Their native attire looked inspired by our native attire. The Tail tribe in particular was the one I saw my Filipino culture in the most. So there they were – the Fang, Talon, Spine, and Tail tribes – standing gloriously before the wide-eyed Raya. Were they gonna screw up the other aspects of representation? Being a Southeast Asian myself, there was already a bit of trepidation because of how the majority of the cast was made up of East Asian actors. As they all gathered at the domain’s steps, I couldn’t help but feel anxious yet excited about how these tribes would be portrayed beyond the mishmash of Southeast Asian visuals and design. The Heart tribe at this point is established as the keeper of the divine dragon gem of Sisu, believed to be the source of the tribe’s prosperity. There’s a moment in the lengthy prologue where the estranged tribes of Kumandra convene in the prosperous land of the Heart tribe for a gathering. From the all-Asian cast to the Southeast Asian backdrop, the movie is meant to represent a culture that isn’t always seen by global audiences. However, beyond the things that make a serviceable Disney animated film, it’s evident that Raya and the Last Dragon aspires to be something more. Awkwafina sounds adorable as the dragon Sisu. Kelly Marie Tran‘s voice acting breathes life into Raya fantastically. The story falls short of having enough elements to make it a great movie on its own such as a complete arc for some of the characters but the film still manages to watchable. I haven’t been caught up with all the Disney animated films of the past decade but seeing how great the action was here left me impressed with the stuff they’ve been serving kids these past few years. And like a handful of these animated Disney movies, this one has tremendous action. It has all you need in a Disney movie stellar animation, a color palette that’s bursting, cutesy characters, and moments of warmth to boot. Approaching Raya and the Last Dragon as a movie and not a benchmark for Asian representation in big media, it’s mostly just okay.
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