Movie Reviews

Movie Review: “Raya And The Last Dragon” Is Disney’s Best Animated Feature In Years


 

In a realm known as Kumandra, a re-imagined Earth inhabited by an ancient civilization, a warrior named Raya is determined to find the last dragon.

While Pixar is considered the gold standard when it comes to animation, Disney’s “Raya and the Last Dragon” rivals anything Pixar has recently put out, in terms of imagery and emotion. The overall scope and amplitude of the world of Kumandra are brought to vivid life utilizing unsuppressed colors, authentic human emotions, and an abundance of genuine and heartfelt humor. While it is an animated film, there were times I could almost see this as a live-action feature, encompassing exotic, international locales, accompanied by indigenous actors portraying the characters herein but in the end, I had to suppress my overactive imagination and let the emotional enchantment of the picture at hand envelop me and whisk me away to the beautiful land of Kumandra.

Over 500 years ago, the beautiful land of Kumandra stood strong and bountiful, filled with humans, animals, and dragons, all living in perfect harmony. But one day, evil demons known as the Drune, consumed most of the land, turning every living creature into stone. The humans fought back but they were no match for the demons that depleted everything in their path. Even the fearless dragons retaliated but they too were powerless and reduced to stone. With only one dragon remaining, Sisu (Awkwafina) focused all of her magic into one large gem and sacrificed herself by blasting the Drune into extinction, and everything that had turned to stone was brought back to life. Instead of celebrating her sacrifice, the people fought against each other for control of the gem and everyone became enemies. The gem was hidden and the land was divided into five regions: Heart, Fang, Spine, Talon, and Tail, when all combined together, form the shape of a dragon. For over 500 years, region fought against region, and humans fought against one another.

500 years later, young Raya (Kelly Marie Tran) lives in the region of Heart, where Sisu’s gem is protected by Raya’s father, Chief Benja (Daniel Dae Kim). After she passes a test, she is informed by her father that she is now a sworn protector of the gem, along with him. Dispirited that the five regions have been at war with each other for such a long time, Chief Benja invites the leaders of the remaining four regions to his home. There he tries to reason with them that they could reunite and make Kumandra their home once more. Raya becomes friends with Namaari (Gemma Chan), the daughter of Virana (Sandra Oh), the chieftess of the Fang region. Overjoyed with her new friend who both share a love of dragons, she takes her to the tomb where Sisu’s gem is hidden. Proudly showing it off, she is blindsided when Namaari knocks her aside and sends a signal to her mother, informing her that she has access to the gem. Virana and her soldiers, along with the other leaders, converge on the tomb and combined, outnumber Chief Benja and Raya.

As each region leader tries to take the gem for themselves, it is dropped on the ground and shatters into five pieces. Each leader manages to grab a piece with Benja managing to hold onto the largest fragment. Suddenly, the earth rumbles, and the Drune appear, transforming every human they come into contact with into stone. Injured in the scuffle for the gem, Benja tells Raya to track down the other pieces in the hopes she can resurrect Sisu to defeat the Drune and reunite the five regions into Kumandra. He then throws Raya into the river, just as the Drune transforms him into stone. Six years later, Raya is searching the lands utilizing an ancient dragon scroll when she comes upon an old shipwreck in the middle of the desert. There, she manages to resurrect Sisu, who is more than happy to be alive again but Raya informs her what has happened to Kumandra, and how it is divided. She tells Sisu that in order for her to eliminate the Drune, once and for all, she must come with her on her quest to retrieve the four missing pieces, otherwise, everyone will fall to the Drune.

“Raya and the Last Dragon” takes place in the fictional, Southeast Asian-inspired land of Kumandra, and every time Raya and Sisu arrive in a new region, they pick up some colorful and uniquely interesting characters. Benedict Wong plays Tong, an imposing giant who lost his family to the Drune and who hails from the Spine region, Izaac Wang plays Boun from the Tail region, a ten-year-old captain, and the owner of the “Shrimporium”, a boat restaurant, and Thalia Tran plays Little Noi, a baby con artist from the Talon region who surrounds herself with three Ongis (half-monkey, half-catfish creatures). Each character has their moment to shine in the film and they all contribute to Raya’s epic journey in their own unique way. Kelly Marie Tran voices the central protagonist, Raya, and infuses her character with strength, compassion, and ingenuity when needed, and will be a great inspiration to young children everywhere. Awkwafina’s Sisu is a relentless chatterer who never knows when to stop talking but instead of annoying the audience, her innocent and, at times, childlike demeanor, endears her even more. I thoroughly enjoyed each character and all of their traits and idiosyncrasies but Alan Tudyk’s Tuk Tuk, Raya’s best friend and trusty steed, half-pill bug, half-armadillo, and half-pug, made me laugh out loud on numerous occasions, Tudyk’s uncanny ability to voice anyone or anything, is simply incredible.

At times, the animation is so stunningly beautiful, there are shots that almost look more realistic than a live-action feature. More importantly, even though this is an animated film, I wasn’t reviewing its animation, I was watching a movie and thoroughly enjoying the story and the characters, and in the end, as with any film, that is what truly matters. For a long time, the misconception with animated movies, specifically Disney as they were the benchmark for many years, was that the stories were aimed predominantly at children. That’s not the case anymore. In “Raya and the Last Dragon,” the story is set in the fictional land of Kumandra but it could take place pretty much anywhere and all the same concepts and learning curves that our characters endure could be adapted into that narrative. It’s a universal story about love, honor, and trust, and the importance of family, friendship, and teamwork, and the story reaches out to everyone and offers plenty of excitement, cultivation, and laughs for the whole family, not just the kids. In recent years, Disney Animation released such titles as “Zootopia,” “Moana,” “Ralph Breaks the Internet,” and “Frozen II,” and while each of them was enjoyable in their own way, “Raya and the Last Dragon” sets the new standard for animation, an accomplishment that will be hard to beat.

 

Available on Disney+ with Premier Access at the same time as it is released in select theaters March 5th

 

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James McDonald

Originally from Dublin, Ireland, James is a Movie Critic with 40 years of experience in the film industry as an Award-Winning Filmmaker. He is also a member of the Critics Choice Association and the Dallas-Fort Worth Film Critics Association.