For the last few years, Disney has been trying to update its female heroines to make them more in charge of their own lives and less depending on romantic interests to achieve their goals. Tangled started that trend, with Rapunzel being more active, while Frozen and Moana really consolidated it, with neither leading characters (Elsa and Moana) having a romantic relationship.
Not only does Raya and the Last Dragon succeed in having an independent strong female lead, but it’s also one of the few Disney movies where the male characters are all supporting. Even the antagonist and the dragon are female.
It tells the story of Kumandra, a prosperous land that is taken by the Druun, which are evil spirits that literally petrify people and multiply after absorbing their life force. The dragons of Kumandra tried to stop the Drunn while creating a magic orb, but ended up as stones themselves and the land got divided into five tribes. After 500 years, we meet Raya (voiced by Kelly Marie Tran) and her father (Daniel Dae Kim), who trains Raya to protect the orb and who believes the tribes can be reunited once again.
After a series of events, Raya is on a quest to find the last surviving dragon, Sisu, (voiced brilliantly by Awkwafina), to restore peace among the tribes and to unfreeze their population.
While the story might sound more mythical than usual for a Disney animation, it has all of the elements that make it on brand, with a strong message of union and trust throughout the movie. As usual, the main character has a sidekick (Tuk Tuk), who is responsible for many funny moments. Sisu is also hilarious and the most valuable player in the story, guiding Raya through many obstacles while being sweetly naïve (which sounds a bit like Olaf, from Frozen).
The animation is spectacular, bringing Disney to a whole new level of realism. The details of Raya’s hair, for example, are phenomenal. The fight sequences are equally breathtaking. It is also even more remarkable when we remember that most of the animation was done remotely, since the pandemic forced all animators to work from home in 2020.
The pacing of the movie is also good, with the intense score by James Newton Howard helping to move things along and to immerse us in the story. Just a reminder: it is not a musical, unlike the previous movies mentioned at the beginning of the text.
With the ongoing pandemic, it will be hard to know how many people will actually see Raya and the Last Dragon, but I do hope people eventually get around to watching it, since it is a wonderful addition to the Disney canon.
