Disney+Movies

Movie Review: “Raya and the Last Dragon”

Denise ,  ,  , 

Hi everyone!

We had the opportunity to screen Raya and the Last Dragon, which will be in select movie theaters on March 5th, 2021 as well as with Disney+ Premier Access for $29.99 (on June 4th the film is available to all subscribers).

Raya seeks the help of the legendary dragon, Sisu. Seeing what’s become of Kumandra, Sisu commits to helping Raya fulfill her mission in reuniting the lands. Featuring Kelly Marie Tran as the voice of Raya and Awkwafina as the voice of Sisu, Walt Disney Animation Studios’ “Raya and the Last Dragon” will be in theaters and on Disney+ with Premier Access on March 5, 2021. © 2021 Disney. All Rights Reserved.

First, the sypnopsis from Disney: “Raya and the Last Dragon” takes us on an exciting, epic journey to the fantasy world of Kumandra, where humans and dragons lived together long ago in harmony. But when an evil force threatened the land, the dragons sacrificed themselves to save humanity. Now, 500 years later, that same evil has returned and it’s up to a lone warrior, Raya, to track down the legendary last dragon to restore the fractured land and its divided people. However, along her journey, she’ll learn that it’ll take more than a dragon to save the world—it’s going to take trust and teamwork as well.“

The trailers for Raya and the Last Dragon do give away the visuals, which are absolutely glorious. I’m hoping to see the film in the theater in a couple of months before its run ends. To watch the movie unfold is such a treat on a television and deserves to be seen in a theater. It is really incredible to me that the film was created out of 400 homes due to the pandemic.

Raya can be seen as a budding warrior from a young age, with her father (bà)/Chief Benja (voiced by Daniel Dae Kim) preferring to not think of the five clans of divided people as enemies. He tells Raya, “If we don’t stop and learn to trust each other again, it’s only a matter of time before we tear each other apart”.  Chief Benja and Raya are guardians of a Dragon Gem that becomes broken and each piece ends up with the various clans. A number of years later, Raya goes on a quest to find those gems and water dragon Sisu.

Raya and the Last Dragon is a female driven action movie with cute sidekicks and a message that feels prescient. It is led by a predominantly Asian-American cast including Kelly Marie Tran as Raya, Awkwafina as quick-witted Sisu, and Gemma Chan as Naamari. These three characters are all strong women in their own right – so different from each other and not always on the same page. Sisu appears both in dragon form and human form. Awkwafina provides a lot of the humor for the film – but she also infuses Sisu with gentle wisdom born from experience as they search for the pieces of the gem . There are moments I thought of Raya like Rey in the Star Wars franchise – in particular as she rides a larger Tuk Tuk through a desert.

Raya and the Last Dragon has more action sequences than I’d have expected, including (but not limited to) sword fighting and hand-to-hand combat. At the same time, there are cute scenes that young children will love – especially Tuk Tuk (Alan Tudyk), who is part pill-bug (like Tuck and Roll from A Bug’s Life), part armadillo and apparently part pug (though I don’t see that as much). A lot of kids are going to want their own Tuk Tuk plush. There is something for almost everyone in the film and a nice balance is struck.

There may be moments that are scary for very young children. Raya and the Last Dragon is rated PG.

Raya and the Last Dragon in the end is a film about trust. And about friendship as well. Raya’s journey doesn’t only include Sisu and Tuk Tuk but she acquires a team along the way including ruffian Tong (voiced by Benedict Wong) who reminds me of Hook Hand in Tangled and the Ongis (Part monkey, part catfish).

Raya and the Last Dragon is directed by Don Hall and Carlos López Estrada.

Raya and the Last Dragon is a gorgeous, action-packed film. Mousesteps grade – A.