Photo Courtesy of Walt Disney Studios

Film Review: Raya and the Last Dragon

09:00 March 16, 2021
By: Fritz Esker

Disney's new animated film Raya and the Last Dragon is an acceptable kiddie adventure, but it lacks the spark of Disney's best.

Raya (voiced by The Last Jedi's Kelley Marie Tran) lives in a magical kingdom split into five squabbling territories. Generations earlier, the kingdom was saved from a malevolent force by dragons, which are now extinct. Not surprisingly, the evil force returns, so Raya must bring the last dragon back to life and the help territories to trust each other in order to save themselves.

At 115 minutes, Raya and the Last Dragon goes on too long for a children's adventure. The first act is heavily laden with exposition, and even when the meandering pace picks up, it's merely fine instead of thrilling. The movie's biggest asset is Awkwafina (from 2019's excellent The Farewell) as the voice of the dragon. Hyped as a mystical world-saving creature in the first act, she later describes herself as, "You know that kid who got a good grade on the group project even though they didn't really do anything? That was me."

Raya and the Last Dragon is currently in theaters, as well as available online with a Disney+ subscription AND an additional $30 fee.

**1/2 stars (out of four)

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