About the film (courtesy of Walt Disney Pictures):
Raya and the Last Dragon takes us on an exciting, epic journey to the fantasy world of Kumandra, where humans and dragons lived together long ago in harmony. But when an evil force threatened the land, the dragons sacrificed themselves to save humanity. Now, 500 years later, that same evil has returned and it’s up to a lone warrior, Raya, to track down the legendary last dragon to restore the fractured land and its divided people. However, along her journey, she’ll learn that it’ll take more than a dragon to save the world—it’s going to take trust and teamwork as well.
There’s a reason that Walt Disney has amassed all of the success and praise we’ve come to expect year after year. Their animated features give audiences a magical escape into immersive stories title after title after title. Raya and the Last Dragon is just the next in a very familiar pattern of success. The story may be slightly different, but the results are the same.
Raya and the Last Dragon brings together a story of a civilization that sees firsthand what greed, divisiveness and loss can do to its people. Then, in typical Disney fashion, it shows an entertaining path to repairing harm that has been done. This particular story may be slightly troubling for very young viewers, but there are valuable lessons to learned at the same time.
You have to hand it to Disney. When it comes to finding the perfect voice talent for outwardly enjoyable dragons, they seem to know right where to look. I don’t know if they’ll ever top Mushu (voiced by Eddie Murphy), featured in Mulan (1998), but Awkwafina is quite enjoyable in this latest offering. As with many over her live acting performances we’ve come to adore, she’s straight up comical, charismatic and even compelling to the point that you’re instantly hooked by her charming disposition.
Kelly Marie Tran, Gemma Chan, Daniel Dae Kim, Benedict Wong, Sandra Oh and Izaac Wang are some of the other voice talents that allow Raya and the Last Dragon to work well. Beyond these actors, the animators definitely deserve praise for bringing such a beautiful canvas to life. The scenery is vast, immersive and very well detailed throughout the feature.
Raya and the Last Dragon clocks in at 116 minutes, which could be a cause for concern if the little ones aren’t used to sitting for so long. Thankfully there’s usually events happening that will hopefully keep them engaged and quiet. Overall, this new tale is one that’s worth checking out. You can see Raya and the Last Dragon in theaters and on Disney+ with Premier Access starting this Friday.
