Well, I was definitely looking forward to getting to sit down to watch "Raya and the Last Dragon" and I must admit that I had some expectations for this 2021 animated movie, no doubt about that. Importantly, the movie is gorgeous, one of the most beautiful films I have seen in recent years, and is worth seeing on that basis alone. The voice cast is largely made up of actors of Asiatic origin, although you would never be able to tell this by listening to them - the voicework is resolutely present-day American, even from English performers.
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And Disney's leaning towards cute animal sidekicks is in full flow although, to be fair, the critters here - big and small - do have some work to do plotwise. The story is enyoyable, albeit not hugely original. This Disney CGI feature dropped through the cracks in the Covid floorboards, and I have only just caught up with it. Still at least she his "helped" by Sisu, the last surviving dragon (with the unlikely voice of Awkwafina). Only Benja's daughter Raya is left five years later to try to recover the gem pieces from a wasted land against the opposition of the Druun and, indeed, her fellow countrymen. Chief Benja of Heart, guarding the gem, wishes to re-establish a whole nation, but things go horribly wrong, the gem fractures and the pieces are scattered, and the Druun return. The once harmonious nation fractured into five regions at odds with each other. The dragons who protect Kumandra from the Druun (evil purple mist which turn people to stone) are all lost in the final battle, their vestigial magic being preserved in a gem. Nonetheless, despite the conventional treatment, there is a sense of fun & lighthearted quality to it that makes the ride pleasant enough. From a creative standpoint, only its animation is worth noting. From a storytelling perspective, it is formulaic. Visually it may look richer & resonant but the underlying flavours are all the same. Overall, Raya and the Last Dragon is enjoyable & entertaining, and will manage to satisfy most but there isn't anything new or different about it. And the voice cast play their roles responsibly as well. The background score by James Newton Howard is also a plus. Its richness, colour depth, lighting & rendering is almost immaculate. The emotional moments pack a punch but isn't allowed to stay afloat for long enough to deliver the goods. Humour also falls flat, for the film tries too hard. While some characters are interesting, others are annoying.
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There are familiar beats & predictable subplots here, plus it plays safe instead of risking anything. Add to that, it expects the viewers to be invested in Raya's journey without putting in the effort that would compel us to do the same. Directed by Don Hall & Carlos López Estrada, the story hurries us through its own mythology and doesn't spend enough time to strengthen the foundations before the main plot surfaces. Taking the usual Disney story template, applying the same rinse n repeat formula to it, then slapping the added representation tag on the package just for the sake of it, and marketing it as something fresh when it's not, Raya and the Last Dragon marks the arrival of a new princess in the Disney kingdom, and is truly astounding to look at but the film as a whole has no original voice of its own. And that, I think, is as it should be, even if more faithful representations of myths and traditions should have their place in entertainment too. And both are very much like Game of Thrones, which draws on a vaguely European mythology, without being closely beholden to any particular aspect of it. That is very similar to the pan-South American approach found in another animated project released this year, Maya and the Three. From what I can tell by reading articles about it, the mythology is not strongly tied to a particular Southeast Asian country, language/tradition, or myth, but draws on many, as is also reflected in the creative team and voice actors.
Another interesting aspect of this movie is its marketing as Southeast Asian. Raya's main enemy is another warrior-princess and her mother there is no love interest (a-la-Elsa and Moana), but a strong relationship with her father, which she attempts to restore by turning him back from stone. This is very much a standard Disney Princess movie for our time: not only is Raya self-assertive, a-la-Rapunzel in Tangled, and resisting traditional societal expectations for girls, a-la-Mulan, or Merida in Brave (or even Elsa in Frozen) she seems not to need such resistance at all, but simply walks into a warrior role, leading an action-adventure, a-la-Moana, that, 30 years ago, would normally have been conducted by a boy/man.
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