Raya and the Last Dragon (2021)

[StarWarsIsAwesome123]

I thought this was pretty solid. Though a tad predictable and formulaic, I liked the action, world building, characters, and score, and it's visually stunning of course. 3.75/5

[Canada]

Raya and the Dragon was a solid Disney entry.

[Block-Busted]

Originally Posted by farerb

Early concept art of Raya vs Druun:

I'm really glad they didn't go this route.

Is this Raya and the Last Dragon or Guardians of the Galaxy? 😂

[Cremildo]

[MifuneFan]

Got to see this today in theaters as part of Disney's surprise screenings (celebrating Disney+). I loved it. Great story first of all, with a really nice structure, and lots of cool, and different worlds to showcase. I loved the colorful animation, and visuals as well. The movie had sort of an Avatar: The Last Airbender vibe to it at times, with the whole divided factions thing, but also just the way it blends fun/silly stuff with more serious themes as well. Plus the super adorable Tuk Tuk reminded me a bit of Appa. I enjoyed that they took a different approach to the portrayal of a dragon here compared to other movies, and Awkafina was pretty entertaining in the role. I wasn't able to go when it had its initial theatrical run, so I'm glad to have the opportunity now. My theater had a few kids there too, and they really were into it, and that also added to the enjoyment of seeing in theaters for me. I feel like this will have solid replay-value too.

4.5/5

[StarWarsIsAwesome123]

I watched this again on D+. It probably could've benefited from being a bit longer, as some elements feel a little undercooked. Still a pretty good time though. The climax is kinda reminiscent of GOTG 1, haha.

I don't mind the Awkwafina character like some did, she isn't that much more obnoxious than in Shang-Chi.

[Ernest Rister]

Finally screened this today...the story didn't have a pronounced emotional hook for me, and I never believed the two central leads were actually fighting each other -- we're a long, long way from that bear fight in Fox and the Hound, for instance -- there's a creeping synthetic feel to the whole thing, from the dialog to the quick-cut attitude poses -- in fact, I'm starting to get alarmed by the genericism of the character animation, expressions, and designs of humans in Disney animation. Change some costumes and the cast could have wandered in from the Snuggly Duckling tavern in Tangled or the Science Fair in Big Hero Six. We're not breaking any new ground here, Tangled was thirteen years ago.

Still, despite the familiar story beats, the titular dragon is terrific, and her dance on "sky puddles" is a real highlight. The production values are second to none, and James Newton Howard (Atlantis: The Lost Empire, Dinosaur, Treasure Planet) delivers yet again for Disney. It just seems like a fortune was spent on the art direction to back up a film so safe and ultimately average.

[Kuja]

How big was Raya's budget? I loved this movie, but I agree that WDAS films have been very safe with their character designs for the past 10 years or so. Along with the medium change they made to become like PIXAR, they also took notes on how to be as repetitive and take as little risk as possible with their story structures / designs from PIXAR.

It's a shame that Strange World actually did take a risk, but it ended up being a very poor design choice they went for. At least Wish will offer a little difference (among WDAS films anyway) and is very pretty while doing it unlike that film.

[Ernest Rister]

Originally Posted by Kuja

How big was Raya's budget? I loved this movie, but I agree that WDAS films have been very safe with their character designs for the past 10 years or so. Along with the medium change they made to become like PIXAR, they also took notes on how to be as repetitive and take as little risk as possible with their story structures / designs from PIXAR.

It's a shame that Strange World actually did take a risk, but it ended up being a very poor design choice they went for. At least Wish will offer a little difference (among WDAS films anyway) and is very pretty while doing it unlike that film.

I've seen production budget numbers range from $100 million to $150 million. For comparison, Deadline reported this weekend that Strange World had a production budget of $180 million, but with a whopping $137 added on in additional costs giving it a final price tag of $317 million and the title of biggest bomb of 2022. Lightyear came in third after Amsterdam.

You really think the studio behind Finding Nemo, Up, Soul, Ratatouille, Wall*E, Inside/Out, etc. is "safe" with their storytelling? I'm not big on Pixar sequels aside from Toy Story 2 and 3, and The Good Dinosaur and Onward came out of the oven undercooked, but your statement is a new criticism of Pixar I've not come across.

