Raya And The Last Dragon

 This review may contain spoilers!

 

 In an effort to save the land of Kumandra, Raya and her dragon ally, Sisu, must gather all five pieces of the Dragon Gem to stop the deadly Druun. This story is enchanting in every way that counts; charismatic and interesting cast of characters, a beautiful rich world, a compelling action-adventure narrative with great pacing and a theme that I think makes its impact strong. Raya as the leading protagonist of the film is interesting because she is so capable and confident in the action but her deep conflict between her father's vision of peace and the reality she has had to live in without him is such a unique character trait. The entire film is guided by this idea of trust or a divided future; showing the flaws of a people distrustful and separate more and more as the film progresses. I was delighted by how such a compelling and well-developed fantasy setting could have such a clear theme that resonates so strongly with a number of issues we're facing right now. Watching Raya go from being a warrior alone on her quest, to a member of this team dedicated to saving others from the Druun was a brilliant arc that moved at an unbelievably strong pace. I also thought the film dealt with exploring themes of trust through character relationships extremely well; Raya's experiences of peace through her father and Sisu versus the betrayal and selfishness she had experienced from Namaari was the focal point of the feature. The movie takes our main character, forces her to confront her prejudices about people she is meeting and then she learns to move beyond her presumptions to find trust in those selfsame people. I will watch this movie again and again for its fresh dialogue, for the sheer joy of exploring the world that had been so carefully made and for the thrill of falling deeply into a world class animated feature. The animation in this film is the next step up for Disney, I haven't seen an animated film look so good and I'm excited for what this promises. Just look at little details like how someone runs through water, how hair looks in different environments, the photorealistic backgrounds ro just how smooth the action sequences flow. This is a film worth being excited about, it delivers on a massive scale and Disney has once again set the bar very high for their next project.

 

Awkwafina, who voiced Sisu, has a lot of charm as one of the more comedic roles in the film and as the role who gets to really purely express joy for the world they're in; I also think Awkwafina did an exceptional job of consistently conveying the films overarching message. Izaac Wang, who voiced Boun, is a real talent for such a young performer; his smooth-talking shrimp salesman character was a real delight and where I started to see the film as being even bigger than my already high expectations. Gemma Chan, who voiced Namaari, is one of animated Disney's best antagonists yet; Chan's role is the perfect foil for Tran's and her unwavering loyalty to her own people makes her own personal background extremely compelling. Daniel Dae Kim, who voiced Benja, is this extremely kind and compassionate figure symbolic of peace and connection; yet I found the light humour and love that came from him playing a father to be the real strength of the role. Benedict Wong, who voiced Tong, is a fun juxtaposition between his extremely tough warrior exterior and the loneliness he visibly portrays when first we meet this character; Wong's strength is in playing a character who you would expect to be used for action or comedic relief but instead serves well as a simple rational voice in the team that helps guide them all. Sandra Oh, who voiced Virana, is a stoic yet benevolent leader of her people in this film; Oh's sense of unwavering loyalty to her own people beyond others makes her a complex minor antagonist well worth watching. Lucille Soong, who voiced Dang Hu, is another minor antagonist I found really compelling; Soong presents a kindly elder at first who is unveiled to be a figure capable of great cruelty to achieve what she desires.

However, the best performance came from Kelly Marie Tran, who voiced Raya. I think Raya is so immediately likeable because of how cocky and quick-witted she is even in the face of great danger. Tran has this easy charisma to her performance that makes you immediately believe in Raya's ability as a badass warrior and her for our tale. More than this she imparts exposition about the world and how it functions in a solemn and deeply engaging way, making the audience extremely hooked in by Kumandra through Raya. The manner through which Tran portrays Raya's grief over the loss of her father and the betrayal she faced as a child is really moving and a guiding character aspect throughout. However I loved most how Raya was a character as capable of flaws as her antagonist, her big confrontation scene with Namaari in the final act was a powerful moment of realisation. More than this, Tran's portrayal of self-acceptance and realisation of what is needed to prevail is such a moving scene that I believe the film is lifted to a whole other level by it.

If Raya And The Last Dragon has a flaw it exists right in the very first act when we reconvene with Raya as an older teenager. The film suddenly moves things along at a very quick pace, drawing the two title protagonists, Raya and Sisu, together extremely quickly and with minimal difficulty. Their relationship is sped through quickly in a similar manner, the pair becoming almost instant friends in little to no time at all. This just makes the audiences ability to connect with Sisu a little difficult at first, probably taking as long as the beginning of the second act to really start to feel a substantial and deserved bond.

Not only is this likely going to be the best film I see all year, I think it might well be my favourite Disney animated feature of the past twenty years. I would give Raya And The Last Dragon a 9.5/10.