Raya and the Last Dragon (2021)

 

I think that this is one of the better Disney movies they have released in a long time. It had a good message, but I felt that the message was taken to the extreme. The key feature of the movie is trust, but in real life trust can cause great hurt to people. They do show this in the film, but it seemed like they were telling people to get over their trust issues if you’ve been hurt. Because of this I do feel like this movie could lead kids to make bad decisions without parental guidance. I did even find myself tearing up a few times. I’m not a big fan of movies that pull on the heartstrings, because when I go to movies it is a time for me to get away from the stress of the outside world. Some people may like this type of movie, but it’s just not my thing.

I saw this movie with my mother who is a big Disney fan and even makes me watch the Disney Channel with her. She said that to her this was the best Disney movie ever. The only thing she was disappointed in was that there wasn’t a ton of musical numbers (she really likes that aspect of Disney movies). 

This movie is supposed to be a ‘Southeast Asia” tale. Supposedly Southeast Asian historians and Anthropologists were consulted for the movie, and cultural aspects can be seen even though other reviewers are missing those aspects (Gallup). It is easy to miss them if you don’t know much about Southeast Asia or even general Asian culture. One of these is the position the people take when they become statues or when characters place the flowers in the water. Jasmine Gallup actually mentioned cultural appropriation because she did not know enough about the cultural aspects to notice them. If a movie has to hit you in the face with culture then you are missing the whole human aspect of culture. Disney actually did a good job of making Raya a well-rounded character, but this is because of the play off of her character with those she interacts with. One example of this is her interactions with the baby and the monkeys. I don’t want to give spoilers, but watch has she evolves in relation to that.

Another issue with this movie is that people are saying that there was romantic feelings between Raya and the Dragon. They’re just trying to pull too much from this movie. A person can love/care for/admire another person, or in this case a dragon, without it being romantic. To me that was another aspect of the film. People can have a chosen family that can be built by our life events. To me both Raya and Sisu see themselves as the big sister to the other. This is why they butt heads and each thinks that they are doing what is best.

Before the movie they had a little making of that talked about how this film was created with all the animators working from home due to COVID. I thought that this was really cool and maybe more jobs will realize that people can achieve great things from home.

Then there is Disney dropping the ball once again…. You have an adorable character and you do not take advantage of it. Right now I should see Sisu products everywhere, but I had to go online to actually find them. After the movie my mother and I went to Walmart to see if they had any products from the movie. The options were very limited. There were only 2 of Sisu, a small stuffed toy and one figure that was a part of a boxed set. The only good thing is that today McDonalds will start carrying toys for the movie for their Happy Meal. I really only want the Sisu one, but I think my mom wants the whole set so I have a feeling that I will be eating a lot of McDonalds again…Pokémon cards just ended there. I had hoped that Disney would have learned from last time this happened with The Child. When you have a cute character it can be a big selling point. Disney needs to get rid of everyone doing marketing and toy development and hire new people. I would be happy to take the job and I would guarantee that they would be making more money then they are now (also if people haven’t noticed yet, but Disney has said that 60 Disney stores will be closing).

The movie I would give 4 stars out of 5 or a B+. Marketing/Toys at present …. Can I do negative stars… how about -3 stars and a Z grade. Disney, as a fan of some of your characters I am begging you to please do better. You already removed Mushu from your live action Mulan, then when you have a dragon has a main character you do basically nothing. Please improve or other movies with better products will make more profits and you are already hurting since you are having to close some of your stores.

Works Cited

Gallup, Jasmine. “Raya & The Last Dragon Shows A Problem with Disney’s Worldbuilding.” Screen Rant. 3/10/21. https://screenrant.com/raya-last-dragon-disney-world-asia-character-problem/

Links for Products

https://www.shopdisney.com/movies-shows/disney/raya-and-the-last-dragon/?originalTerm=Raya&searchType=redirect&pdpRedirect=0

https://www.walmart.com/search/?query=raya%20last%20dragon&typeahead=Raya

https://www.hottopic.com/search?q=Raya

https://shop.hasbro.com/en-us/search?search=raya

Additional readings on the movie

https://screenrant.com/raya-last-dragon-sisu-disney-canon-change/

                -This one I actually liked since they at least know what a Naga is. This article I enjoyed since it actually goes into the difference between Western and Easter Dragons. It’s not 100% on point, but tries.

https://www.npr.org/2021/03/09/975125820/raya-and-the-last-dragon-criticized-for-lack-of-southeast-asian-actors

https://editorial.rottentomatoes.com/article/weekend-box-office-results-what-raya-and-the-last-dragons-8-6-million-could-mean-for-the-future-of-moviegoing/

https://variety.com/2021/film/news/raya-and-the-last-dragon-china-box-office-1234924389/

https://www.dailycal.org/2021/03/10/raya-and-the-last-dragon-slays-with-mesmerizing-visuals-talonted-cast/ 

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/03/04/movies/raya-and-the-last-dragon-review.html 

https://screenrant.com/raya-last-dragon-disney-princess-tradition-moana-better/ 

https://attractionsmagazine.com/cast-and-crew-raya-and-the-last-dragon-talk-the-challenges-of-making-a-movie-from-home/

Picture 1 From: https://www.forbes.com/sites/scottmendelson/2021/03/01/raya-and-the-last-dragon-review-disney-on-autopilot/?sh=ff98c2f7bb84

Picture 2 From: https://movieweb.com/raya-last-dragon-featurette-behind-the-scenes/

Picture 3 From: https://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=https%3A%2F%2Fstatic.wikia.nocookie.net%2Fdisney%2Fimages%2F1%2F1f%2FRaya_and_the_last_dragon_sisu%2527s_siblings_2.jpg%2Frevision%2Flatest%2Ftop-crop%2Fwidth%2F300%2Fheight%2F300%3Fcb%3D20210308094437&imgrefurl=https%3A%2F%2Fdisney.fandom.com%2Fwiki%2FPengu&tbnid=3fpdWlNuSQWbyM&vet=12ahUKEwiQn8_y4abvAhXsAp0JHbacDh0QMygRegUIARDZAQ..i&docid=rJEOvqkAeZVzuM&w=300&h=300&itg=1&q=raya%20and%20the%20last%20dragon%20brother&ved=2ahUKEwiQn8_y4abvAhXsAp0JHbacDh0QMygRegUIARDZAQ

Picture 4 From: https://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=https%3A%2F%2Fi.ytimg.com%2Fvi%2FsT4YsM8sJNs%2Fhqdefault.jpg&imgrefurl=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DsT4YsM8sJNs&tbnid=kXXRLcOSwmVArM&vet=12ahUKEwjrvpyn4qbvAhXWOM0KHYZCBbUQMygDegUIARDyAQ..i&docid=JIC2V1t-cy67hM&w=480&h=360&q=raya%20and%20the%20last%20dragon%20McDonalds&ved=2ahUKEwjrvpyn4qbvAhXWOM0KHYZCBbUQMygDegUIARDyAQ

https://movies.disney.com/raya-and-the-last-dragon

2022 Update

Finally found one amusing product:

Found 10/1/22 at Burlington.