RAYA AND THE LAST DRAGON. Cinema of Attractions

Responsible for Raya and the Last Dragon, Disney places great value on safety and caution. Artistic variations and diversity appear here and there, of course, but only in areas where risk is permitted. Individual productions may differ in world-building, joke frequency, pacing—faster or slower—or in the presence or absence of songs, yet the core has remained the same for decades. We have real or fictional legends, stories of oppression, armed and ethical conflicts, searches for identity, a radiant Past and a shaky Present (which must be fought for), all bound together by family relationships.

This shouldn’t sound pejorative, however. On this same foundation, Disney continues to create films that remind us of the timeless power of cinema (Moana) as well as marketing-driven disappointments (Frozen II).

On a broad, legendary scale, Raya and the Last Dragon tells the story of mythical beings: the hostile Druun, taking the form of black sludge that turns people into stone, and the dragons who guard the balance. In a battle centuries earlier, the dragons prevailed—they repelled the attack and saved humanity, leaving behind a special artifact that protected people from the dark forces. They paid a high price. All dragons turned to stone, and the formerly united land of Kumandra splintered into isolated regions. We meet Raya as a young girl, surrounded by love and care, raised to be a warrior by her father, Chief Benji.

He, in turn, strives to restore peace among the feuding tribes of Kumandra. That’s enough. If you know The Lion King or Pocahontas, this is already in your bloodstream. Expect “unexpected” plot twists and “surprising” separations and reunions.

It’s not difficult to point out the film’s narrative repetitiveness, its recycled themes, and the schematic transformation of characters. But it’s just as easy to highlight what makes Disney’s latest production stand out. Raya and the Last Dragon is anything but anonymous in its world-building. The Mad Max-like wasteland, the tight, glowing alleys of Talon, the fog-shrouded fortress of Fang rising between sky-high trees. Details, textures, droplets of water, grains of sand, beams of light, a multitude of colors. These are without doubt the wonders crafted by the animators and a showcase of modern animation’s capabilities. The question is simply whether this is now the minimum expected standard for such high-budget projects.

A shift in structural proportions also draws attention. The creators of Raya and the Last Dragon lean more toward visual chases, duels, pursuits, action, and adventure than dialogue. The heroine’s mental journey carries just as much weight as the physical obstacles she must overcome. Her inner struggles and her bruises and scars shape our new princess in equal measure. It is lively cinema—never slowing down, bold in execution. Constant changes of location, stylistic variety, precision craftsmanship, and dynamic editing inevitably spark interest.

On one hand, then, there is visual opulence; on the other, rather shallow psychological portraits and recurring moral lessons. Living in harmony, giving high-fives instead of throwing stones, peace instead of building more walls, cooperation instead of scheming… Pretty and correct, but all too trivial. Reduced mostly to slogans and appeals, ultimately failing to generate true dramatic weight. Raya’s two key relationships—those with her father and with her peer, Namaari—lack the emotional heft or unique memories that might give them distinctive character. It’s cinema of attractions and fireworks, but also somewhat lukewarm and surface-level.

Imperfect as it is, Raya and the Last Dragon is neither a painful misstep nor a significant achievement. It aptly captures the two extremes of Walt Disney Studios – caught between dreaming of being the unquestioned monopolist of children’s imagination and being what it must be: a machine built to make money across all geographic markets. Yet Disney delivers masterpieces regularly enough that it is difficult to complain about this state of affairs.