Raya and the Last Dragon
Director: Don Hall, Carlos Lopez Estrada
Cast: Kelly Marie Tran, Awkwafina, Isaac Wang, Gemma Chan, Daniel Dae Kim, Benedict Wong
Long ago, in the magical kingdom of Kumandra, humans and dragons lived together in peace. When sinister monsters known as the Druun threatened the peace of Kumandra and transformed its people into stone statues, the dragons sacrificed themselves to save humanity. Now, 500 years later, those same monsters have returned, and it's up to a lone warrior to track down the last dragon and stop the Druun for good.
One of the most powerful themes in the film is trust, and nowhere is it illustrated more beautifully than in the characters of Raya and Sisu.
When Sisu (Awkwafina) meets Raya, she tells Raya the story of how a dark and malevolent entity, the Druun, invaded Kumandra and transformed all of the humans in this beautiful kingdom into stone. To protect humanity from this plague, the dragons united all their powers as one, and entrusted Sisu with the essence of their magic to create the Dragon Gem, in hopes that she could wield their combined magic to banish the darkness from Kumandra forever and restore both the dragons and their human allies to life.
For Princess Raya, learning to trust the other tribes, and her own heart, is a much harder challenge. As a child, Raya’s father entrusts her with protecting their tribe’s most preciously guarded secret: the location of the Dragon Gem. He tells Raya that he hopes the fractured tribes can be reunited as one kingdom and become Kumandra again, but he fears that unless the people learn to trust each other, they will never heal their fractured kingdom…they will only destroy it. Raya’s father has invited the tribes to come together in Heart to share a meal. While Raya has grave doubts about this plan, her father asks Raya, as his daughter and the Princess of Heart, to trust him. Raya makes a grave mistake when she chooses to entrust the secret of the Dragon Gem to Namaari, a princess from another tribe called Fang. Her trust in her new friend was born from her desire to honor her father’s wish to see all the tribes united as Kumandra, once again. Her trust was broken, when Namaari and the other tribes shattered the Gem, and in doing so, cost Raya everything she held dear. In the end, Raya must choose whether to trust again, to restore her kingdom, or stay a scared child forever, unable to trust or forgive. It is only when Raya chooses to listen to Sisu’s wisdom, and trust Namaari with her piece of the Dragon Gem, that she can finally heal the Dragon Gem and restore their fractured kingdoms to become Kumandra once again.
Honor is a powerful theme in this film, and nowhere is honor shown more, than in the characters of Raya and Namaari and how their honor as warrior princesses is shown to both their respective clans, and the dragons, as the story unfolds.
Raya’s first moment of honoring the spirit of Sisu is shown when she arrives at the sacred temple that protects the Dragon Gem. Raya removes her shoes at the entrance to the Dragon Gem’s chamber, and Raya and her father kneel before the Gem and they both make the sign to honor Sisu, touching their encircled hands to their foreheads in a gesture of deep respect and honor, before Raya’s father, Chief Benja, anoints his daughter as the new Guardian of the Dragon Gem. Raya, Sisu, and their little friend, Boun, each take a moment to honor their lost families, when they cast the flowers into the river, after making a sign of honor.
While Namaari manipulates Raya in order to steal the Dragon Gem, she still recognizes the Spirit of Sisu and shows her deep respect by removing her shoes at the door and making the sign to honor Sisu by touching her circled hands to her forehead. When Namaari and her warriors are hunting Raya, they come across a multitude of dragons, all of which have been transformed into stone statues. Namaari honors the dragons by walking respectfully past them and pausing for a moment to honor the dragons with her hands forming a circle over her head in a sign of deep respect. Namaari honors Sisu, as well, when she makes the sign again, when Sisu is resurrected, and it is this same sign – hands forming a circle – that is used to express honor and deep respect when Chief Benja meets Sisu and all of the clans unite together and make this sign to honor Chief Benja and become Kumandra.
I can honestly say that Raya and the Last Dragon genuinely surprised me. I was not expecting to like this movie as much as I did. Given Disney's recent history with their films, I was incredibly surprised to walk away from this film feeling INSPIRED, because, for the first time in a long time (except for its Marvel movies) I felt like I had watched a REAL Disney movie. The animation was stunning, the magic was woven intricately into every detail of this movie. The story was both unique and creative. And for the first time in a while, I felt like I was watching a genuinely creative story unfold that was NOT focused on just a live action remake or a sequel or selling cute toys. I would highly recommend this film to anyone who loves Disney at its best.
© 2023 Keriane Kellogg. All rights reserved.
