She also follows the classic formula of a typical Disney protagonist: has a good heart, skilled but a little … boring? Out of all the characters, Raya may have been the most underdeveloped. As the protagonist, she was tasked with telling a lot of the backstory, which left very little room for her own character’s development. Along the way, she meets comic relief characters, gets into fights with enemies and ultimately gets into a climatic battle where the bad guy turns good, and inspirational music plays while Kumandra gets restored.Īudiences are made aware of Raya’s motivations, however at times it was difficult to completely resonate with her character. In classic Disney fashion, Raya loses someone important to her, causing her to embark on a crazy journey to bring them back. Raya is a strong and clever protagonist who is, naturally, accompanied by an animal sidekick named Tuk Tuk, an adorable, armadillo-like creature. “Raya and the Last Dragon” is a tried and true Disney film with a pretty formulaic plot and story structure.

If the plot sounds familiar, that’s because it probably is. Six years later, Raya finds Sisu and embarks on a quest to retrieve the broken pieces of the dragon orb and bring back all those who were turned to stone. During the tussle, the orb broke into five pieces and elicited the return of the Druun, who turned much of the people from all different tribes into stone, including Raya’s father. Sisu (Awkwafina), the last remaining dragon, was rumored to have disappeared.ĭue to the people’s greed for the orb’s magic, they fought and Kumandra was broken up into five tribes named after the different parts of a dragon: Fang, Heart, Tail, Spine and Talon.Īfter an attack by the enemy tribes, Princess of the Heart tribe Raya (Kelly Marie Tran) and her father Chief Benja (Daniel Dae Kim) failed to save the magical dragon orb that has been in their tribe’s possession. However, after an attack by the Druun - evil spirits that turn living creatures to stone upon touch - all but one dragon sacrificed themselves and their magic, creating a magical orb to fend off the Druun. It is a feel-good movie that, although follows many of the common Disney movie tropes, is ultimately an entertaining film worth rewatching.įive hundred years ago, the land of Kumandra lived unitedly and prosperously with the dragons.

“Raya and the Last Dragon,” directed by Don Hall and Carlos López Estrada, is a new Disney fantasy and action film that draws from Southeast Asian cultures. Rich with Southeast Asian representation, “Raya and the Last Dragon,” journeys to find the last dragon and save the world.

The last dragon