Film Review

Raya and the Last Dragon (2021)

In a realm known as Kumandra, a re-imagined Earth inhabited by an ancient civilization, a warrior named Raya is determined to find the last dragon.

It’s difficult to find anything not to like in Raya and the Last Dragon, Disney’s latest family adventure with an overtly positive message. In many ways it’s satisfying yet standard fantasy fare with no startling innovations. The land is divided into five realms and our young hero takes up a quest to seek the last dragon, which holds the key to healing the world. It really is an archetypal age-old tale, slickly delivered.

Some five centuries before we join this mythic tale, the land of Kumandra had been harmonious, with humans and dragons living alongside one another in prosperity and peace. Then the mysterious, amorphous Druun attacked, turning anyone they touched to stone. The beautiful, candy-coloured dragons pooled all their magic into a gemstone and entrusted it to the last of their kind — who used the power to dispel the rampaging Druun and restore the people who’d been petrified.