Hello and welcome,
Raya and the Last Dragon was Disney’s 2nd Premier Access Experiment. It was also simultaneously released In Theatres and that is the reason why it took me until now to do this review. Because at the time of release NY theatres had yet to be open and it did not make financial sense for me to pay Mickey $30 to Watch it (on a side note I still have not gone back to theatres, but I will probably go soon). On the surface, this movie seems to have done alright for Disney, but doing the math my rough estimate is that the base case scenario that Disney can bank on is that it broke even. But given the fact that Disney will probably never release the Premier Access numbers, the success or failure may forever remain a Mystery. What really matters is the quality of the movie which is what we are here to talk about, so let's begin.
Background
In 2018 That Hashtag Show (which I had never heard of until I researched this) reported that Walt Disney Animation Studios was developing a film titled Dragon Empire (On a side note that is an awesome title, maybe not for this movie, but it is totally awesome). Since then, directors have come and gone which ironically is not entirely uncommon for animated films such as this. In August 2020 it was announced that Don Hall, director of Winnie the Pooh and Big Hero 6 (both great movies), and Carlos López Estrada, who only joined Disney a year earlier, took the helm.
Plot
The prosperous land of Kumandra is ravaged by the Druun, evil spirits that attack and petrify the land's people and dragons. Sisu (Awkwafina), the last dragon, concentrates her magic into a gem and banishes the Druun, reviving Kumandra's people but not the dragons. A power struggle divides Kumandra's people into tribes, based on their placement along a giant, dragon-shaped river: Fang, Heart, Spine, Talon, and Tail. About 500 years pass and Chief Benja holds a feast for the leadership of all five tribes. Chief Benja’s daughter Raya (Kelly Marie Tran) befriends Namaari (Gemma Chan), daughter of Chief Virana of the Fang tribe, and trusting her, Raya shows Namaari the location of the gem. Immediately Namaari stabs Raya in the back and the gem breaks and Raya’s dad learns a very valuable lesson why not to be a parent in a Disney movie. For the next six years, Raya treks across Kumandra to find Sisu in order to help her recover the missing orb pieces.
Opinion
To start off, the animation is Disney so of course, it looks amazing. I only have one gripe about the animation and that is when the characters turn into stone, there is something off about their appearance, I can’t put my finger on it, but I just do not like the look of it. However, the rest of the animation looks fantastic like the character animation and the water which is one of the hardest things in CGI to get to look good.
The voice acting is fantastic, but one thing I will say is Awkwafina as Sisu, while not bad even by the loosest sense of the word, I do think it is a little too similar to the Genie from Aladdin. However, I don't really blame Awkwafina because I think it was more the fault of the writers. I do not think Sisu is a bad character but the Genie similarities hold her back on being great. The movie is extremely unique and has more in common with Avatar: The Last Airbender than it does with any of the other Disney classics. I like the fact that Disney is finally getting away from the Twist Villains. Granted, spoiler alert, this movie doesn't really have a traditional villain, per se. Raya and the Last Dragon is a great movie, but while not among Disney’s greatest achievements, is still a movie worth watching at least once and I suspect that a second viewing for me is not too far off. As of right now, it is the best-animated movie of the year. I am giving Raya 4 and a half out of 5 stars. All I can say is that Jennifer Lee’s tenure as Chief Creative Officer of Disney Animation is off to a great start.
Goodnight, and Bee Happy!™
Mr.Bee
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