Raya, a warrior from Heart; and with a big heart, doesn't believe that the 5 kingdoms can come together to once again become Kumandra, a place where previously dragons and humans had lived in harmony. When the Druun; a species with medusa like abilities that turn people to stone, attacked the land the dragons used their abilities and sacrificed themselves in order to protect the people. Raya's father, Chief Benja, believes the kingdoms can join and once again become a peaceful land, but the others have a different idea of what the future may hold!
The storyline is typical of a Disney movie - a leading character in a single parent household with a hardship in their life. For Raya this was the tumultuous relationship between the Fang, The Heart, The Talon, The Tail and The Spine. These 5 kingdoms were once one, the idyllic Kumandra, where dragons and humans lived side by side. The dragon's sacrifice was appreciated by the humans, but the sole piece of dragon magic left was in the form of a stone. The clans couldn't agree on a safe place, and each of them thought that they would be best suited to look after the artifact, believing that it would bring power and prosperity to their area. A spat in the stone's presence results in it being destroyed, and the Druun take their opportunity to attack. The pieces were stolen by members of each of the 5 kingdoms, and that's where our story starts.
Jump 5 years to the future and Raya is in search of Sisu, the dragon who ultimately saved the humans the first time around. But she's in for a shock when she finds her! Whilst praying at the end of a river for assistance to bring back her father and people who were turned to stone, Sisu the dragon appears. Just a good swimmer she comments! Raya gives her piece of the stone to Sisu and the dragon starts to glow, explaining that the power of her siblings is a part of the stone and that it was the power of the 5 other dragons that she used in order to save everyone. Raya tasks Sisu to join her on an adventure to find the pieces and reunite them, hoping to accomplish what her father had wished for - connecting the lands to become one for a more prosperous future for them all, and to wipe out their enemy, the Druun, at long last.
Kelly Marie Tran voices Raya, with Awkwafina voicing Sisu. I absolutely love Awkwafina and her quirky personality really works for this out there dragon who is getting caught up on the results of her sacrifice and where the lands have gone from there. I didn't recognise Tran's voice at first but a little of the way in I knew I recognised it! I've only seen her in the Star Wars movies, but it's great to see that Disney gave her a chance in a leading role as I thought she wasn't scripted well and her character was under-utilised and hung out to dry in the last movie they did together! Once again Disney used their voice work star Alan Tudyk, who does a fine job voicing Tuk Tuk, a character whose on screen presence was just a bunch of noises, similar to that of scene-stealer HeiHei the chicken in Moana. Daniel Dae-Kim's got a voice like butter so he can voice Disney characters all day long if you ask me. Gemma Chan's Namaari is the enemy to Kelly Marie's Raya, but there was a definite feeling of connection as the characters shared a lot of common ground, and I think this helped with the overall vibe.
I mentioned earlier about the very familiar storyline which seems to be on the Disney princess plane let's call it, whereby a character has a hardship and is in a single parent household and yada yada. I don't actually have a problem with every leading lady having the same type of family and relationships etc, as long as each story is different, which it is. I thought this was a story I could enjoy, andI did, and I would happily watch it again. Raya felt like less of a damsel in distress than other Disney female leads, with her determination driving her commitment to the cause. Her anxiety and trust issues were a key to the story and her actions, and that is a much more realistic problem to have in this day and age than not being strong enough to stand up for yourself. It did feel very similar to the recent Mulan movie in more ways than one, but I'll leave you to form your own ideas about that. I can't really complain as I'm giving it an 8/10 - it was good fun, with some really funny lines, and beautifully put together. The animation itself I would say was 10/10 with nothing that was badly done, and the cutest armadillo thing ever in Tuk Tuk!
Review by CB
Kommentare