The movie still plays with strong central themes – a hallmark of Disney animation – settling this time on ideas around friendship and trust. Raya’s story is certainly unique too and with no romance, no male protagonists and very little in the way of Disney princess tropes, this film stands out next to other movies in Disney’s illustrious catalogue. Thankfully, the film makes up for these shortfalls with an eclectic, memorable supporting cast. At times it almost overpowers the enjoyment of the picture. In fact, a good chunk of this movie is chock full of exposition that grinds the story to a halt. I won’t spoil anything here but the story rockets forward at a pretty lively speed, stopping every now and then to catch its breath and fill us in on exposition. With no dragons this time, it’s up to Raya to save the day, collecting up fragments of a special relic to bring about the end of the Druun – and the return of the dragons. Unfortunately this peace is shattered when a dramatic event leads to the Druun returning and threatening to destroy life in Kumandra. At the center of all this is Raya, who follows her Father’s lead in tribe Heart as he tries to bring about peace by opening his arms – and land – to the rival clans. In fact, these divisions manifest themselves into five distinct clans (each notably named after parts of a dragon). Skip forward hundreds of years and the world has never been more divided. Following an attack by the evil Druun, the dragon sacrifice themselves to save the world, leaving humanity to point fingers at each other. Our adventure takes place in a realm known as Kumandra, where dragon and human live harmoniously together. While that may sound bizarre, the execution is actually pretty good and the story is intentionally segmented into different parts of this mission to keep the pacing as tight as possible. In its simplest form, Raya and the Last Dragon’s story combines elements of Moana and Mulan with a more conventional video game fetch quest. The story zips by at a breathless pace, the action comes thick and fast, while the emotional climax rounds everything out with a neat little origami bow. It’s a gorgeously rendered, distinctly Asian-flavoured picture that combines adventure, comedy and thrills to excellent effect. Raya and the Last Dragon is a wonderful movie.
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