Tran’s steeliness is well-matched with Awkwafina’s brand of goofy comedy (she’s so well-suited to voice work that it makes sense she’ll be voicing a seagull in Disney’s upcoming Little Mermaid) and their buddy comedy back-and-forth is funny without bordering on the “this one’s for the adults” smugness that can often seep into post-Shrek animation. Raya is not only the driving force behind the action-led plot but she’s also without a love interest, focused on her family, her mission and her burgeoning friendship with Sisu. It’s an unfortunate misstep in what is otherwise another much-needed attempt at progress not just with its diverse cast and characters but also its positioning of a female lead. Set in a fictionalised version of south-east Asia, the accompanying voice cast is made up almost entirely of actors of Asian descent (from Sandra Oh to Gemma Chan to Daniel Dae Kim) although there was some understandable frustration recently when people discovered that the actors are predominantly of east Asian heritage, a sign that for some at Disney, Asia is all the same. After an attempt at peace ends in tragedy, years later as a teen, Raya finds herself on a dangerous quest to bring everyone together with the help of the last dragon Sisu (Awkwafina). It’s the story of Raya (Kelly Marie Tran), a young girl who lives in the fragmented world of Kumandra, split into different warring clans after the evil Druun led to the sacrifice of the dragons they had all once lived peacefully alongside.
It’s another victim of the pandemic, premiering in cinemas where possible but also on Disney+ with a lofty $30 price tag, a shame given the film’s lush visuals as well as its ability to prove that yet again, duh, diversity sells as its box office would have surely been substantial with enthused word of mouth propelling it long past opening weekend.
The release of Raya and the Last Dragon is in no way going to reshape that broader view (Disney is after all a cold capitalist corporation) but it does serve as a reminder of the studio doing what it does best: transporting us to a beautifully crafted universe to tell a story that’s both involving and, vitally, fresh.
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