It was with some hesitation that I decided to see the new Disney movie, Raya and The Last Dragon. This animated movie has been pushed heavily by Disney for some time and it is now available via theatrical release and on Disney+. I decided to see the movie on the big screen.
Raya is a fantasy tale with Asian influence that takes place after the disappearance of Dragons in the world. One village has the remaining stone that is thought to contain the spirit and essence of Sisu, the last great dragon. The people of all nations, all a part of the world called Kumandra worship Sisu but are divided by geographical location, beliefs and more, much like in today's world. It is here we see Raya, the princess of the Heart tribe and her father Chief Benga. Chief Benga has a dream of bringing all people back together as it was before the loss of dragons. His only problem, while he is willing to work with other tribes they are not and prefer to hold onto their differences. After an accident and the release of evil spirits called the Druun, evil is set loose on earth and the spirits turn everyone they come into contact with to stone. Thus begins the quest of Raya to gather the pieces of stone that contains the spirit of Sisu to hopefully bring unity to the world.
One of the things about this movie is the beautiful animation, but before I go there, I HAVE TO COMMENT ON THE OPENING SHORT PRIOR TO THE MOVIE, ONCE AGAIN. Much like the opening scenes in UP, the opening short story in Raya is nothing short of brilliant. It has to be considered for an Oscar for best short. It is the most beautiful, touching scene since Up and the short itself makes the ticket to see Raya worth the cost. Without too much detail, while there is no dialog, the animation and story will bring tears to your eyes. It's beautiful!
Now as to be expected, with the union of Pixar and Disney in recent years no one does animation nearly as beautiful and brilliant as Disney. The animation in Raya, for the most part is fantastic, at times, trend setting and as realistic as any animation seen in years. As I mentioned though, I said, for the most part. Unfortunately, there are aspects of animation that were lackluster and fall short to the excellence most scenes contain. In what should have been among the most beautiful scenes with the best animation, one would think the scenes with dragons would be among the best, but unfortunately the dragons were bland and nothing to write home about. The same can be said for the voicing of some of the character. I didn't care for the voice of Sisu and while I recognize the talents of voice actors, there was nothing really special in the voicing of any of the characters. There is no doubt, that ultimately, it is the story and some innovative animation scenes that are the stars of this movie.
We live in a world where we in America ask questions and make comments about getting along, not hating, coming together, unity and so forth. In those regards, the movie addresses themes that we can learn from. While we may talk about getting along, specifically in America after our recent political history, are we willing to give up something important to us to make unity happen? Or will we hold on to what is so important to us that we ignore the potential and lives of others, despite their beliefs. Can we quit throwing blame and condemnation and find ways to bring about needed change to our world? These themes, and the potential consequences of finding reasons to hate as opposed to love, permeate the themes of Raya. I am reminded of the Bible verse that states, No greater love has any than this, their willingness to lay down their life for another.
Raya is a film I recommend for the big screen as opposed to the television streaming option. When the animation is good, which is most of the time, it is amazing and deserves to be seen in large screen format. Unfortunately, if not for the animation and the brilliant opening short movie this movie would score around a 5 1/2 on a scale of 1 - 10, still better than average but not great. However, because of the short movie Once Again the movie experience here is better.
On a scale of 1 - 10, for the willingness of the princess warrior Raya to sacrificially bring about love and show that love to others over her own needs; I give a 7 for the letters in the word warrior, for it takes a warrior to sacrificially love. 7
To see the trailer for the movie click on the following link:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1VIZ89FEjYI
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