Directed by Don Hall and Carlos López Estrada
Written by Qui Nguyen and Adele Lim
Starring Kelly Marie Tran, Awkwafina, Gemma Chan, Benedict Wong
Rated PG for some violence, action and thematic elements
Runtime: 1 hour 54 minutes
In theaters and Disney+ Premier Access March 5

by Ryan Silberstein, Managing Editor, The Red Herring

Why do we tell the stories we tell? Stories, even ones set in the past or in imagined worlds, are also about the here and now. Stories help us make sense of the world, and nothing does that better than a story that taps into mythology, with its symbolism and familiar narrative structure. Watching Raya and the Last Dragon, the film’s focus on healing–both of the natural world and of human social and political relationships–makes it feel very much of the moment. The message matters, especially when children are the intended audience, because kids are perceptive. They seek to understand from these stories, and the clarity with which Raya conveys its themes through story is powerful. 

Rather than drawing on specific, existing folklore or fairy tales, Raya and the Last Dragon draws on familiar trappings of global cultures in an epic fantasy setting. This is similar to the approach used in Frozen II, which also blended fairy tales, folklore, and mythology effectively. And just like every other time that Disney moves towards representation of other cultures, criticisms over the execution are there right along with the praise. The film draws on Southeast Asian cultures, blending them among the five lands in the film’s fictional setting of Kumandra. Additionally, the film has a largely Northeast Asian voice cast, aside from Kelly Marie Tran’s lead character (and some minor roles). With so few examples of Southeast Asian culture respectfully represented in movies, it is important to listen to these voices. While the film’s writers are of Southeast Asian descent, this is not the first time that Disney has been insensitive in their choices. Disney as a whole should continue to listen to its critics, as well as its fans, and parse the good criticism like “we want more cultural representation” from the bad like “you ruined my childhood.” This is also part of the film’s story. 

For my own perspective and reaction to the film, I found it to be a fun and heartwarming adventure. Running through Kumandra is a large dragon-shaped river, which touches all of the five different lands, each named for a physical dragon part: Fang, Spine, Heart, Talon, and Tail. The world is plagued by Druun, an amorphous purple and black cloud that turns people to stone. The dragons sacrificed themselves to protect the world, but it fractured and each land became enemies, leaving many people as stone statues. Now Raya (Tran), the daughter of the Heart chief,  is on a quest to find the last living dragon and restore the world. 

Spoiler alert: she finds the dragon Sisu (Awkwafina), and also forms a fellowship in her quest, including a 10-year old shrimp boat restaurant entrepreneur, Boun (Izaac Wang), and an intimidating-looking warrior who is really a great dad, Tong (Benedict Wong). Together, they face off against Namaari (Gemma Chan), the daughter of the Fang cheiftess, as she tries to prove herself and help her land maintain the status quo. Each of the characters that Raya meets is not what they appear to be on the surface. Boun, a child, is a capable businessman and perceptive ally, Tong is a stable family man, and Sisu is a majestic magical creature, but also a goofball. 

Those attributes tie into one of the film’s key themes, which is trust. With the five lands in a constant state of mistrust leading to the harsh world depicted, only trust can bring them back together. At each part of the journey, Raya is constantly evaluating who to trust and how much. Life has rendered her understandably skeptical and cynical, and a large part of her quest is really about finding the courage to be open to trust. But the story isn’t advocating blind trust, but rather giving others the chance to continue to earn it. Raya shows how difficult this is to do, but how key it is to creating social and political stability and safety. Kelly Marie Tran’s voice work is exceptional. Raya always feels like a living, breathing person because Tran is able to convey so much through her intonation.  

Namaari is a refreshing character as she isn’t your typical wise-cracking, irredeemable Disney villian designed to make us cheer as they tumble from a great height at the end of the third act. She is more of a nemesis to Raya, with her own goals, her own trust issues, and her own path. Namaari, unlike Raya, has been raised in an environment where any gain made by other lands would come at the expense of Fang. This shapes her choices and relationships throughout the film. 

One of my favorite things about Raya and the Last Dragon is that each character has their own baggage, and we don’t always see it until Raya does, also. The film is the longest from Disney Animation Studios (Raya is shorter than Pixar’s The Incredibles 2 and Cars) but that length is deserved because it gives the film time for the characters to have more complex emotions and process what each step of the quest has brought them. 

That isn’t to imply that this is some sort of slow cinema animated film. There are plenty of fantastic action scenes scattered throughout, ranging from martial arts fights to Indiana Jones-esque booby traps, and the fluidity and rhythm on display is stunning in each. With so few action films released in the past year, Raya reminded me how much I miss seeing characters do cool things and look cool doing them in movies. 

All of these elements, from the expressive character designs to the action sequences, are bolstered by the quality of the animation. While I will continually call on Disney and other studios to be more impressionistic and less grounded in reality, Raya executes its chosen style brilliantly. The environments are interesting, lush, and immaculately detailed, often to the point where those details might slip by because they don’t even bother to focus on any of the individual elements, which are all basically perfect. In this regard, Raya feels like a culmination of everything the studio has been working on for the past decade, and the possibilities now feel endless. 

I’m only hinting at where the tale ultimately goes, but the ending is a large part of why I loved this movie so much and found it genuinely moving. While some may dismiss it as a “happily ever after,” the amount of healing and offering of redemption and atonement contained here is exactly the kind of story we all need to open ourselves up to. A single mistake should not determine one’s destiny forever, especially if they are willing to change in meaningful ways. It’s not forgiving someone whole cloth. Like trust, that forgiveness must be earned through action and atonement. Only together can we heal the whole, but we need not make room for those who choose not to change their ways. To have a fantasy adventure movie put healing at its core isn’t new for the genre, but the ways the writers and directors of Raya use it inform so much of the film is refreshing.