Basic Disney ingredients produce a dish of real richness
Raya and the Last Dragon
Disney +
★★★★★
Disney princesses face the same PR minefield as every other modern royal. How does one uphold the office’s long-standing values while being seen to move with the times? Raya, voiced by Kelly Marie Tran, is an exemplary case. Regal lineage, childhood tragedy, signature outfit, cute animal sidekick: in many respects, she’s as traditional as they come. Hand her a sword and a grappling hook, however, and she could show you some moves that would make even Rapunzel’s hair stand on end.
As the heroine of the sizzlingly enjoyable new feature from Walt Disney animation studios, it’s Raya’s job to restore harmony to her home – the kingdom of Kumandra, whose people have been driven apart by a plague-like curse. Thanks to the infection currently stalking our own land, Raya and the Last Dragon won’t be playing in UK cinemas for at least another few months, and is being released this week as a paid-for title on Disney+. But the film is crammed with so much transporting spectacle and visual invention, it feels epic even at living-room size.
We first meet Raya as a child, as her father Chief Benja (Daniel Dae Kim) is attempting to broker a peace deal between Kumandra’s five mutually mistrustful clans. Alas, diplomacy fails, the kingdom’s protective dragon gem is shattered, meaning the curse – a writhing horde of black and purple smog balls known as the Druun – can break free from its sealed chamber, and begin transforming everyone it touches into statues, frozen in place with heads bowed and hands cupped. This catastrophe was brought on by Namaari (Gemma Chan), Raya’s opposite number from the Fang tribe, whose cute, half-shaved pixie cut belies a ruthless streak.
The story picks up years later, with Raya scouring the Kumandran badlands for the mythical creature who can bring the Druun to heel – a water dragon known as Sisu, the last of her kind, who’s voiced by Awkwafina in a free-and-easy Robin Williams Genie style. Together, these two strike out to recover the shards of the broken dragon gem, although along the way their party gathers a series of unlikely and initially reluctant allies from the kingdom’s various eccentric nooks. The members of this rag-tag band are charming enough, but it’s the kingdom itself that bursts with personality and colour, from serene temple cities to bamboo forests of silver and rust, and a night market lit by firefly swarms of coloured lanterns. Its world is beautiful and teemingly strange. Raya and Namaari’s rivalry is what powers the narrative along. Namaari’s slow shift from standard villain figure to something more complex is – in the often raucous CGI medium – a storytelling gambit of rare subtlety and grace, and told crisply enough to engage younger viewers. Around two thirds of the way through the film, my six-year-old turned to me and gasped, “The baddy’s becoming a goody!”, which was presumably the hoped-for effect. Appropriately, given the plentiful bowls of broth and mounds of dumplings steaming merrily away in every other scene, it’s a feast of a film – as nourishing and generous as anything Disney Animation has cooked up in the last 10 years. Available on Disney+ for an extra payment of £19.99 from Friday. From June 4, it will be available within the regular Disney + package.