Raya and the Last Dragon

"Okay. I can see how this makes me look like a liar."

"Actually, I think it was the lying that makes you look like a liar."

Five hundred years ago, the peaceful kingdom of Kumandra is plagued by the evil Druun.  Druun are dark spirits that turn their victims to stone.  The kingdom is saved when Sisu (Awkwafina), the last dragon, creates a magical gem that destroys the Druun.  It also revives the people, but the dragons remain petrified.  Without the dragons and their magic, the kingdom divides into 5 tribes: Heart, Fang, Tail, Talon, and Spine.  Each tribe wants to control Sisu's gem, leading to distrust between the tribes.

Heart, under the leadership of Chief Benga (Kim), protects the gem.  Benga trains his daughter, Princess Raya (Tran) to be a guardian of the gem, while also dreaming of a future where the tribes are reunited.  He invites the other tribes to a banquet, to begin repairing relationships.  Raya befriends Namaari (Chan), the daughter of the Fang Chief, Virana (Oh).  But she is betrayed and the tribes break the gem into 5 pieces.  As the tribes grab pieces of the gem, the Druun return and wreak havoc on the kingdom.  Benga entrusts Raya with a piece of the gem, before sacrificing himself to save her.

Six years later, Raya and her pet Tuk Tuk (Alan Tudyk) are trying to find Sisu, who is rumored to still be in the kingdom.  Their search leads to an old shipwreck, where Raya is able to summon Sisu.  After Sisu is able to access new magic by touching Raya's piece of the gem, they decide to collect the pieces and restore the gem.  As they travel through the kingdom, their progress is followed by Namaari, who is still at odds with Raya.  Can they restore the gem and the kingdom before the Druun destroy their world?

This is the 59th Disney animated film.  It is an original story, inspired by the Southeast Asian countries of Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia, Myanmar, Malaysia, Indonesia, the Phillippines, and Laos.

The Good:

The film does a good job fleshing out the kingdom of Kumandra and distinguishing the differences between the tribes.  The main characters are a good mix of emotion and funny.  The action sequences are well-done and memorable.  The cast is great and capture the range of emotions that the story requires.

The Bad:

No real complaints.

Other Comments:

-I thoroughly enjoyed Little Noi and the Ongis.

-Nominated for the 2022 Academy Award for Best Animated Feature.

Raya and the Last Dragon (2021) 107 minutes

Director: Don Hall & Carlos Lopez Estrada

Starring: Kelly Marie Tran as Raya

Awkwafina as Sisu

Gemma Chan as Namaari

Izaac Wang as Boun

Daniel Dae Kim as Chief Benga

Benedict Wong as Tong

Sandra Oh as Chief Virana

Thalia Tran as Little Noi