Raya & the Last Dragon (B or 3/4 stars)
In 'Raya & the Last Dragon' (directed by Don Hall & Carlos Lopez Estrada), a rousing animated Disney adventure, our titular protagonist Raya (voiced by Kelly Marie Tran) narrates to us the history of her troubled home, Kumandra, a once-prosperous land where magical dragons co-existed with humans until the Druun, a plague-like enemy that manifests as relentless black-&-purple monsters, started turning all inhabitants into stone. The dragons banded together to save humanity but eventually they, too, were lost - except for water dragon Sisu, who concentrated all the dragons' power into an all-powerful gem & defeated the Druun. Sisu's action revived every human, but the dragons remained suspended in stone ... except, legend says, for Sisu.
Kumandra then fragments into 5 warring regions: Heart, Tail, Talon, Spine & Fang. The humans who once got along, are now hostile to each other. Raya, the warrior princess of Heart {which is where Sisu's gem is hidden}, & her father, Chief Benja (Daniel Dae Kim), invite the leaders of the other regions to Heart for a peace summit. But it turns into an all-out war when the mighty Fang leader, Virana (Sandra Oh) & her tricksy daughter, Namaari (Gemma Chan) make a play for Sisu's gem. It breaks into 5 pieces (each of which is swept up by one of the leaders), unleashing the Druun, which turn Chief Benja - and many others -into stone.
Now 6 yrs. later, Raya - riding through a dystopian existence atop her beloved armadillo/pill bug creature, Tuk Tuk (Alan Tudyk) - is still searching high & low for Sisu, just as Namaari is searching for her. Raya discovers the sassy, but sweet & highly optimistic water dragon Sisu (Awkwafina) & they set-out on a journey, teaming up with locals (10 yr. old Boun, played by Isaaz Wang, who runs a restaurant on his boat in Tail to keep the water-hating Druun at bay; Talonese con artist toddler Noi, played by Thalia tran, & her 3 thieving monkeys; and Tong, played by Benedict Wong, the last warrior of Spine). Despite their differences, they band together to re-assemble the gem stones, vanquish the Druun, & free those frozen in stone. Adventure ensues.
Well, Disney has done it, once again. I wouldn't put 'R&tLD' in the top tier of the movie studio's best offerings, but it is solid as a rock; containing a loveable princess warrior, a plot full of amiable allies, scary villains, gorgeous visuals, swelling music & the very timely theme of healing a divided nation. This film's bursts of peril & sadness are well-balanced by moments of levity & heart. I loved Tuk Tuk, the adorable animal sidekick. I also admire that there is no romance in the plot; focusing, instead, on family, unity & the friendship that Raya forms with Sisu & their band of new friends.
The filmmakers manage to make the characters' orphan-hood a touching theme about loss & perseverance. Every character suffers loss, & it drives Raya to doing all she can to free her father from his stone casing. The CGI in this movie is exemplary; with land, sea & air creations that are beautiful, and attention to detail that astounds. I also dug James Newton Howard's grand music score. But you know, for some reason, I just do not outright love this movie. Though I enjoy Awkwafina, I found that her somewhat strident speaking voice didn't match Sisu's likeness. And maybe I wanted something a little more original in the particulars of the film. Nothing egregious, I just nitpick because I wanted this very good epic adventure to be great.
Kumandra then fragments into 5 warring regions: Heart, Tail, Talon, Spine & Fang. The humans who once got along, are now hostile to each other. Raya, the warrior princess of Heart {which is where Sisu's gem is hidden}, & her father, Chief Benja (Daniel Dae Kim), invite the leaders of the other regions to Heart for a peace summit. But it turns into an all-out war when the mighty Fang leader, Virana (Sandra Oh) & her tricksy daughter, Namaari (Gemma Chan) make a play for Sisu's gem. It breaks into 5 pieces (each of which is swept up by one of the leaders), unleashing the Druun, which turn Chief Benja - and many others -into stone.
Now 6 yrs. later, Raya - riding through a dystopian existence atop her beloved armadillo/pill bug creature, Tuk Tuk (Alan Tudyk) - is still searching high & low for Sisu, just as Namaari is searching for her. Raya discovers the sassy, but sweet & highly optimistic water dragon Sisu (Awkwafina) & they set-out on a journey, teaming up with locals (10 yr. old Boun, played by Isaaz Wang, who runs a restaurant on his boat in Tail to keep the water-hating Druun at bay; Talonese con artist toddler Noi, played by Thalia tran, & her 3 thieving monkeys; and Tong, played by Benedict Wong, the last warrior of Spine). Despite their differences, they band together to re-assemble the gem stones, vanquish the Druun, & free those frozen in stone. Adventure ensues.
Well, Disney has done it, once again. I wouldn't put 'R&tLD' in the top tier of the movie studio's best offerings, but it is solid as a rock; containing a loveable princess warrior, a plot full of amiable allies, scary villains, gorgeous visuals, swelling music & the very timely theme of healing a divided nation. This film's bursts of peril & sadness are well-balanced by moments of levity & heart. I loved Tuk Tuk, the adorable animal sidekick. I also admire that there is no romance in the plot; focusing, instead, on family, unity & the friendship that Raya forms with Sisu & their band of new friends.
The filmmakers manage to make the characters' orphan-hood a touching theme about loss & perseverance. Every character suffers loss, & it drives Raya to doing all she can to free her father from his stone casing. The CGI in this movie is exemplary; with land, sea & air creations that are beautiful, and attention to detail that astounds. I also dug James Newton Howard's grand music score. But you know, for some reason, I just do not outright love this movie. Though I enjoy Awkwafina, I found that her somewhat strident speaking voice didn't match Sisu's likeness. And maybe I wanted something a little more original in the particulars of the film. Nothing egregious, I just nitpick because I wanted this very good epic adventure to be great.