” has extremely striking visuals. Even though the land of Kumandra is not real, as you watch this epic adventure story, it feels real. Kumandra was inspired by many of the countries in Southeast Asia (i.e. Laos, Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam, Myanmar, Malaysia, Indonesia, and the Philippines). By the time the movie is over, it feels like you’ve had a beautiful tour of each of these lands in just a little under two hours.
This movie featured a tip-top voice cast. Kelly Marie Tran, who portrayed Rose Tico in Disney’s Star Wars: The Last Jedi (2017) and Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker (2019) provided the voice of Raya, and Golden-Globe-Winner Awkwafina voiced Sisu the Dragon. The film also features the voices of Daniel Day Kim, Lucille Soong, Alan Tudyk, and two-time Golden-Globe-Winner Sandra Oh.
The film includes a score composed by James Newton Howard, who is also known at Disney for composing the scores to Dinosaur (2000), Atlantis: The Lost Empire (2001), and Treasure Planet (2002). Qui Nguyen made his feature film debut co-writing the film’s screenplay with Adele Lim. Lim also wrote the screenplay for Crazy Rich Asians (2018), which coincidentally starred Awkwafina. The movie was directed by Carlos Lopez Estrada and Don Hall. Estrada made his Disney debut directing the film while Hall previously directed Disney’s Winnie the Pooh (2011) and Big Hero 6 (2014).
There is also a wonderful short film that played in front of the movie called Us Again (2021), which is about an elderly couple who reminisce about being young while dancing together in the rain. The short film is an inspiration to all because it acknowledges that even when you’re old, you can always dance, especially when you have true love.
“Raya and the Last Dragon,” is a wonderful film because in addition to having beautiful visuals, a good cast and music, it acknowledges how valuable a gift trust is. Trust is a very important thing to have in your relationships with friends and family. The message of “Raya and the Last Dragon,” is that, while disappointment and loss brings pain and difficulty, one can make that journey through new relationships and the mutual trust that develops.
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