Disney’s first original animated feature in five years is indeed original. A celebration of Southeastern Asian culture, it revolves around four post-pubescent females who are completely indifferent to fellas and frocks. Three of them wear comfy, loose-fitting garb. The other one mooches around like Gina Gershon in Bound.
Lets’s do the math. Number of small-waisted dresses that can be flogged in Disney stores on the back of Raya and the Last Dragon? Zero. Number of girls who’ll turn to martial arts butt-kickery? Too many to count.
The storyline is straightforward, but involving. After a cruel breach of trust, noble orphan, Raya (Kelly Marie Tran) uses a fragment of a magical gemstone to awaken 500 year old dragon, Sisu (Awkwafina). Raya hopes to save the world from a terrible plague by outwitting tough tribal leader Virana (Sandra Oh) and Virana’s dutiful daughter, Namaari (Gemma Chan). Sisu, by contrast, wants to give peace, love and understanding a try. Is the dragon being optimistic or masochistic?
The banter between Sisu and Raya is hilarious, every word of it lifted by Awkwafina’s transcendently raspy voice. Just as thrilling is the dragon’s love of water, fog and clouds. Her swooning loop-the-loops are worthy of Spirited Away’s Haku.
Also worthy of note: the photo-realistic soups, a gritty, intricately textured market town and a two-faced toddler known as con baby. Disney’s latest princess epic isn’t sneaky, exactly, but its cuteness definitely camouflages its boldness.
Raya tells a Bambi-eyed armadillo, “Let’s show them what clever really looks like”. Consider it done.
