Raya and the Last Dragon

On March 5th, 2021, Disney released a new animated movie on Disney+ called Raya and the Last Dragon. This movie is set in places that derive from Southeast Asia and represents many cultural variations of Southeast Asian descent. Directed by the same director of Big Hero 6 and Moana, Don Hall created an action-packed fantasy film that many families could enjoy watching together.

The cast of Raya and the Last Dragon is all part of the Asian American community. The main character is played by Kelly Marie Tran, with her main supporting role voiced by Awkwafina. Some other familiar names that are included in the film are Gemma Chan, Daniel Dae Kim, Sandra Oh, and Benedict Wong. These actors and actresses voiced their characters extremely well and really brought the essence of their characters’ personalities to life.

The synopsis of the storyline of the movie is revolved around the fierce future warrior, Raya. She is not just the future leader of her land, she is also an extremely skilled martial artist who has been training to inherit the role as a protector of a sacred gem that contains the last bit of magic in that era. She also has an adorable requisite animal sidekick named Tuk Tuk, who helps her alongside her journey. The fantasy that the film focuses on is the magic of the dragons. There is one last dragon left that can be able to help save the land of those communities. The main quest that Raya has to endure in this movie is traveling to neighboring lands to collect magical objects and evading dangers, such as con artists and mob bosses. On this adventure, she meets multiple people and animals that help her accomplish her quest in the end. The pivotal takeaway of this movie is the lesson of trust. Raya’s real battle was learning to let go of past rage in relationships after being betrayed by family. The movie suggests that trust is an act of grace that involves relinquishing the memories of past harm.

Overall, Raya and the Last Dragon is a moving and sentimental movie with action-packed scenes that everyone in the family would love. Although it was not your typical Disney princess movie, Raya represents strength and power for women as a warrior princess, just like other princesses such as Moana, Merida, and Mulan. The animation was up to par as usual, due to it being Disney, of course. The scenery captures new insight into places around the world, just like the Southeast Asian essence in the movie. There are mass amounts of humor, passion, and thrill. The film’s burst of peril in scenes and moments of grief really balances out the movie as a whole. This Southeast Asian-inspired movie is equally parts empowering and audaciously optimistic in the end. The great character roles can leave an everlasting impression on children as well as adults while watching the movie with the wonderful life lessons on becoming united with one another. Raya and the Last Dragon is now in theaters and is streaming on Disney+ with premium access!