Heartfelt, eyepopping ‘Raya’ is an instant animated classic
As the only surviving dragon of Kumandra, Sisu can shapeshift into a human, glow with strength and energy, stop armies with a dense fog, swim as fast as a speedboat, and dance on raindrops among the clouds.
She is also the moral center of the film “Raya and the Last Dragon,” Disney’s latest feature, an instant animated classic that expertly balances emotion, humor and social politics amid a backdrop of surreal, eyepopping visual beauty. The film opens in Bay Area theaters on Friday, March 5, and, as was the case with “Mulan” last year, is available to stream for an extra fee of $30 on Disney+ or included with subscription after three months.
As the movie opens, Raya (voiced by Kelly Marie Tran of “Star Wars: The Last Jedi” fame) is a preteen girl in training with her father, King Benja (Daniel Dae Kim, “Hawaii 50”). Benja rules over Heart, one part of a broken land known as Kumandra, which was attacked 500 years ago by the Druun, an amorphous evil plague that turns all living things it touches into stone. Even the land’s protective dragons couldn’t save it.
With the Druun advancing, the dragons channeled all their powers and created a crystal that would keep the Druun at bay and entrusted it to one dragon, Sisu (Awkwafina, “Crazy Rich Asians” and “The Farewell”). However, with Kumandra descending into civil war, Sisu was forced to flee, the dragon crystal remained in Heart, and the country splintered into breakaway countries named after parts of the dragon: aside from Heart, there are Fang, Spine, Tail and Talon.
Benja’s hope is to forge a peace treaty and restore Kumandra. “If we don’t learn to trust each other, we’re going to tear each other apart,” he tells Raya.
At the peace conference, Raya makes a new friend, a fellow “dragon nerd” named Namaari (Gemma Chan, “Crazy Rich Asians” and “Captain Marvel”). But Namaari turns on her, fighting breaks out, the dragon stone is broken into five pieces, and the rulers of each land grab their pieces and escape. A darkness descends, and the king is turned to stone.
Fastforward six years, and Raya is now a young woman and a tough fighter. She wanders alone on a sweet ride — a giant armadillo, one of the many inventive character designs in a movie full of them — looking for Sisu and hoping to restore the dragon crystal by reuniting the pieces.
After years, she eventually finds Sisu, hiding out in a cave yet remarkably goodhumored. She agrees to help Raya in her quest, but embittered by her father’s loss, Raya no longer has a dream to restore Kumandra; instead, she wants the crystal pieces in hopes of restoring her father.
So while Raya brings a fiery demeanor and righteous passion, Sisu brings the soul. She knows that lasting peace must be built on trust.
Along the way, they attract a ragtag group that includes a boy who captains a boat (Izaac Wang), a baby con artist and a fierce Spine warrior (Benedict Wong). At nearly every turn, Raya is challenged by her old foe Namaari, who seeks the crystal pieces to restore power to Fang, ruled by her mother, Virana (Sandra Oh).
The direction is credited to Don Hall (codirector of “Moana”) and Carlos López Estrada (“Blindspotting”), with two more codirectors, Paul Briggs and John Ripa. They have assembled a wonderful, mostly Asian American voice cast to bring life to their team’s stunning visual design work, highlighted by dragons dancing among the clouds, and a riveting chase scene through the bazaar of the colorful and crimeridden Talon.
Best of all, “Raya and the Last Dragon” doesn’t get lost in modernday slang and humor as so many other modern animated films do. Awkwafina especially walks a tightrope here, providing many of the laughs but also some of the movie’s most heartbreaking dramatic moments. Tran is equally strong.
It would be tempting to draw parallels between the broken factions of Kumandra and the current political divide in this country, but even if it was intended by the filmmakers, let’s not. “Raya and the Last Dragon” is too special a movie to be seen that way. Besides, years from now when the film is honored as a classic, that will all be in the past.