Raya and the Last Dragon
When Disney’s Raya and the Last Dragon was announced, I, like many others, didn’t care, at all. I had never heard anything bad about the movie, on the contrary, all of the early reviews and such were glowing. I still didn’t care. It seemed from all the previews, that it was going to be another generic movie.
In the last 10 years or so, Disney animation has released the same story set in different countries, keeping the basic structure the same. The girl doesn’t know where she belongs, adults in her life don’t support her, she has to save her country, village, or kingdom. She goes on a journey where she proves to herself and others that she is capable, strong, and perfect, just as she is, and all that is because of girl power. Furthermore, she has a cute animal sidekick that serves no purpose other than to make Disney millions. This pattern has gotten old. Therefore, when I went in to see Raya and the Last Dragon, I was prepped for the southeast Asian version of Moana with dragons. What I saw, however, was a unique story about trust with well-rounded characters and exceptional voice acting. There was still a cute animal sidekick, but he made sense in the story (and will probably still make Disney millions). This movie rises above the generic Disney animation standard and… it has dragons!
The story is a complicated one, full of the lore of the world of Kumandra, a land once guarded by dragons but now is at the mercy of the Druun (purple ball things of evil energy). The lore is strikingly similar to the TV show Avatar: The Last Airbender, but to be fair, both are pulling from Southeast Asian culture and stories, so some similarities can be expected. The way dragons are approached is unique. They are not the big selfish hoarders as they are portrayed in most English and American stories (Smaug in Lord of the Ring for example). In this film, they are smaller magical beings that use their magic to bring rain to the people of Kumandra. They are not exactly worshiped, although, there is respect shown for Sisu, the last remaining dragon after the rest of the dragons were turned to stone during the war by the Druun.
There are a few missing details when it comes to the dragons. We are left to wonder, what are their powers? What is dragon magic? And the biggest question of all, why won’t the dragons unfreeze when every other strong people group from that war have unfrozen? These questions are never answered, although there are some vague comments on people being unworthy, that explanation doesn’t make sense either. Other unsolved problems include what the Druun are, and what their true motives are. This is very unclear, and the only semi-explanation uses a tool of many fantasy movies: magic. While using “magic” to explain away problems is a bit of a cheap trick, there aren’t too many of those moments in Raya and the Last Dragon. The creators just chose to not explain a lot of things. It is quite the challenge to introduce a whole word with rules and lore into a 2hr movie and NOT leave anything out. The storytellers had to pick and choose what they thought was important. There are just some holes.
Raya is the newest Disney princess, and like Anna and Elsa, she has not been officially accepted into the club as of March 2021. Nevertheless, she is depicted as a role model for girls and overall she is a pretty good one. One of the most enjoyable parts of the movie is that gender isn’t discussed. There are women and men as leaders and they are all equally respected and feared. Women and men are equally trained and given responsibility, all without being genderless. Women and men are distinct, yet equal. The ripple effect of this caused the traditional, “I have to prove myself to be equal if not better than a man because I am a woman” storyline was not part of this story. This left more room for the development of father/daughter and brother/sister relationships. Since Raya didn’t need to prove anything to her father they were able to be close and supportive. Not only did her father teach her how to fight, but he also encouraged her to seek peace and strive for trust and unity. Without a doubt, Daniel Dae Kim as Chief Benja is by far the best father in the Disney canon.
Another unique relationship that is seldom seen in Disney princess movies is the brother/sister relationship. On her journey to save Kumamdra, Raya meets ten-year-old Boun.
Boom is charming and fast-talking, and as soon as he appeared on screen I almost groaned, “Oh no”, I thought, “he is going to flirt with Raya and be in love with her and it will be stupid and cringy”, but he didn’t. Boun always treated Raya as a sister. His biological sister was frozen by the Druun and so Raya helped fill that gap in his life. It was so enjoyable to see the teasing, annoying and loving relationship of a brother and sister without any awkward sexual undertone. Just like the father/daughter relationship, the brother/sister dynamic was grounded and felt relatable. While the world might be high fantasy and unrelatable, the relationships Raya has with the people around her make the whole thing feel real.
Raya is flawed. Raya gets hurt and puts up a wall., She gets angry and lashes out and then has to apologize. This is not commonplace for a Disney princess. Raya has a lot to learn and she does learn from all of those around her regardless of class or gender. These are the contributing factors that make Raya an amazing character. In most male-led Disney movies, the hero is flawed. He has emotional issues to overcome, and while there are external things to battle, he has to overcome his shortcomings and learn and grow to ultimately save the day (Emperors New Groove, Lion king, Wreck-it Ralph, Aladdin, etc..). The term for this in writing is Man vs. Self stories. This genre of stories is quite impactful because most anyone can relate to and learn along with the hero. For some reason, when Disney produces movies with a female lead, the stories are often not about flawed women learning and growing and becoming a hero. Most often, they are stories of heroic women who have to prove to men that they can be great. The flaws of the female leads have been minimal if there are any, and they are not something to be overcome by the character. They are shown as just quirky and part of the lead female’s charm. Raya is different. She is a real girl, one who has lots of issues and has to overcome her issues to become a hero. She is an example of someone who learns to trust again after being hurt. The process isn’t easy for her. However, she works until she can take the first step in the right direction. None of those things take away from her strength as a warrior or her clever plans. She is just a three-dimensional character that has emotional scars to overcome, like many people in real life. It is so important for media to depict flawed women who experience a full range of emotions and trials, and then come out better with the help of their friends and family. This kind of storytelling, the type that goes beyond “I am woman hear me roar” is sorely needed today, and I hope Disney continues in this direction.
Raya and the Last Dragon is unique. The story is good but not mind-blowing. The animation is beautiful but not groundbreaking. The characters, however, are some of the best I have seen in animation in a long time. This story is a welcome breath of fresh air in the world of Disney princesses. It is an entertaining and fun adventure for the whole family.
Content Overview:
Language: None
Violence: There is a lot of fighting in this movie, there is hand to hand combat as well as sword fights. None of it is bloody, but it probably would not be suitable for young children. A lot of people get turned to stone by the Druun.
Sexual Content: None
Objectionable Content: There is a creepy skeleton. There are a few crude references to “toots” and “booty”
