"Raya and the Last Dragon" is a gorgeously animated if formulaic return to the Disney animated train
“Raya and the Last Dragon” Film Review
70/100 “sweet/sour”
By Quinn Marcus
Raya and the Last Dragon comes to us from the director of Big Hero 6, one of my personal favorite Disney animated features, and tells the story of a young girl named Raya, who after 500 years of division, is tasked to mend the world so everyone can live in peace once again, but in order to do that, she must find the last dragon. The first trailer for this film didn’t look all too promising, it looked like a bunch of generic side-quests thrown together to satisfy children. However, I am very pleased to say that Raya and the Last Dragon surpassed my expectations, if not by a lot. This is by no means Disney’s best animated-adventure, certainly not as good as Moana or Big Hero 6, but I found myself impressed with the final result.
Firstly, the animation was absolutely spectacular, the fight scenes are where the film truly thrives, and luckily there are quite a few of them. From an exhilarating sword-fight in a golden temple to fending off demons of the dark, Raya and the Last Dragon’s action sequences did not disappoint. But it’s not just the fights that look great, every frame was immaculately rendered, this is easily one of Disney’s best-looking films. Every strand of hair, weapon, landscape, each plant looked perfect. The work that was put into such detail obviously paid off because it looked pretty damn good. The voice-work features the talent of Kelly Marie Tran (Star Wars: The Last Jedi), and Awkwafina (The Farewell). Everyone was great, I couldn’t point out a single weak link amongst the cast. Thanks to this wonderful ensemble, my care for the otherwise not-so-special characters grew immensely. Seriously, without the cast, I couldn’t care less about the characters, there’s a princess who needs to do a thing, but to do that thing, she needs to collect some stuff, make friends, and learn a couple of valuable lessons along the way.
That my friends is where the film unfortunately falters: the script. I am so sick of Disney’s signature formula, not because it isn’t entertaining, but because at some point these films begin to blur together. It’s the same thing each time with a few new colorful character additions just waiting to be sold online. Now, what was done with Big Hero 6 was something special, I hadn’t seen anything like it in the Disney canon, but besides the fact that Raya and the Last Dragon doesn’t have a musical number (although the soundtrack was terrific), it didn’t feel all too different. A world in peril, a warrior-princess with an adorable animal sidekick on a mission to fix it…hmm, where have I seen that before?
Regardless of the script’s obvious issues, I actually had a blast watching this film, it’s highly entertaining, most of the comedy works, and it’s all uplifted by the electrifying musical score done by James Newton Howard. Everything moves really quickly, but thankfully, it’s easy to catch up to…with the help of several annoying exposition dumps of course. This movie was clogged with exposition, nearly every line is an explanation of how things are in this divided world. While it’s certainly interesting, it’s a pretty lazy go-to option for a writer to make, and usually, we give Disney a pass, but it’s too noticeable in this film not to be pointed out. The story has some compelling themes about trust and unity, but it sadly isn’t all too subtle. However, the last 25 minutes blew me away, it was emotionally fulfilling, action-packed, and well-executed. Unlike Disney’s recent efforts, the finale felt grounded, despite purple demons turning people to stone. Disney has a way of giving us breathtaking conclusions, and Raya and the Last Dragon is no exception.
The final verdict is…Raya and the Last Dragon overcomes an overdose of Disney’s predictable signature formula with an action-packed, meticulously animated adventure that will leave adults and children feeling uplifted and (mostly) satisfied…$TREAM IT!