RAYA AND THE LAST DRAGON (2021)

RAYA AND THE LAST DRAGON (2021)

Tagline:  Apparently because this was due out in 2020, but got delayed. Taglines weren’t all that important?

(Animation, Action, Adventure) [PG]

Guess we're gonna be here a while. These Ongis never stop eating! They have nine stomachs!

In this one, we are taken back to the long-ago kingdom of Kumandra (which is loosely inspired by the Southeast Asian countries of Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia, Myanmar, Malaysia, Indonesia, the Philippines, and Laos). Humans and dragons are getting along just fine, but then evil monsters called the Druun invade the land and the dragons end up sacrificing themselves to save humanity. 500 years later, the darkness of man divided Kumandra into separate nations all trying to obtain power or survive from the last piece of dragon power guarded by the area of Kumandra known as “Heart”. Namely, two who live there named Raya (voiced by Kelly Marie Tran who is best known for STAR WARS: THE LAST JEDI) and her father Benja (voiced by Daniel Dae Kim). Now the Druun has resurfaced and threatens to turn all of the lands of Kumandra into dust. Can Raya learn to trust an unlikely band of allies after an incident in her childhood taught her a severe live-altering lesson in time to stop the Druun? 

When I first saw the previews for this I was pretty excited because it was the first big animated non-sequel Disney flick to come out since2016. It also featured Asian culture and dragons and all that cool stuff. I actually thought that the dragon was Tuk Tuk, but that character is more of a giant smash-faced armadillo that Raya rides on. So when I finally did see the dragon Sisu (voiced by Awkwafina from JUMANJI: THE NEXT LEVEL) I was slightly disappointed in the design. I am not going to say the character wasn’t cool because Sisu is definitely cool, but if they weren’t going with cute smash-faced stuff, Sisu’s design kind of feels like if Falkor from THE NEVERENDING STORY had married a really tame wolf. Anyway, for me, it was one of the weaker points of the film. 

Artistically, however, this is fantastic in just about every other way. The attention to detail is astounding and the looks of the different areas of Kumandra are uniquely rad. The animation style is very strong throughout. I also loved the lighting and the way the Druun were portrayed. Sometimes just showing something as more of a metaphor or without shape gets the core idea across extremely well and this is one of those cases. When you start reading about this thing the attention to culture and how to get the look right is all pretty phenomenal. 

I was thrilled to find out that Benedict Wong (best known for DOCTOR STRANGE) did some voice work for this as well as Gemma Chan (best known for the TV show HUMANS). Both are great in this, as is the rest of the voice cast. When I think of the strong points here, for me it’s the emotional side of things. The story is so well told you can kind of see where some of these divided peoples are coming from in each land of Kumandra.  Each has been affected by the Druun and that brings some real solid background to this story adding layers of richness I wasn’t quite expecting. 

Overall I guess there are some cultural knocks on this due to the cast not being from the exact location loosely portrayed in the movie, but overall RAYA AND THE LAST DRAGON is a freakin delight. I can’t see myself not buying this movie at some point. If you don’t have the money to rent it on a streaming service for the $29.99 they are charging, never fear, you can rent this for around $2.00 at a REDBOX as of the writing of this reviews. Because things change quickly check your local REDBOX for availability etc. 

I give RAYA AND THE LAST DRAGON an enthusiastic 6 out of 7. 

GRAPHICS ARE THE PROPERTY OF WALT DISNEY ANIMATION STUDIOS AND ARE USED FOR REVIEW PURPOSES ONLY. 

Please check out the link below by clicking on the picture. Because no one should die buttonless.