RAYA AND THE LAST DRAGON
Awkwafina Destination
RELEASED OUT NOW! 2021 | PG | SVOD
Directors Don Hall, Carlos López
Estrada
Cast Kelly Marie Tran, Awkwafina, Gemma Chan, Izaac Wang
Set in a world heavily influenced by southeast-asian cultures – the creative team toured everywhere from Thailand to Indonesia gathering inspiration – Raya And The Last Dragon deserves a far bigger release than the one forced upon it by the pandemic. Still, it’s clearly been made with an eye on the huge and lucrative Chinese market, and China’s cinemas are open, so it’s not all bad news.
It starts with a fatty dollop of “here’s what happened earlier” exposition, as we learn that a long time ago, a plague of blobby things which turn living creatures into rock-statues almost destroyed the world. A brave dragon cast a spell to defeat them, the human statues came back to life and the world was saved… but sadly the dragons remained in their statue forms.
Humanity then forgot all about being grateful and happy, kicking off a war that split the land into five realms – all of them itching to get their hands on the magical gemstone the last dragon used to save them. Eventually the worst happens: the gemstone is smashed, the blobs return and the realms seal themselves off for safety.
And so we meet Raya (voiced by Kelly Marie Tran), who was partly responsible for breaking that all-important gemstone as a child. Wracked with guilt, she tracks down the last dragon, Sisu, hoping that the beast can cast the blob-bothering spell once more. Cue Sisu entering the film like a bolt of lightning, blessed with the voice of the always energetic Awkwafina, gleefully giving Robin Williams’s Genie a run for his money with a manic performance that, thanks to clever creature design, never veers too far from “puppy-dog cute”.
United, Raya and Sisu tour the realms to find the missing gemstone pieces, making friends and enemies while teaching the audience that trusting people is always better than anger or suspicion. Sure, this preaching is old-school, their quest is paint-by-numbers and Sisu doesn’t get enough to do in the film’s second half. But it’s still bewitching, family-friendly fun – although, strangely, the best moments are scenes of furious hand-to-hand combat between Raya and her human nemesis, Namaari (Gemma Chan). Stunningly choreographed, their fights feel truly fresh.
Elsewhere, Raya’s visuals are so pretty that you never get bored: its landscapes range from Tatooineesque deserts to Miyazakihomaging forests. It’s this clever mixture of the familiar and the unfamiliar that make the film so compelling: it’s just a shame that most of us won’t be seeing it on anything bigger than the telly screen in our lounge. Jayne Nelson
Cassie Steele was originally cast to voice Raya, but replaced after “there was a key change to Raya’s character”.
Sisu enters the film like a bolt of lightning