Raya and the Last Dragon works best when you can get lost in the ride. Disney knows how to make this movie, and while it may not reach the cultural zeitgeist of a film like Frozen or the thoughtfulness of something like Zootopia, it’s still another success for the studio when it comes to solid storytelling and gorgeous animation. At times, Raya and the Last Dragon feels like a cousin to Big Hero 6where you’ve got a team of characters fighting for a common cause, accepting and embracing the humanity of their antagonist while recognizing their own pain and trauma, set against the backdrop of unique setting. The theme of “trust people” is just substantial enough to hang an emotional core of the film upon, and from there you’ve still got a pretty enjoyable action movie. When she finds her, they resolve to get the gem pieces back from the other tribes so that Sisu can ward off the Druun and save the world. Raya escapes and spends the next six years searching for Sisu. However, when Raya entrusts Fang princess Namaari ( Gemma Chan) to look at the gem only to be betrayed, the gem shatters in an ensuing fight, the Druun are unleashed, and the evil force begins rampaging through the world, turning people to stone including Benja. Raya ( Kelly Marie Tran) looks to protect the gem with her father Chief Benja ( Daniel Dae Kim), but Benja believes the path forward is to unite the five lands of Heart, Fang, Spine, Talon, and Tail to remake the united world of Kumandra. Even worse, humanity became further divided in their quest for the gem. However, Sisu disappeared while all of her fellow dragons remained turned to stone by the Druun. But when you boil down a movie like Raya into “content”, a first viewing of it makes the film feel less substantial than it should be.ĥ00 years after a plague called the Druun threatened to wipe out the world, the last dragon Sisu ( Awkwafina) bequeathed to humanity a gem capable of repelling the darkness. On a TV, Raya is still a fun romp where it takes a little while to get going, but once it settles into its groove it’s a propulsive journey with some thrilling action scenes. Instead, while the film will receive a theatrical release, it’s also primarily available as “Premier Access” event where it will cost $30 to add it to your Disney+ lineup (or you can wait a few months and it will automatically get added to Disney+). Disney Animation’s new movie clearly belongs in a theater simply because it’s a big quest story built around its set pieces. I was fine watching the action film Extraction on my TV, but I longed to see the vistas of Nomadland on the big screen.
It’s not even a categorization limited to drama. There have been movies I’ve seen in the past year where I caught them at home, and a home viewing was acceptable. Movies like Raya and the Last Dragon make me miss movie theaters.
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