Director: Don Hall, Carlos Lopez Estrada
Cast: Kelly Marie Tran, Awkwafina, Isaac Wang, Gemma Chan, Daniel Dae Kim, Benedict Wong
Long ago, in the magical kingdom of Kumandra, humans and dragons lived together in peace. When sinister monsters known as the Druun threatened the peace of Kumandra and transformed its people into stone statues, the dragons sacrificed themselves to save humanity. Now, 500 years later, those same monsters have returned, and it's up to a lone warrior to track down the last dragon and stop the Druun for good.
One of the most powerful themes in the film is trust, and nowhere is it illustrated more beautifully than in the characters of Raya and Sisu.
When Sisu (Awkwafina) meets Raya, she tells Raya the story of how a dark and malevolent entity, the Druun, invaded Kumandra and transformed all of the humans in this beautiful kingdom into stone. To protect humanity from this plague, the dragons united all their powers as one, and entrusted Sisu with the essence of their magic to create the Dragon Gem, in hopes that she could wield their combined magic to banish the darkness from Kumandra forever and restore both the dragons and their human allies to life.
For Princess Raya, learning to trust the other tribes, and her own heart, is a much harder challenge. As a child, Raya’s father entrusts her with protecting their tribe’s most preciously guarded secret: the location of the Dragon Gem. He tells Raya that he hopes the fractured tribes can be reunited as one kingdom and become Kumandra again, but he fears that unless the people learn to trust each other, they will never heal their fractured kingdom…they will only destroy it. Raya’s father has invited the tribes to come together in Heart to share a meal. While Raya has grave doubts about this plan, her father asks Raya, as his daughter and the Princess of Heart, to trust him. Raya makes a grave mistake when she chooses to entrust the secret of the Dragon Gem to Namaari, a princess from another tribe called Fang. Her trust in her new friend was born from her desire to honor her father’s wish to see all the tribes united as Kumandra, once again. Her trust was broken, when Namaari and the other tribes shattered the Gem, and in doing so, cost Raya everything she held dear. In the end, Raya must choose whether to trust again, to restore her kingdom, or stay a scared child forever, unable to trust or forgive. It is only when Raya chooses to listen to Sisu’s wisdom, and trust Namaari with her piece of the Dragon Gem, that she can finally heal the Dragon Gem and restore their fractured kingdoms to become Kumandra once again.
Honor is a powerful theme in this film, and nowhere is honor shown more, than in the characters of Raya and Namaari and how their honor as warrior princesses is shown to both their respective clans, and the dragons, as the story unfolds.
Raya’s first moment of honoring the spirit of Sisu is shown when she arrives at the sacred temple that protects the Dragon Gem. Raya removes her shoes at the entrance to the Dragon Gem’s chamber, and Raya and her father kneel before the Gem and they both make the sign to honor Sisu, touching their encircled hands to their foreheads in a gesture of deep respect and honor, before Raya’s father, Chief Benja, anoints his daughter as the new Guardian of the Dragon Gem. Raya, Sisu, and their little friend, Boun, each take a moment to honor their lost families, when they cast the flowers into the river, after making a sign of honor.
While Namaari manipulates Raya in order to steal the Dragon Gem, she still recognizes the Spirit of Sisu and shows her deep respect by removing her shoes at the door and making the sign to honor Sisu by touching her circled hands to her forehead. When Namaari and her warriors are hunting Raya, they come across a multitude of dragons, all of which have been transformed into stone statues. Namaari honors the dragons by walking respectfully past them and pausing for a moment to honor the dragons with her hands forming a circle over her head in a sign of deep respect. Namaari honors Sisu, as well, when she makes the sign again, when Sisu is resurrected, and it is this same sign – hands forming a circle – that is used to express honor and deep respect when Chief Benja meets Sisu and all of the clans unite together and make this sign to honor Chief Benja and become Kumandra.
I can honestly say that Raya and the Last Dragon genuinely surprised me. I was not expecting to like this movie as much as I did. Given Disney's recent history with their films, I was incredibly surprised to walk away from this film feeling INSPIRED, because, for the first time in a long time (except for its Marvel movies) I felt like I had watched a REAL Disney movie. The animation was stunning, the magic was woven intricately into every detail of this movie. The story was both unique and creative. And for the first time in a while, I felt like I was watching a genuinely creative story unfold that was NOT focused on just a live action remake or a sequel or selling cute toys. I would highly recommend this film to anyone who loves Disney at its best.
© 2023 Keriane Kellogg. All rights reserved.