Raya And The Last Dragon (2021) - Honest Review

Read Time: 5 minutes

Year of release: 2021
Run time: 1 hr. 47 mins. | Rated: PG | Genre: Action / Comedy / Adventure / Animation | Language: English

“In a realm known as Kumandra, a re-imagined Earth inhabited by an ancient civilization, a warrior named Raya is determined to find the last dragon.

Synopsis

Long ago, in the fantasy world of Kumandra, humans and dragons lived together in harmony. However, when sinister monsters known as the Druun threatened the land, the dragons sacrificed themselves to save humanity. Now, 500 years later, those same monsters have returned, and it’s up to a lone warrior to track down the last dragon and stop the Druun for good.

Introduction

Raya and the Last Dragon was surprisingly a great watch. There were some things I wish they tackled and at least gave an insight to the audience. It’s sad to see that it came out during the height of COVID, or else I think it would’ve performed better in the box office. Directed by Don Hall (Big Hero 6), Carlos López Estrada (mostly directs music videos) and Paul Briggs who did a number of Disney films under different departments, ie. Story, visuals, art department, and even as a voice actor.

It was refreshing to see Disney taking inspiration from many countries, including Laos, Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia, Malaysia, Singapore and the Philippines. Unlike Mulan, which the origin is obviously from China, Raya focus more on the other southeast Asian countries, which are richer in culture and have more to offer in my opinion.

Concept

The world of Raya and the 5 regions of Kumandra’s concept was simple yet genius in its own right, although it reminds me so much of Nickelodeon’s Avatar: The Last Airbender. The whole world map was small and straightforward. There are 5 regions that run along the river that is shaped like a dragon, the river is rightfully named as such, the Dragon River. 5 regions named after a part of a dragon:

Heart, home of Raya, situated in the middle of the river and the most important tribe of the 5. This is where the Dragon Gem is hidden. The people here wear blue and green clothing to represent the importance of water.
Fang on the other hand is the most dangerous enemies of Heart tribe. They have fierce assassins and have a liking for cats, which they ride to hunt down enemies. According to visual anthropologist Steve Arounsack, Fang is comparable to Cambodia’s Angkor Wat.
The snow-covered bamboo forest lands of Spine is the next destination. Guarded by giant warriors who wear muted clothing with much padding to battle the cold weather. Production designer Paul Felix says that the thick bamboo forest is linked to the thick bamboo forest that Vietnam has to offer.
The village with Floating Markets, Talon. Just as the name suggests, this village is a commercial zone and surrounded by floating markets. The idea of this village comes from the markets of Laos, Indonesia, and Thailand.
Tail was the least entertaining of the 5 regions. The location is mostly covered by desert with small clusters of villages that pops up every few stretch of the desert. It is also filled with blood-thirsty mercenaries. The region was mostly based on the Mekong River.

Characters

Their ragtag crew, led by Raya, in my opinion, was quickly formed with not so much of a background information. And with that quick formation comes the lack of character depth and emotional resonance with the audience. Their fast team assembly paired with short screen time made them look like hired help.

The design and concept of the Drunn were great. I’ve seen some comments about it saying that it was a pointless design, but I disagree. In the film, Sisu perfectly explains what Drunns are:
“A plague. Born from human discord. They’ve always been here. Waiting for a moment of weakness to attack. They’re like the opposite of dragons. Instead of bringing water and life to the world, they’re like a relentless fire that consumes everything in its wake until there’s nothing left except ash and stone.”

Couple of things that didn’t click with me

First is that there were no mentions of Raya’s mother, anywhere. Even so much as Raya saying the word “mom” or “mother” was nowhere to be heard.
Second, I think the act of bringing Sisu back, and any other scenes of that nature is one of the flaws that Disney has. They’re afraid to tap into realism. Sure, it makes sense that all of the dragon magic combined can bring Sisu back, but it was just too good to be true. That’s just me.
Last, I was a but torn to Awkwafina being the voice of Sisu, because her voice sounded too clumsy. Although I do get that she was the youngest and least powerful among the 5 dragon siblings, hence her playfulness. It’s hard to take her seriously with that voice. Regardless, respect for Awkwafina.

Most were done at home because of COVID

The fact that most animations and production was made at home, because of the COVID safety protocols, made this film so much more awesome. There were some flaws, but I prefer this kind of formula over the typical Disney Princess story they always make. This is the first Disney Princess film where there aren’t any song numbers for the entirety of the film. The sword fight sequence towards the end was nice, and if I’m not mistaken, it’s also the first Disney film that has both a female protagonist and a female antagonist battling each other out.

It was just bad timing that COVID began during the production of this film or else I think it would’ve done better in the box office. Honestly, this was a breathe of fresh air, much like Big Hero 6. Showing some death scenes makes the film all the more moving and captivating. It strikes a chord with the audience and that lasts longer than some cheesy romantic scenes.

Conclusion

I highly recommend this film. For the Filipinos out there, this is the first Disney film that had an official Filipino translated soundtrack titled “Gabay” by KZ Tandingan.