Film ► Raya and the Last Dragon (2021)

[palizinhas]

My first thought when I finished it is that it would have worked better as a tv show or game. It had too many characters - and it needed to for the message to work - and I ended up feeling like there wasn't enough of any of them outside of Raya and Sisu.

Really good film, though.

 

[Elysium]

So awesome. This better be in the next KH game. The design of this world was just amazing.

 

[Alpha Baymax]

It's a beautiful looking film that's edited really well. Fans of Paperman and Feast will be delighted to see the return of that hybrid hand-drawn/CG animation style in certain scenes of the movie.

That being said, the story was ultimately dissapointing with an antagonist so bad that they actively ruined the movie. The movie also feels way too short because there's just some things that definitely deserved more development time. I didn't even laugh or cry at any of the scenes. This is the worst non-musical Disney Animation movie in the Disney Revival/Post-Disney Revival era.

 

[Elysium]

Oh, wow. Well, I'm sorry you didn't enjoy it. No movie's for everyone, I suppose. I thought it was really beautiful and I teared up during two of the climactic scenes (I'd say which ones, but I don't want to spoil. They're probably easy to guess though.). I'd say it's my third favorite of the new movies after Frozen and TP&TF.

 

[Oracle Spockanort]

Yeah, I genuinely really enjoyed this movie. It has its flaws, of course. I definitely think a few edits could have tightened the script a lot and made Raya and Namaari's story a bit stronger like making them friends long before the meeting of the different tribes, and to have hints of Raya's life in the 6 year gap.

I also think they needed to show Fang's people hungry or how crowded the town was getting from being forced onto the island, and perhaps show just how conniving Namaari's mom was and how they intended on capturing Sisu.

Beyond those little things, I thought the film had a lot of...heart haha. I felt invested in the main group, and I feel like there is a lot of potential there for an animated show that could cover the 6 year gap and the world post-ending.

But everybody is entitled to feel their own way about the movie. I think it's Big Hero 6 levels of good. My WDAS tier list is like this:

1) Moana
2) Zootopia
3) Tangled
4) Frozen 2
5) Raya and the Last Dragon
5) Big Hero 6
7) Ralph Breaks the Internet
7) Wreck-It Ralph
9) Frozen

 

[AdrianXXII]

I watched the movie yesterday with my sister. It's a really cute movie, with a fun cast. I found it funny how she's litterally a princess of Heart in this story, including her in KH without making her on on the new Seven Hearts would be a missed opertunity.

I agree with the critizism of this story working better for a series than a movie. Kinda like with Atlantis, it felt like a action show compressed to fit a movies runtime. Still it does work well enough, though the moral of the story isn't something everyone would agree with.

I'd love to see this movie included in a future KH game, the world they crafted is beautiful.

 

[Alpha Baymax]

Oh, wow. Well, I'm sorry you didn't enjoy it. No movie's for everyone, I suppose. I thought it was really beautiful and I teared up during two of the climactic scenes (I'd say which ones, but I don't want to spoil. They're probably easy to guess though.). I'd say it's my third favorite of the new movies after Frozen and TP&TF.

All things considered, I still think it's a good movie but the parts that are bad really overshadow the parts that are good. The good parts are still really good.

 

[Idreamaboutcats]

I’m late to the party! Just watched it today after a very long session of FOMO and extreme self-loathing on giving into the double Disney+ subscription scheme.

I liked the movie, I loved the premise, most of all I’m thrilled we finally have a new Disney princess film that isn’t a live action remake or sequel, after all this time!

Monsters that spawn from the discord of people...sounds very familiar.

I even laughed a bit when they called her a “Princess of Heart” because technically that’s what she is. I’ll be honest though, even if it is actually her literal title, I feel that if the film makes it into the game (and it will), Raya doesn’t seem a good fit into the New Seven Hearts. She’s a Disney Princess, but she’s not pure. Her rage and distrust did indirectly cause

Spoiler Show

Sisu to die, after all.

However, the caveat is the bar seems to be set lower to what defines a pure heart after the first seven, since Elsa who is possibly one of the new ones has a lot of fear, self-doubt, and loneliness.

Nomura will definitely make it happen though, just because he’ll have a heyday when they finally show it in Japan (unless they dub it as “shinjou no hime” rather than “kokoro no hime”).

 

[Elysium]

She’s a Disney Princess, but she’s not pure.

PoHs aren't decided by moral purity.... Just like Light and Darkness are forces in the KHverse, not always good and evil. That said, I think Raya is pure.... I mean, as pure as any human being can be.

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She sacrifices herself just to save everyone, similar to what Moana does by risking Te Ka destroying her in order to return the heart of Te Fiti or Anna turning into ice to save Elsa. I don't think Elsa is a bad character either, since all her anxiety comes out of a desire to protect Anna and everyone else from herself. The musical even goes further by having her consider suicide because perhaps her death would save everyone from herself ("Monster"). I think contemplating dying to save others is the height of unselfishness.

 

[Idreamaboutcats]

PoHs aren't decided by moral purity.... Just like Light and Darkness are forces in the KHverse, not always good and evil. That said, I think Raya is pure.... I mean, as pure as any human being can be.

Spoiler Show

She sacrifices herself just to save everyone, similar to what Moana does by risking Te Ka destroying her in order to return the heart of Te Fiti or Anna turning into ice to save Elsa. I don't think Elsa is a bad character either, since all her anxiety comes out of a desire to protect Anna and everyone else from herself. The musical even goes further by having her consider suicide because perhaps her death would save everyone from herself ("Monster"). I think contemplating dying to save others is the height of unselfishness.

Some of those are very good points. I don’t necessarily agree with the “Monster” argument, only because it’s not certain if additional material from adaptations like comics, live remakes, or musicals affect the canon of their original work; but the rest are still very good points.