Raya And The Last Dragon Review (When Will It Premiere On Disney Plus?)
Not to brag, but I saw Raya and the Last Drgon at two exclusive premieres. By that, I mean I went to the better theater to see it twice. I didn’t want to pay around $30 on top of my Disney Plus subscription to see it when tickets were cheaper at the theater. Including snacks, the price was similar to the price of the movie on Disney Plus without snacks. Seeing this movie in theaters (fully vaccinated and with a mask) also meant I got to get out of the house for a couple of hours.
Raya and the Last Dragon is a movie with themes of trust and faith in others. It’s easy to put up a guard after a tragic event and hard to let it down. We have to learn to let our guard down and let people in every once in a while. Trust and faith are two important things in a relationship!
Raya and the Last Dragon stars Kelly Marie Tran as Raya. All but one member of the cast is Asian. The only non-Asian actor is Alan Tudyk (who voices Tuk Tuk, Raya’s animal companion/friend). Tuk Tuk isn’t a speaking role and is only animal sounds (like Iggy from Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure). The movie didn’t go down the route that Aloha staring Emma Stone took (Aloha cast a white actor to play an Asian character). Not everyone is a CIS heterosexual white American man and it’s amazing that Disney is including more stories that others can relate too. Most people can’t relate to the same tired story.
Kelly Marie Tran got to have the spotlight after being bullied for her role as Rose Tico in the Star Wars sequels (I hate the sequels too, but let’s not bully actors for a script they don’t have control over!). Instead of putting the spotlight on herself, Kelly gave her well deserved spotlight to Raya by cultivation Raya as her own unique person. Raya was a well developed character and showed a strong mind from the start. However, she has trust issues with people after a major betrayal at the beginning of the movie. Her downfall is her lack of faith and trust in others. She learns to trust others after befriending a dragon.
When Sisu the dragon (played by Awkwafina) comes along, she is Raya’s foil. Where Raya isn’t trusting of people, Sisu is (and it almost got her in trouble with another leader!). Where Raya was cold, Sisu was warm. Sisu wanted to welcome everyone and thought everyone should be friends. She wanted to give people she met a welcoming gift and thought that’s what made people trust her (she didn’t realize some people couldn’t be swayed so easily). Raya wanted to let no one in and keep everyone at arm’s (or sword’s) length. The two gradually begin to learn from each other.
It is important to be on guard like Raya because some people might have ulterior motives. However, it is also important to let people in like Sisu does. Not all people are evil. Both needed to find a balance within each other. As the movie progressed, Raya learned to trust Sisu, the friends she made along the way, and a deceitful enemy. SIsu learned the real reason trust is built (Hint: It’s not from buying people gifts!).
Raya is a great story about love and trust. Trust isn’t always easy (especially to people who betray you), but it’s key to any relationship. Sometimes, we just need to let a guard down and let the right people in (no matter how hard and dark things may seem). Who you trust is up to you, but trust is necessary to build friendships!
Raya and the Last Dragon is now streaming on Disney Plus. I will more than likely post another review of Raya and the Last Dragon at a later time (after rewatching, of course).
