Raya and the Last Dragon succeeds, but it also fails miserably. The animation is stunning- the strongest element of the film- making the most of the landscapes and cultural art styles of locations such as Thailand and Cambodia. The story is unique as it is based on Southeast Asian folklore, and it has one of the cutest sidekicks ever, an animal-meets-Segway named Tuk-Tuk. Parents, between Raya's buddy and all those colorful dragons, get ready to open your wallets for all that cheaply made plush at the Disney Stores.
In a nod to classic Disney animation, our heroine has only one parent. What is it with Disney and this angle? While Pixar artists seem to struggle with deep troubling emotions as evidenced by their art, Disney animators must not know what to do with a hero or heroine that comes from an alive and kicking two parent traditional family. Tangled is the only recent film that breaks this unfortunate aspect.
Unfortunately, the content and flow of this beautiful looking piece of art is faulty. Very faulty. The film loses its soul over a plot line that takes much too long to develop to a winning and satisfying finale. By the end of the two hour long presentation, its excessive preachiness, the lack of depth of its characters, and its almost laughable and rushed kumbaya camp fire sing-a-long type conclusion, the viewer loses any lasting connection to its characters and its strengths. So much wasted potential.
Not is all lost, it would still make a wonderful dark ride cruise in a theme park. (Epcot 2.0 could certainly use a new World Showcase pavilion, now that I think about it.)
Raya has great intentions, forging a reminder to love your enemies, (Gee, I think Jesus of Nazareth was the first to speak this truth) but it forgets to tell a great story in a concise manner that holds the viewers interest. That's Storytelling 101. Ultimately, Raya and the Last Dragon is just one more Disney animated movie that's a one and done. If you want an Asian themed animated movie with staying power, Mulan is still the girl worth fighting for.
(Art copyright The Walt Disney Company.)
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