[Kuja]

Oh, that's interesting. I thought it was pretty common to hear criticism of the buddy roadtrip formula over the last decade, as well as how all their films have a feeling of overlayed bureaucracy. Elemental seems to be the newest nadir for them in that regard.

Those big price tags are a norm with 3D films, unfortunately, but maybe they're only that way for Disney-PIXAR? I don't follow the other studios very closely. So the consequence when when they flop is they do even greater damage (Strange World becoming their new record, I believe?).

[Ernest Rister]

Originally Posted by Kuja

Oh, that's interesting. I thought it was pretty common to hear criticism of the buddy roadtrip formula over the last decade, as well as how all their films have a feeling of overlayed bureaucracy. Elemental seems to be the newest nadir for them in that regard.

Those big price tags are a norm with 3D films, unfortunately, but maybe they're only that way for Disney-PIXAR? I don't follow the other studios very closely. So the consequence when when they flop is they do even greater damage (Strange World becoming their new record, I believe?).

Sidekick characters alongside the lead predate Pixar by decades, even centuries depending on how far back you want to go in Western dramatic arts. Animated features also aren't typically set in a single location, even the house-bound Cinderella takes us though the walls for the supporting mice characters. So...no, not a common criticism of Pixar. Seems like an odd criticism that hasn't been thought through.

[Kuja]

I think it's a pretty common one, whether or not we agree on the criticism's merits outright (I personally think it's well-founded).

[Ernest Rister]

Originally Posted by Kuja

I think it's a pretty common one, whether or not we agree on the criticism's merits outright (I personally think it's well-founded).

[Kuja]

Sidekicks aren't quite the same thing as dual protagonists like Woody-Buzz, Joy-Sadness, Joe-23, Sully-Mike, Remy-Linguini, etc.

[Patricier21]

Personally, I quite like this movie, even if it may not be in my top favourites like Disney’s dinosaur, Tarzan, the original Fantasia, Moana, the first frozen, and the Ralph’s, but it would be right behind it! :-) I would highly recommend watching it more than once to truly see how you feel about it, As you usually should do with some movies and or other similar things :-)

Also, just putting it out there how much this movie even more so than Moana as some people have said is very much kingdom hearts from its storytelling to its elements themes in the way that they overall portray and do them, but she will definitely see you once you see this movie :-) I cannot wait to return to this world whether through kingdom hearts and or even through a potential TV series which could explore a particular part of the movie that you will know once you’ve seen it.....

[Ernest Rister]

Originally Posted by Kuja

Sidekicks aren't quite the same thing as dual protagonists like Woody-Buzz, Joy-Sadness, Joe-23, Sully-Mike, Remy-Linguini, etc.

Characters that join the lead and learn something in the process of the journey aren't necessarily "dual protagonists", and certainly not in Toy Story. Buzz is a change agent for Woody's insecurities in the first film, Jessie in the second, the third is stem-to-stern about acceptance of change, Bo Peep the change agent in in the fourth...the whole series is Woody.

Is Mary Poppins about Mary, Bert, the kids? No, its about George. Mary is the change agent. Soul is about Joe, Ratatouille about Remy, Monsters Inc. is about Sully...One of the more interesting debates about The Lord of the Rings centers on whose story it really is -- Frodo, or Sam's, which is why book purists are miffed about the Jackson film's exclusion of much of the material in Vol. 6, "The Choices of Master Samwise" and "The Tower of Cirith Ungol" while devoting time to a drawn-out battle with Shelob and other geek indulgences.

Distilling Pixar down to "buddy roap trips" is...well...let's stay positive and say there's an opportunity for growth.

[jeangreyforever]

Originally Posted by Patricier21

Personally, I quite like this movie, even if it may not be in my top favourites like Disney’s dinosaur, Tarzan, the original Fantasia, Moana, the first frozen, and the Ralph’s, but it would be right behind it! :-) I would highly recommend watching it more than once to truly see how you feel about it, As you usually should do with some movies and or other similar things :-)

Also, just putting it out there how much this movie even more so than Moana as some people have said is very much kingdom hearts from its storytelling to its elements themes in the way that they overall portray and do them, but she will definitely see you once you see this movie :-) I cannot wait to return to this world whether through kingdom hearts and or even through a potential TV series which could explore a particular part of the movie but she will know once you’ve seen it.....

I remember reading that Disney Dreamlight Valley (the video game) had Raya DLC planned.