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They say "trust is a two-way street". You can't expect others to trust you, if you can't trust them yourself. You gotta give a little, to receive a little. That sentiment seems to be the core morale at the heart of Disney's latest animated adventure, Raya and the Last Dragon. In it, the titular character (Kelly Marie Tran) sets out to find "the last dragon", after a mysterious entity called the Druun is unleashed turning her father and most of her village to stone.
The Druun had been previously fought by powerful dragons that inhabited the land of Kumandra. But to finally defeat it, the dragons had to use all their power and contain it in a magical orb, which is now protected by Raya's people. But this has resulted in a long-standing rift between the different territories of Kumandra, as they all want control of the orb. After a confrontation occurs, Raya must overcome her mistrusts and recover the pieces of the orb, and of the land, to summon Sisu (Awkwafina) in order to defeat the Druun.
The story sounds a bit complicated, but the film does a great job at exposing it during the prologue in a way that it's engaging and easy to follow. Actually, one of my main gripes with the film is that its narrative beats are fairly predictable, i.e. Raya must learn to trust in others and join forces in order to defeat the Druun. But despite this, the execution is pretty solid. The voice talent of Tran and Awkwafina is great, and they have good chemistry together.
But as solid as the story and its voice cast is, I thought the animation and the direction to be the real stars of the story. I mean, the animation... is... gorgeous. The fight choreographies are excellent, and the film manages to have its share of thrills despite the aforementioned predictability. And how about that sword? Such a cool weapon, so kudos to the production design.
Raya and the Last Dragon comes at a time of resurgence for Disney films, and it does so by sticking to a few tropes that have been key to their films during the last decade or so; and that is the portrayal of strong female leads, the absence of a central romantic relationship while highlighting other type of relationships, and the lack of a proper antagonist by focusing more on gray moral areas. That has been the case with Frozen, Zootopia, Moana, among others.
The decision to put the relationship between equals, and how we need to trust those around us in order to be stronger and better people was definitely an appropriate one today. As the world around us seems to become more broken by differences and divisions, it's good to know that we can trust a children's film to teach us the way. Now trust is a two-way street, so let us take the next step.
Grade:
RAYA AND THE LAST DRAGON
(2021, Hall & López Estrada)
(2021, Hall & López Estrada)
"Well, the world's broken. You can't trust anyone."
"Or maybe the world's broken because you don't trust anyone."
"Or maybe the world's broken because you don't trust anyone."
They say "trust is a two-way street". You can't expect others to trust you, if you can't trust them yourself. You gotta give a little, to receive a little. That sentiment seems to be the core morale at the heart of Disney's latest animated adventure, Raya and the Last Dragon. In it, the titular character (Kelly Marie Tran) sets out to find "the last dragon", after a mysterious entity called the Druun is unleashed turning her father and most of her village to stone.
The Druun had been previously fought by powerful dragons that inhabited the land of Kumandra. But to finally defeat it, the dragons had to use all their power and contain it in a magical orb, which is now protected by Raya's people. But this has resulted in a long-standing rift between the different territories of Kumandra, as they all want control of the orb. After a confrontation occurs, Raya must overcome her mistrusts and recover the pieces of the orb, and of the land, to summon Sisu (Awkwafina) in order to defeat the Druun.
The story sounds a bit complicated, but the film does a great job at exposing it during the prologue in a way that it's engaging and easy to follow. Actually, one of my main gripes with the film is that its narrative beats are fairly predictable, i.e. Raya must learn to trust in others and join forces in order to defeat the Druun. But despite this, the execution is pretty solid. The voice talent of Tran and Awkwafina is great, and they have good chemistry together.
But as solid as the story and its voice cast is, I thought the animation and the direction to be the real stars of the story. I mean, the animation... is... gorgeous. The fight choreographies are excellent, and the film manages to have its share of thrills despite the aforementioned predictability. And how about that sword? Such a cool weapon, so kudos to the production design.
Raya and the Last Dragon comes at a time of resurgence for Disney films, and it does so by sticking to a few tropes that have been key to their films during the last decade or so; and that is the portrayal of strong female leads, the absence of a central romantic relationship while highlighting other type of relationships, and the lack of a proper antagonist by focusing more on gray moral areas. That has been the case with Frozen, Zootopia, Moana, among others.
The decision to put the relationship between equals, and how we need to trust those around us in order to be stronger and better people was definitely an appropriate one today. As the world around us seems to become more broken by differences and divisions, it's good to know that we can trust a children's film to teach us the way. Now trust is a two-way street, so let us take the next step.
Grade: