Directed By: Carlos López Estrada and Don Hall
Directing – 9
Estrada and Hall’s direction for the movie was wonderful. They did a great job with the world-building, the storytelling, the pacing, and just the way they crafted the film was just beautiful. I have some slight negatives with a few choices; however, I think they did an amazing job.
Cinematography – 10
The cinematography was overall great. Visually the movie looks beautiful, and it feels real compared to many other animated films.
Score – 10
The score overall for the film was beautiful. The score felt very fun and adventurous.
Story – 8
The story follows Raya as she is on a quest to hopefully find the last remaining Dragon, Sisu, with hopes that Sisu can help Raya save the world from the deadly Druun. And possibly bring all of humanity back into a state of peace and unity. The story is great, I also think that the world itself is very imaginative and creative. Raya is a great protagonist she is brave, fierce, courageous, and adventurous. She also has humanity to her, the writers for Disney made sure she was a three-dimensional character. She is very much imperfect, but also badass. She can also feel and have emotion, she can lose in battle, she isn’t a superhero, etc. I also liked that Raya was very much a different character from other Disney films prior. It was nice to have this girl that was actually kind of a badass while still keeping her human as well. Also, Raya’s character design seemed very much like a person one can look up to for safety like if she had a particular guardian/protector look to her, I suppose. (SPOILERS) Also, she feels very much at fault for the destruction of her world, and she just wants her family because she believes the world is beyond saving. That is some ballsy shit, Disney. It was cool to see her character and the way she was written. There were also many other great things I liked, such as Tuk Tuk. He’s this roly-poly mixed with Appa-type creature. He seems very much of great assistance, overall he’s just pretty cool and of course cute and friendly. The conflict between Raya and Namaari was also great. I can’t say they have a love-hate relationship because they kind of don’t like one another and it really pushes the themes with each of their sides both individually and from their family standpoint. The themes the film explores are Trust, Greed, and Selfishness. Raya very much has to learn to trust others in order to save the world. Greed and even selfishness are both themes because this is what corrupts humanity and makes them become monsters and care more about themselves individually instead of others as a whole. The film isn’t afraid of showing humanity being, well human. Humanity is kind of shitty, but also there might possibly be some hope for humanity. As for negatives, some creative choices could have different, also I think that there are some instances of dialogue that seemed very much not a part of the world. Finally, I thought the story was overall great. I hope that they tell more stories about this world. Also, more adventures with Raya would be awesome as well.
Acting – 10
The voice acting is great. Everybody does an excellent job at playing their characters. However, I will say that Kelly Marie Tran and Awkwafina are clear standouts. Kelly brings humanity and realism as Raya, and Awkwafina brings some levity and confidence with Sisu.
Post-Production – 10
Post-production was nice and the editing was done pretty well. The effects and the animation look marvelous. Even some of the character designs seemed incredibly realistic.
Entertainment – 10
The film was overall great. I had some slight negatives throughout, but I thought the film was awesome. I very much would like to see this film again, hopefully soon. This is most likely one of my favorite Disney animated films ever. I think I even liked it better than Moana, Zootopia, and Coco. Arguably, it might even be better than those films. I will have to go back and watch this film, but I definitely loved it. It is a great animated film.
