Movies likeRaya and the Last Dragonmake me miss movie theaters. There have been movies I’ve seen in the past year where I caught them at home, and a home viewing was acceptable. It’s not even a categorization limited to drama. I was fine watching the action filmExtractionon my TV, but I longed to see the vistas ofNomadlandon the big screen. Disney Animation’s new movie clearly belongs in a theater simply because it’s a big quest story built around its set pieces. 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’re able to wait a few months and it will automatically get added to Disney+). On a TV,Rayais 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. But when you boil down a movie likeRayainto “content”, a first viewing of it makes the film feel less substantial than it should be.
500 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. However, Sisu disappeared while all of her fellow dragons remained turned to stone by the Druun. Even worse, humanity became further divided in their quest for the gem. 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. 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 escapes and spends the next six years searching for Sisu. 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.
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Digging through all that exposition of what happened 500 years ago and then what happened six years ago really drags the first act ofRaya. It’s not until Raya meets up with Sisu that the movie finds its spark and its pacing thanks in part to the way Raya and Sisu play off each other as well Awkwafina’s terrific vocal performance. Once the movie is able to settle into its quest structure of traveling to a new land, making a new ally, and finding a piece,Rayathrives as an action quest movie that never slows down. In this action mold,Raya and the Last Dragonis an immensely fun and entertaining film even if its theme about trust falls a little flat.
The movie tells us numerous times about the importance of trust. Raya’s world has fallen apart because no one trusts each other, and Sisu constantly pushes Raya to trust other people. “You’ve got to give a little to get it,” says Sisu of the film’s celebrated virtue. It’s not difficult to see why this is the film’s core tenet. We live in a world that is riven by divisions and we bemoan the fact that “no one trusts each other.” WhatRayaoverlooks is that while mutual cooperation is obviously good, people have conflicting agendas. In the grand scheme of massive problems, we should obviously work together, but we live in a country with epistemological crises. It’s difficult to have trust when people can’t even agree on objective truths. Obviously, the Walt Disney Corporation and their animated children’s film isn’t going to address this level of nuance, but nevertheless, the message about “trust people” still feels facile despite its good intentions.
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. At times,Raya and the Last Dragonfeels like a cousin toBig 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. Disney knows how to make this movie, and while it may not reach the cultural zeitgeist of a film likeFrozenor the thoughtfulness of something likeZootopia, it’s still another success for the studio when it comes to solid storytelling and gorgeous animation.
Raya and the Last Dragonworks best when you can get lost in the ride. When you’re at home surrounded by distractions or even just watching it on the same screen where you watchThe Officereruns and football, those barriers start to creep up. For The Walt Disney Company,Raya and the Last Dragonis “content” because they can’t see it any other way. But for the viewer who wants to appreciate the work these artists have done, there’s a sense of loss when viewingRaya and the Last Dragonon the small screen. It will keep you entertained, but it’s the kind of movie where I’d like to see in theaters when it’s safe to do so because then I can see myself getting swept away.
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