Raya: The Last Dragonbender

Introduction

After last year’s great Disney drought, the house of mouse decided to release several projects this year in theatres and on their new streaming service, Disney+. Raya and the Last Dragon, directed by Carlos López Estrada is their most recent inclusion to the slew of new animation material coming out this year.

This movie will Disney’s second adventure starring an Asian female protagonist, after the embarrassment of last year’s live-action Mulan remake. In contrast, Raya and the Last Dragon does have some narrative flaws, its charming characters and brilliant animation makes it a spectacular watch for people of all ages.

Plot and Setting

Raya and the Last Dragon is set in the fictional realm of Kumandra, a prosperous land clearly based on real-world Southeast Asian countries, once populated by magical dragons but ravaged by evil spirits called the Druun. The Druun are like a virus, multiplying while turning their defenceless victims into stone. Only the Dragons were a match for the Druun, but in the end, even they fell to their power, except for Sisu, who sealed the Druun up inside a magical stone and vanished.

Then we have our protagonist, Raya, Princess of Heart and the guardian of the stone. During a peace meeting with their neighbouring nations to reunite the country of Kumandra, Raya gets tricked by Namaari, another princess who desires the stone. However, with all the commotion, the stone shatters and releases the Druun, turning the world into Disney’s very own child-friendly Mad Max. Now, Raya must go forth and seek out Sisu, the last of the dragons, to stop the Druun from destroying the world once again.

To be Frank, the narrated monologue during the film’s opening and the Southeast Asian setting felt incredibly reminiscent of Avatar the Last Airbender. Disney’s Raya and the Last Dragon bears quite a few similarities to the Nickelodeon television show, such as having animal hybrids wandering the world, spirits and dragons, and mind-blowing martial arts, to name a few. However, although there are many similarities, their premises and execution are different making each standout.

For the most part, Raya and the Last Dragon has a decent narrative but falls on its face with its unrealistically and unearned happy finale. The final moments completely erase all the consequences done by the characters’ previous actions. While Disney’s main target demographic is children, I was disappointed to see the studio who killed off Mufasa (Lion King) and Bambi’s mother (Bambi) chickening out in the end.

While I am not a specialist of Southeast Asian culture outside of their martial arts, even I can appreciate the level of care Disney took while crafting this world. Even small things get attention, like Raya’s companion and mount’s name ‘Tuk Tuk’ is based on traditional taxi’s pulled by rickshaws in these locations.

Characters and Performances

Raya was portrayed by Kelly Marie Tran, best known for her role as the bubbly activist and engineer Rose Tico from the Star Wars franchise, whose character received a mixed reception from fans. Thankfully, Tran bounces back to form with her strong performance as Raya. Tran captures Raya’s emotions perfectly, with no moment feeling out of place.

After watching films like Mulan and Captain Marvel, where their protagonists were treated as flawless paragons of female empowerment than actual living people, I began feeling sceptical over Raya’s personality. Thankfully, Raya does receive a healthy dose of character development surrounding the nature of trust.

Sisu’s design is closer to an eastern Dragon than what we imagine in the West, similar to those celebrated during the Chinese New Year but dons some attributes from Nagas, a serpent-like mythological creature.

Sisu is voiced by Akwafina, an Asian singer and actress better known for her more comical roles, such as her portrayal of Ming Lightfoot from Jumanji: The Next Level. Despite being the film’s deuteragonist, Sisu mostly feels like a comedic sidekick character to compliment the film’s darker tones, similar to Eddie Murphy’s portrayal of Mushu from Mulan. That said Akwafina’s quirky voice and expressive acting distinguishes the dragon well from the rest of the cast.

Then we have Namaari, the princess of the land of Fang and Raya’s greatest rival. She is also the one who tried to steal the stone, shattering it and their friendship in the process. Despite being the largest antagonistic force outside of the Druun, she does not follow any of the tropes that most Disney villains tend to display. You will never see her bursting into an evil laugh or monologing her evil plans, like Jafar or Ursula before her.

While this film has many secondary characters, they all felt underutilised in the grand scheme of things. This film could have used some extra time to refine some of the cast. To some extent, Raya and The Last Dragon could have benefitted from being a television mini-series to flesh out some of these characters and ideas.

Action and animation

The combat and choreography in Raya and the Last Dragon are based on many south-eastern Asian martial arts. Similar to how the Avatar franchise incorporates martial arts to enrich their world, so does Disney with Raya. The most recognisable being Arnis, a Philippine stick fighting martial art and Maui Thai kickboxing.

The land of Kumandra is vast and colourful, with bright colours all over the place. It is a shame that I watched this film on a small monitor. The water effects are what enthralled me the most while watching this movie. From Kumandra’s jaw-dropping waterfalls to Sisu’s water magic, Disney spared no expense in creating magnificent water physics.

Sound and Music

Unlike Frozen or Tangled that came before it, Disney opts to make Raya a more action-oriented animation piece. While Raya still has a striking score written by James Newton Howard, the man who composed the melodies for Atlantis and Treasure Island, it not is a musical.

Conclusion

Raya and the Last Dragon is a fabulous tale about trust and forgiveness, but there are moments where these themes can sometimes be a bit too much in your face. On the other hand, the new Southeast Asian setting is a marvel to behold. Its setting is a refreshing change in style and culture usually portrayed for western audiences. It is also exciting whenever Disney decides to have fun and experiment with new locations. If you are a fan of films or shows with similar themes like Mulan (the 1996 version) or Avatar the Last Airbender series, then you owe it to yourself and probably your children to try this film out.

While I do recommend watching this film at the cinema for its fantastic visuals, purchasing it from Disney+ for $30 feels like daylight robbery. I had to watch this film on my computer monitor which loses most of the spectacle one would enjoy in the cinema.