by Will Sorg

Over Parents’ Weekend, I was able to catch one of the two on-campus showings of the 2021 Disney movie Raya and The Last Dragon. This film is, in many ways, the archetypal modern Disney cartoon, with all the good and bad that entails. On one hand, the dedication and mastery Disney has attained make this movie look and feel incredible. Certain landscape shots look nearly photorealistic and the water and clothing animations are leagues ahead of anything from even just a few years ago.
The character designs are immaculate, with Raya especially feeling unique and instantly iconic in her design as well as her mannerisms and animation. I also have to applaud the casting of actors who are of Asian descent for all of the characters. Everyone involved- from the animators to the actors to the instrumentalists- clearly put a lot of care and talent into this movie.
However, “modern Disney personified” is not all pleasant. The story of the movie is frankly, quite derivative. Raya is in many ways taking up the same type of challenge as Moana, Frozen’s Anna and over half a dozen other Disney protagonists. A tragedy befalls the protagonist, so they search for something or someone who will help them and they meet a whole cast of quirky, marketable characters along the way. Raya is a movie that time and time again almost takes a risk, and then backs up and takes the predictable choice.