Raya and the Last Dragon

3/1/2021

In a magical land known as Kumandra; Humans and Dragons co-exist in harmony. When a threat in the form of creatures known as Druun arrive and threaten to destroy everything; the Dragons combine their power to defeat them but in doing so all but one of the Dragons remains. In the new Disney animated film “Raya and the Last Dragon”; audiences are introduced to the narrative of the story by Raya (Kelly Marie Tran), who tells that the world has become fractured and she is to blame. A sacred relic that the Dragons used to Defeat the Druun has given her kingdom prosperity but the surrounding kingdoms all named after various parts of a Dragon are envious of their position. When Raya’s father Chief Benja (Daniel Dae Kim); attempts to unite the other kingdoms, a tragic betrayal results in the

3/1/2021

If you enjoy reading my Spoiler-Free reviews, please follow my blog @ https://www.msbreviews.com Disney purchased Pixar way back in 2006, and many incredible animated films have been released under both banners. Therefore, it’s quite understandable that many people don’t recognize the difference between Walt Disney Animation Studios and Pixar itself. The latter studio released two movies just last year (Onward, Soul), while the former’s latest original film dates back to 2016’s Moana. So, there was a lot of anticipation for a new animated movie from the studio that gave us classics such as Aladdin, The Lion King, Mulan, and more recently, the Frozen saga. With Don Hall (Big Hero 6) and Carlos López Estrada (Blindspotting) at the helm, and Adele Lim (Crazy Rich Asians) and Qui Nguyen (f

3/8/2021

'Raya and the Last Dragon' is a solid step back in the right direction for Walt Disney Animation Studios. Over the past 20 years, they've struggled to find their confidence and voice as a studio, certainly due to complicated changes of leadership and the rise of genuine artistic and financial competitors, but 'Raya' is the kind of film in which they do their best work - an entertaining and exciting experience built on a strong protagonist with a clear motivation and a powerful internal conflict. The legacy of Disney animation has been to speak to the deep emotional truths of the human experience in a way that is accessible to anyone, and with its themes of self-belief, moving through grief and trauma, and finding the trust in others and ourselves, 'Raya and the Last Dragon' is a worthy par

3/9/2021

It’s terrific to see the animated movies continuing to evolve, and “Raya and the Last Dragon” is the latest film that takes the traditional idea of a Disney heroine and makes a huge leap into a welcome new direction. This magical fantasy / adventure tale features inspired characters, beautiful animation, and a culturally accurate representation of Asian mythology. It’s a terrific movie on all levels. Long ago in the make-believe world of Kumandra, humans and dragons lived together in harmony. There was a complete balance to the world until an evil force known as the Druun began to threaten the land. This sinister tribe of shadow monsters rose to power by feeding off the discord of humans, and the dragons decided to sacrifice themselves to save all of humanity. New unrest nearly 500 year

4/21/2021

Disney, like many studios, have been under a lot of pressure to produce not only a large quantity of content but it also needs a higher level of quality. There was a clear need for something new under the Disney brand that wasn’t just a remake from something in the 90s and I believe Raya was a ray of sunshine to the studio. The ability to maintain the same family friendly message while still allowing animation to touch the hearts of any viewer was such an amazing feat. In order to avoid any spoilers I’ll just say the journey of Raya is not only inspirational but empowering. This is certainly a win for the studio and for any viewer that gives it a chance.

6/13/2021

Great watch, would watch again, and do recommend. I heard a lot of noise about it being a rip off of this, or a rip off of that, long short that it was a non-original cash-grab. I honestly don't see what people were talking about, other than it was an Asian-ish themed animation, and those people are just unfamiliar with Eastern anime, poor things. This feels like an untold, if not unique, world, mythology, and great characters. My big problem with this movie is that it is fueled by stupid. I honestly expected them to fight over the magic thing, but the incompetence of stealing a thing that keeps the world from ending, let alone breaking it into pieces is a bit much. It actually pushes it over into a horror movie territory, and it shows at one point. There was also the bit