Raya had the potential to be another strong Disney heroine with an interesting story set in an unconventional reality. Unfortunately, it ended up being mediocre, and the DVD release doesn’t really make up for the film’s shortcomings.
Disney’s heroines have been experiencing a real revolution for over a decade. The Mickey Mouse House, along with abandoning traditionally animated full-length films for good, said goodbye to traditional heroines who fit into the archetype of a pretty and delicate damsel in distress, whose dream come true is to find a prince charming. Although this type of protagonists had been present in Disney productions before, 2010’s Tangled set a new direction for animation, in which lively, independent and more “modern” heroines, often aware of the ossified convention of traditional fairy tales, play the first violin. Regardless of whether subsequent titles were more or less successful, the trend continued in both parts of Frozen, Ralphie Wreck -It and Zootopia. I even dare say that the approach to the topic of princesses in Ralph Wreck the Internet was its best element and probably the only really funny scene of this production. The story with a modern-day protagonist in Moana was perfectly constructed . Raya and the Last Dragon also tries to fit in this trend, but with much worse results.
It was supposed to be so beautiful
I have the impression that there was no shortage of ideas for presenting Raya’s story, but either there was no time to refine them, or the producer’s hand worked, not allowing too innovative ideas. As a result, during the screening, you can see a lot of interesting concepts that are not sufficiently developed, and just as many lazy solutions.
Setting the action in a fantasy world clearly inspired by Asia was a good starting point, quite different from classic fairy tales with European roots and giving hope for a story as original as the aforementioned Moana . It is a pity that this time the creators did not reach for any of the existing cultures and mythologies or any of the basilliards of Asian legends. Instead, they decided to create their own universe constituting an amalgam of stereotypes, narrative clichés and visual orientalism. Such pseudo-Asia fantasy is fine when it is the responsibility of developers from the East, not a big American studio that apparently does not remember what criticism fell on them for disrespecting Chinese culture in Mulan. But even if you turn a blind eye to it and recognize that in a globalized world you can freely draw inspiration from everywhere and mix various motifs, it would be good if such a remix led to some new quality. This is well demonstrated by the authors of Lego Ninjago – a series that is extremely eclectic, kitschy, but at the same time successfully plays with the convention, mixing ninjas, steampunk pirates, cyborgs, giant robots, snakemen and hell knows what else in the world of Danish bricks. Even more popular is the animated series Avatar (not to be confused with Cameron’s film), which on the one hand presents an original world and interesting characters, and on the other – cares about representation and inclusivity, providing the recipients with positive role models.
What can I say about the characters of Raya and the last dragon ? Few. Unfortunately, they are extremely uncharacteristic and uninteresting. The writers (and cast, but more on that in a moment) try to strike a spark between them, but in the end, instead of fireworks, we get tiny sparklers.
Stamped, but solid
So is this a completely hopeless movie? No, no exaggeration. We still have high-quality, though no longer revolutionary, graphics and nice character designs. There are a lot of ingenious concepts here (for example, the almost post-apocalyptic world presented and the extremely creative means of transport of the title character). Unfortunately, most of the screening is averagely engaging and not particularly memorable, not to mention the desire to watch it again.
Unlike Tangled, Frozen, and Moana , Raya… isn’t a musical, so it doesn’t boast catchy songs either. Unfortunately, the background music is also mediocre at best, and after some time after the screening, I completely forgot even the smallest fragment of James Newton Howard’s soundtrack.
DVD or not DVD?
Is it worth getting interested in the DVD then? Contrary to appearances – yes. If, like me, you’re a Disney buff and want to check out every Disney movie, this is a pretty good (and affordable) option. It also has one huge advantage – the option to watch the animation with the original voice cast, which in my opinion is one of the strong points of this production. If I had to point out one reason why you should be tempted to watch Raya and the last dragon, it would be Awkwafina’s brilliant performance as Sisu the dragon. Unfortunately, the Polish distributor did not release the film on Blu-ray, but the film was very decently compressed, so despite the old format, the picture quality is exceptionally good, at least on a mid-range 43-inch HD TV. Of course, this was at the expense of additional materials.
The only bonus that we will experience on the album is the short animation Us Again , telling the story of a couple discovering a second youth through dance sequences. A cute and worth watching thumbnail.
This dragon is OK at best (badum-tss)
Ultimately, Raya…is not the worst Disney animation from the last decade (this title definitely belongs to the sequel to the adventures of Ralph Wreck-It, and if Pixar’s titles are also taken into account, there are a few more candidates). Nevertheless, Asian-like fantasy is one of the studio’s weaker productions, and its biggest flaw is its blandness. Seriously, apart from Awkwafina in the role of Sisu and Tuk Tuk, it’s hard for me to name a single element that would be more memorable. The DVD release, apart from the image itself in good quality and a nice short film, has nothing special to offer, so it is also a choice for people who do not use VOD or simply want to have a physical copy in their film library. In my opinion, however, this is an option only for the biggest Disney maniacs.
