[Movie] Raya and the last dragon - beautiful Animation

about 6 hours ago

You would agree with me that watching movies at night feels better than any other time... this movie doesn't get talked about as much as other disney movies but it deserves way more love honestly, feels like one of their more slept-on entries from the last few years.

QUICK SETUP — the world of kumandra used to be one unified land until these shadow monster things called the druun show up out of nowhere and start turning people to stone, and the dragons end up sacrificing themselves to save what's left of humanity, leaving behind one gem that keeps the druun away for good. 500 years later humanity's split into five bickering tribes fighting over that gem instead of trusting each other, the gem ends up getting broken during one of these conflicts, druun come back, and raya has to track down the last living dragon, sisu, to try and fix everything and bring the world back together before it's too late.

sisu is honestly the best part of this whole movie, no contest. awkwafina voices her and she's just so goofy and lovable in a way that could've easily been annoying but wasn't at all for me, she brings this warmth and comic relief to a movie that's otherwise pretty heavy and serious in tone. the chemistry between her and raya carries a huge chunk of the film, and their dynamic shifts nicely as raya slowly opens up over the course of the journey.

what i really like about this one though is the message underneath it all. it's basically a movie about trust, like the whole reason the world falls apart in the first place is because nobody's willing to trust each other first, everyone's just waiting for someone else to make the first move while blaming each other for the mess, and raya has to actually learn to extend trust even after getting burned badly for it early on in a way that genuinely shapes her whole personality going forward. that's a genuinely mature theme for a kids movie honestly, i wasn't expecting it to sit with that idea as much as it does, and it doesn't get preachy about it either, it just lets the plot demonstrate the point instead of spelling it out constantly.

the visuals are also stunning, southeast asian inspired landscapes, the way water and light are animated especially, there's some real gorgeous shots throughout, particularly anything involving sisu's dragon form moving through water. and the world building across the five tribes gives it a nice epic scope even with a fairly tight runtime, each region has its own distinct visual identity and culture which makes the whole kumandra setting feel lived-in rather than generic fantasy backdrop.

if i've got a complaint, the side characters outside of raya and sisu don't get a ton of development, boun and the baby con artist and tong all feel more like fun additions than fully fleshed out people, they're likeable in the moment, good for a laugh or a nice character beat, but you don't walk away remembering much about them individually once the credits roll. and namaari's arc, while genuinely interesting and probably the most complex relationship in the film outside of raya and sisu, felt like it could've used a little more room to breathe too, especially toward the resolution which moves pretty fast.

but overall this is a genuinely solid, good-hearted adventure movie with real emotional stakes and a message that actually lands instead of feeling tacked on for the sake of a moral. it balances humor, heart, and some legitimately tense action sequences well, and it's got a soft spot in my rotation now that i don't think it gets enough credit for in the broader disney conversation. underrated in the disney catalog for sure.

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