Disney’s new animated film Raya and the Last Dragon is one that I’ve been very much looking forward to seeing since I heard it was being made. The movie was directed by Carlos López Estrada and Don Hall, and I’m happy to say that it turned out to be a fantastic fantasy adventure film.
The film is beautifully animated, and I loved the art and style that was created to bring the story to life. The creative team behind the film did some of the most stunning and impressive CG animation work that I’ve seen from Disney so far.
Those stunning visuals are strengthened by the wonderful story that the film tells, which is pretty much what fans expect from Disney, and Disney always manages to deliver on those expectations. The story is set in a fantasy world named Kumandra. This is a place that has a history of humans and dragons living together in harmony. That all changed, though, when the sinister monsters known as the Druun came in and threatened this world and the dragons chose to sacrifice themselves to save humanity.
The film picks up 500 years later, and as the Drunn return to wreak havoc, a lone warrior named Raya sets out on a journey to track down the last dragon, who is named Sisu, and stop the Druun for good. On this journey, a little team comes together to help Raya on her mission.
The movie is filled with drama, action, comedy, and heart. One of the lessons that this story focuses on is forgiveness and trust. Trying to see the good in people and trust in them that they will make the right decision. Trust is not an easy thing to come by these days, there’s so much distrust in the world, and Raya is filled with distrust in this story, but thanks to the help of the dragon and her newfound friends, she is able to learn the value of trusting others.
One of the most magical aspects of the dragon character Sisu is that she has ultimate trust in humanity, even when humanity doesn’t deserve it. When trust is betrayed and people are constantly letting each other down, it’s not hard for people to fall into a negative bitterness toward those who break trust. But then you have a creature like Sisu, who inspires the people around her to not be held down by the grudges they carry and break free from them.
There are wonderful lessons to be learned from this film and there are wrapped up in a great story that features some incredibly cool action sequences.
There’s no doubt that Disney fans are going to love and enjoy this film and what it has to offer.