Movei Review - Raya and the Last Dragon

Director: Don Hall, Carlos López Estrada, Paul Briggs, John Ripa
Genre: Animation/ Fantasy/ Adventure/ Family
Runtime: 107 minutes
Year: 2021
Starring: Kelly Marie Tran, Awkwafina, Daniel Dae Kim, Benedict Wong, Gemma Chan, Izaac Wang, Sandra Oh, Alan Tudyk

Description: In a realm known as Kumandra, a re-imagined Earth inhabited by an ancient civilization, a warrior named Raya is determined to find the last dragon.

Review: Kumandra is plagued by Druun: an evil entity who steals the life force of the inhabitants and then turns them into stone. As a result, the Druun becomes stronger, while the number of people decreases. Raya is on a quest to find Kumandra’s last hope: the dragon Sisu, who has the power to stop the Druun.
“Raya and the last Dragon” is beautifully animated, but it’s Disney so that’s no surprise. I love how they also added some simple animations, when they explain a story from the past.
Raya lives in Kumandra, a land which is divided into several pieces. It is placed around a dragon-shaped river - and all five tribes are named after the place where their home is located; Heart, Tallon, Tail, Fang and Spine. This is incredibly cleverly done and adds extra elements to the story that gives it that extra bit of depth.
The feud between the five tribes, who all think they are the best and most important, is a good story element. Raya, who is from Heart, is mostly in ‘war’ with Namaari from Fang, who is the reason the Druun came back. Raya wants nothing more then to get all the tribes together again.
Sisu, the dragon in the story, is not your typical dragon. Normally they are associated with dangerous, fire-breathing and terrifying creatures. But Sisu is mostly a funny and cute dragon. Originall, but it might disappoint some people.
I loved “Raya and the Last Dragon’, where there is yet another strong female lead without her being the damsel in distress.

Rating: 4/ 5