When Raya accidentally allows the gem to be shattered following an attempt by her father (Daniel Dae Kim) to unite the residents of Kumandra, she sets off into the bleak world outside of “Heart Land.” She soon discovers Sisu, the last surviving dragon (Awkwafina), who she enlists in her journey to bring together the shattered pieces of the dragon gem and unite the realm.įrom there, the film quickly moves from set piece to set piece as Raya, Sisu, and Raya’s cute pet pill bug Tuk Tuk (Alan Tudyk) embark on their quest to gather up the pieces of the dragon gem. That’s quite a chunk of heady exposition to drop within the first three minutes of the film, but it sets up the complicated stakes for Raya, a warrior from the “Heart Land” clan, the protectors of the dragon gem (to the utmost displeasure of Kumandra’s other citizens). After the battle, the people of Kumandra turned away from each other, settling into their own clans that each fiercely sought out the powerful dragon gem for their own gain. Following the destruction of the dragons, Sisu, the last dragon, concentrated all of her magic into a gem and vanquished the Druun away, freeing all of the citizens of Kumandra except for the dragons, who were all turned to stone. Where the residents once lived in a fertile environment surrounded by dragons, that peaceful balance was upset with the arrival of the Druun, a “mindless plague” of creatures that turned everything they touched into stone. In the opening moments, we learn in a voiceover from Raya ( Star Wars’ Kelly Marie Tran) that the world of Kumandra has become a post-apocalyptic wasteland. Raya and the Last Dragon begins on an incredibly bleak note for a Disney film.
(This isn’t meant to advocate going to a movie theatre right now – follow your local guidelines and exercise your own judgment on that front.) While the film offers up some intricate world-building, this is really an action spectacle that somehow feels less involving in your living room than it might have in a theatre. Like those films, Raya and the Last Dragon probably plays better on a building-sized screen with room-shaking sound. Following the release of films like Wonder Woman 1984 and Mulan, Raya and the Last Dragon is the latest Hollywood blockbuster to premiere directly on premium VOD (and in select theatres).
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