Raya and the Last Dragon [Movie Review]

Raya and the Last Dragon [Movie Review] | Yeay to the opening of the cinemas. And this is the very first movie that I watched after a long while of the continuous MCO!

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SYNOPSIS

Raya and the Last Dragon (2021) Trivia

• Directed by: Don Hall Carlos López Estrada

• Produced by: Osnat Shurer, Peter Del Vecho

• Production companies: Walt Disney Pictures, Walt Disney Animation Studios
• Distributed by: Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures
• Starring: Kelly Marie Tran, Awkwafina, Izaac Wang, Gemma Chan, Daniel Dae Kim, Benedict Wong, Sandra Oh, Thalia Tran, Lucille Soong, Alan Tudyk

• Release date: March 3 (Netherlands, Indonesia), March 5 (United States)

• Running time: 107 minutes
• Rating: PG (for some violence, action and thematic elements)

• Country: United States 
• Language: English

• Tomatometer: 95%
• Metascore: 75%

• IMDb: 7.7/10
• Budget: $2.5 million
• The land of Kumandra is inspired by the SEA countries of Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia, Myanmar, Malaysia, Indonesia, the Philippines and Laos. And the production team toured these countries to get an idea of designing Kumandra and its cultures. LOVE!
• Raya takes the 13th throne of the Disney Princesses. 
• Raya's fighting style using two sticks is based on Filipino martial art Kali (also known as Arnis or Escrima).

The movie starts with Raya reliving her years growing up in land of Heart, with her father, Chief Benja grooming her to guard the dragon orb called the Dragon Gem. Raya tells a story where long ago, the whole world was united and known as Kumandra. The human lives prosperously with the dragons that are looking after them. Then the Druun, evil spirits, come around and turn people to stone and multiply. The dragons focuses their magic to create an orb to ward off the Druun and revive everyone, only to turn into stones themselves. A power struggle ensues after the death of the dragons and the human divides into tribes - Fang, Heart, Tail, Spine and Talon.

One day, during a peace feast among the five tribes, Raya befriends Namaari, the daughter of Chief Virana of the Fang tribe. She shows Namaari where the orb is as a sign of her trust and friendship - only to be betrayed by Namaari who is actually after the orb. A fight ensues and the orb was destructed in the midst of it. The destruction of the orb awakens the Druun. Each tribe took a piece of the orb and return to their village. Benja was turned into stone during the fight. 

Years later, Raya still carries on her mission to summon Sisu, the dragon believed to have created the orb and the only surviving dragon, in hopes that Sisu will be able to create another orb and she can revive her father. 

When Raya finally summons Sisu, she learns that Sisu was not the one that created the orb - she was just chosen by her elder siblings to guard and use the orb to ward off the Druun. So, their journey of recovering all the other missing pieces of the orb begins. 

In order to get all the pieces, Raya has to ask or steal the pieces. Sisu still thinks that human will assist their mission if they ask nicely. Along the way, the duo meets with exciting characters such as a kid captain Boun, a con-baby Noi and her trio monkey-like companions and a barbaric yet kind-hearted and loving fearless warrior, Tong. 

Will the group be able to combine all the pieces to save humanity and make Kumandra a whole again?

MY REVIEW

Plot: 4.9/ 5.0 It was very predictable but I still love it. A movie that is easy to watch albeit I feel like it was a bit rushed. Disney could have made the movie a bit longer and build some of the characters a bit but still, I love the movie.

Well, perhaps because it is about SEA, that's why I love the movie. 

Cast: 4.8/ 5.0 An animation with beautiful representation of Asian actors. Thumbs up!

Will I watch it again: Yes, I don't mind watching it again. 

The pictures are taken from multiple sources on the Internet. Thank you.

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