Raya and the Last Dragon (2021)
“Note to self: Don’t die.” – Raya.
Raya and the Last Dragon (2021)
Directed by: Don Hall, Carlos Lopez Estrada, John Ripa
Written by: Paul Briggs (story), Qui Nguyen (screenplay), Adele Lim (screenplay)
Starring: Kelly Marie Tran, Awkwafina, Gemma Tran
So this was fun. More action than I thought, the world building was immersive, and the animation was slick. However, an incredibly annoying dragon sidekick made this a bit grating by the end.
The film features a fantasyland where the dreaded ‘Druun’ (monsters that turn people to stone) have been warded off by a magical dragon gem. When the gem is destroyed, Raya, a warrior of the Heart clan, must find the scattered pieces and put them back together.
So yeah…it’s basically Dragon Ball Z. Which I was completely fine with – the skeleton of the story is quite exciting, there’s a simple motivation and complication for the main characters, and we get to explore the five different ‘lands’ in the world along with Raya.
So yeah…it’s basically Dragon Ball Z. Which I was completely fine with – the skeleton of the story is quite exciting, there’s a simple motivation and complication for the main characters, and we get to explore the five different ‘lands’ in the world along with Raya.
However, the Awkwafina-voiced dragon is cringe and the convoluted message teaching kids the ‘importance of teamwork and trust’ doesn’t reflect what happens in the film. One of baddies does something completely unforgivable, which is the root of the film’s complications, then Raya has to…trust them…in order to save the world. What?? The film vindicates a bad person’s awful actions, as they then get to be the hero…and that’s the message of the story? We shouldn’t be teaching kids that.
Aside from this messy subtext, it’s a completely fine, entertaining animated film that I’m sure little kids would love.
Rating: 7/10