Raya and the Last Dragon is a straight up fantasy adventure story. Unlike what one thinks of as a traditional Disney Animated movie Raya is not a musical and lacking a love story (well.... sort of), this swords and sorcery flick is fairly epic in its world building filled with kingdoms and battles, monsters and dragons. It evokes classics non-Disney classics like The Last Unicorn and brings in anime elements. It is a real branching out for the Disney Studios.
Raya could have easily been a much longer movie but it very efficiently fits its "history lessons" into its story so that everyone can know what is going on and why while also filling each moment with action, character development, and visual effects to rival the biggest blockbusters. Even though some of this feels like characters voicing exposition, the film makers have made it all feel organic to the story which is a big part of why this works. There is a whole lot of story here, I mean a whole lot, and yet it works even with its rather average run time. Raya could have been even more epic but the film makers have struck just the right balance to fit everything in, including their moral of the story.
And the action is top notch. Not surprising this is from one of the directors of Big Hero 6, another Disney Animated film which focused on an action plot. Sure this is about a Disney Princess but she is a warrior first and the film gives us great action sequences which keep you on the edge of your seat. But what made it truly enjoyable for me was how the film didn't feel like it was structured around moving from one action set piece to another, a problem a lot of action films have, instead each felt organic in the story and helped moved the plot itself forward. Which creates an interesting irony as the film's moral is about ending conflict.
You see Raya sets conflict as the real antagonist. It is a fantasy battle epic that is all about ending battles. The real villain here is discord, and it is only through ending the fighting that the battles are won. It is a prescient and important story about disparate people coming together, about trust, and about loss. The film honours this by the way it structures its battle scenes, each constructed to bring people together instead of for one to defeat the other.
I mentioned that Raya is visually spectacular and that's true. The film makers have worked a very real magic into their movie, one that would be best experienced on the big screen. Colourful and kinetic, scene after scene of this film are just spectacular to watch. Raya is just a joy to watch throughout. Released in the peak of home streaming releases, Raya evokes an era of Imax screenings.
I want to focus on how much the film owns its relationship between two of the primary characters, Raya and her childhood frenemy Namaari. This point might be a bit of a spoiler so stop reading until you've seen it. The film crafts their relationship in a way that is unmistakably a romantic plot. Taking some flack in the past for not giving Elsa a girlfriend, Disney seems to be skating the idea of having a queer protagonist. I think it is hard to watch this and deny the energy between the two leads. The film conveniently leaves out a heterosexual romance for Raya and there is nothing wrong (in fact it is refreshing) with a film not giving a romance to its lead. But I can't say I feel that's what's happening here. Sure it would have been wonderful for Disney to have Raya kiss Namaari at the end as we know that's what would have happened if Namaari had been a guy, but the fact the film embraces this nuance so blatantly is a real sign that one day there will be a same sex kiss in a Disney film other than in the Pixar short Out.
Raya and the Last Dragon
Starring: Kelly Marie Tran, Awkwafina, Gemma Chan, Daniel Dae Kim, Sandra Oh, Benedict Wong, Alan Tudyk
Directors: Don Hall, Carlos Lopez Estrada
Writers: Qui Nguyen, Adele Lim
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