Raya and the Last Dragon Parent Guide

Five hundred years ago, the land of Kumandra was attacked by the Druun, swirling dark forces that turned people and dragons into stone. All seemed lost until the last surviving dragon (voiced by Awkwafina) used the power of the Dragon Gem to stop the Druun and restore the all the people (but not the dragons) who had been turned to stone. Sadly, the end of the war also saw the end of Kumandra. The nation splintered into five different realms, each named for a part of the dragon: Heart, Fang, Spine, Tail, and Talon. Sisi, the last dragon, disappeared, leaving the Dragon Gem in the keeping of the people of Heart.

Passing centuries deepened the breach between the different kingdoms but now Heart’s chieftain is determined to reconcile the divided lands and create Kumandra anew. He invites delegations from each realm but his guests don’t share his sincerity. A simple mistake by his trusting young daughter, Raya (voiced by Kelly Marie Tran), results in the shattering of the Dragon Gem and a new wave of Druun attacks. Blaming herself for the chaos, Raya sets off on a six-year quest to find Sisi the dragon, retrieve the five fragments of the Dragon Gem, and vanquish the Druun forever. But the Kumandran lands are dangerous and Raya is not the only person seeking the gem…

No one can touch Disney when the studio is at its peak, which it very much is with Raya and the Last Dragon. This is a remarkable film with a compelling, original plot set in a believable, magical, Asian-flavored world. Yes, adults will figure out how the story is going to play out, but the writing is honest and crisp and avoids sliding into sloppy clichés. The storytelling moves along at a brisk clip, tight and tense, with lots of action and some humor to keep young viewers interested.

Not only will audiences be fixed to the screen by Raya’s adventures, they’re going to be mesmerized by the film’s visual design. The tech wizards at the Mouse House have upped their game, rendering the characters with exquisite detail. The work on the characters’ skin tones, hair, and fur is incredibly lifelike as are the textures of their clothing and of the natural world around them. And each of the five realms is brought to life with its own distinctive esthetic, from community layout to building design to clothing styles. The vocal talent is also impressive and Awkwafina owns the screen with her comic interpretation of Sisi.

If you’re considering this film for a family movie night, you will want to keep in mind your children’s scare threshold. There are plenty of moments of peril and quite a lot of violence, particularly scenes one-on-one combat which feel both more intense and more viciously personal than most other Disney productions. This is not the best choice for sensitive youngsters.

For everyone else, Raya and the Last Dragon is an exciting, entertaining film replete with valuable messages. Chief among them are themes of acknowledging and forgiving mistakes and offences. The story clearly shows what happens when characters admit their errors and try to make up for them as opposed to when they become defensive and deny their failings. The power of forgiving ourselves and others is also movingly depicted as is the need for courage and trust to build strong communities. In a society grown ever more siloed where other groups are demonized and dehumanized, adults and kids can benefit from a tale that offers a path for overcoming anger and hate and building a more united world.