Movie Thoughts: Raya and the Last Dragon (2021)

• Released: March 5, 2021
• Directed by: Don Hall, Carlos López Estrada
• Running time: 1 hr 54 min
• Rating 4/5

Synopsis

The world of Kumandra was once unified under the protective rule of the dragon species, but discord eventually took over, splitting the people up into different groups and causing a plague known as the Druun, which petrifies anyone it comes into contact with. A girl named Raya seeks to unify the world by summoning the supposed last dragon: Sisudatu.

My Thoughts

It’s been a while since the last Movie Thoughts, but since I’ve been anticipating this movie ever since I saw the first concept art, of course I had to break my silence for it.

Okay, so, full disclosure first: I am about as white as you can get and therefore I may not pick up on cultural insensitivities in this movie, if there’s any. Listen to SEAsian reviewers first, I’m just a dumb Dutch-German who happens to enjoy watching movies and giving my thoughts on them. I’ve seen some SEAsian people claim they love the movie, while others didn’t like it. I do also think it’s kinda sketchy for Disney not to make this movie available in Southeast Asia. Anyways, just wanted to make this clear before going into the review.

That said, man, I absolutely adored this movie. First of all, the visuals. Man, they were outstanding. I mean, kind of expected with Disney movies, but I definitely think this more nuanced and realistic-ish style is much more pleasing on the eyes than the same-face Frozen style. Like, I like the Frozen movies. They’re just not my favorite stylistically. But this? It looked gorgeous. I loved the look of Kumandra, both when it was prospering and when it slowly became a desolate and forgotten desert consumed by the Druun. Each of the different lands (cleverly named each after a different part of a dragon) has a distinct style, which I could also appreciate.

The characters were great. I loved Raya as our lead and how flawed yet strong-willed she was. Sisu was tons of fun. I doubted for a moment that she might get to be annoying, but she was a really neat character and I definitely appreciated that. The other side cast was surprisingly likable as well, from the thieving toddler to a battle-hardened warrior that’s the last of his tribe. The villain/antagonist was also really good. You just saw how conflicted she was and it was great for our main character and her to genuinely have something in common (love and respect for dragons).

The message of overcoming trust issues is one I could relate to and still need to apply in real life sometimes. Sometimes people hurt you and it can be hard to overstep your boundaries into trusting someone again after that.

I also just have to give a shoutout to the creature design, I genuinely liked it. From the Ongis traveling with Noi, to the cats of Fang. And, yes, I do like Sisu’s design. I do think it’s a bit tame, but she genuinely looks pleasing to the eyes, and I liked all the subtle differences between her facial structure and those of the other dragons. I just don’t think any character with big eyes and eyelashes looks like Elsa, sorry.

So, yeah, overall, I genuinely loved this movie. Probably one of my new favorites to come out of their recent lineup since Moana.