Raya and the Last Dragon

5,132 Views | 38 Replies | Last: 2 yr ago by Jim01
C@LAg
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Since i was already up, I went ahead and watched this.

I was not prepared for how incredible this movie is,

Broad story structure spoiler; no plot points spoiled):
Essentially Fellowship of the Ring meets Return of the King.

This movie is a pure action movie with an interesting and actually flawed lead. No righteous "princess" here. She gets angry, she hates; she has trust issues.

The art design, the characters, the story, the music; everything about this is practically perfect. The use of mocap for character movements is probably the most naturalistic (while still remaining a bit stylized) in an animated movie to date. Even the voice and characterization of the dragon which initially annoyed me grew on me by mid-movie.

There is a nice little bit of spirituality in this that really has not been done in another mainstream animated movie, and it was handled delicately and felt real. Even the obvious "lesson" takeaway fit the story.

One thing it lacks is we get very brief views into the 5 different kingdoms, but do not get to dwell long in any one of them. I would love more story some day that goes into that

The movie is family friendly, is both a visual and auditory delight and should appeal to every single age group.

Going to rewatch right now since I am already up and would have to get up in 2 hours anyways.


Cinco Ranch Aggie
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AG
Assuming this is on Disney+, what does it cost? $20?
Jinx
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Looking forward to it!
tx1c
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AG
$29.99 for "Premium Access"
Fenrir
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Glad to hear a good review on this, actually been looking forward to watching this with the kids once it's on Plus.
TyHolden
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AG
Good movie. Worth the $30 if got kids.
sburg2007
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Definitely going to the theater for this one.
atag
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AG
Just got back from the theater with my two kids. They both loved it so much. I was shocked at how much i enjoyed it. Spines story arc had me tearing up....when they panned over his room and my 4 year old was snuggled up to me i just hugged her a little tighter. This may be my favorite disney film since princess and the frog.
proudest member of the fightin texas aggie class of 2005.
Saxsoon
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C@LAg said:

Since i was already up, I went ahead and watched this.

I was not prepared for how incredible this movie is,

Broad story structure spoiler; no plot points spoiled):
Essentially Fellowship of the Ring meets Return of the King.

This movie is a pure action movie with an interesting and actually flawed lead. No righteous "princess" here. She gets angry, she hates; she has trust issues.

The art design, the characters, the story, the music; everything about this is practically perfect. The use of mocap for character movements is probably the most naturalistic (while still remaining a bit stylized) in an animated movie to date. Even the voice and characterization of the dragon which initially annoyed me grew on me by mid-movie.

There is a nice little bit of spirituality in this that really has not been done in another mainstream animated movie, and it was handled delicately and felt real. Even the obvious "lesson" takeaway fit the story.

One thing it lacks is we get very brief views into the 5 different kingdoms, but do not get to dwell long in any one of them. I would love more story some day that goes into that

The movie is family friendly, is both a visual and auditory delight and should appeal to every single age group.

Going to rewatch right now since I am already up and would have to get up in 2 hours anyways.





I could see a Disney+ series exploring the various cultures could be interesting

It is lord of the rings meets avatar the last air bender in a post apocalyptic world.

Kelly Marie Tran was wonderful with Raya and she was a badass in this.

Awkafina is starting to grow on me, she was great in this

Loved the messaging of an eye for an eye the world goes blind.

Excellent action and choreography, was a stunner of a film
Fighting Texas Aggie Class of 2012
NC2001
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Watched this last night and again this afternoon with my family. We all loved this movie, especially how this had a lot of action compared to other Disney movies. My son is a black belt in tae kwon do, and he was impressed at how the animation was precise in the moves he learned. It was fun watching him call out, "Did you see that Dad! She went from a spindle kick, to a double front snap kick, and ended with an axe kick! I got to to try that as a sparring combo!"
C@LAg
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Yeah, we have seen it 3 times now (twice at home, and we went to the theater today because I wanted to see this BIG. And I do not like going to theaters any more. That and we had the tires replaced on the truck so the timing was perfect).

I just love Raya's character. As I mentioned earlier. She has an actual range of emotions and feels like a real person. While she starts off as the typical optimistic Disney princess, she has periods of real hate, real anger. She has trust issues. Things a real hero goes through in almost every story except a typical Disney animated movie.

They go with a literal Fellowship that grows as the quest goes on and each are given their moments.
While Raya drives the narrative, each character has their part to play

You can sympathize with the "bad guys" while still disagreeing with them.

As i think about it right now, it may be my favorite Disney movie since the heyday of the early 1990s. And I even like it better than most Pixar films. No, it may not have some of the deeper emotional beats of some Pixar films, but sa an overall movie and story, from characters, story, and presentation, it is so satisfying.

mrsbeer05
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AG
Made a special theater trip for this and everyone loved it (4/8 boys, mom,and dad). The baby was a family favorite.
J182
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I'm glad to see good reviews! I was on the fence about seeing it. But the fiancee and I are going to do a late night date night to watch it.
atag
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My bad
proudest member of the fightin texas aggie class of 2005.
C@LAg
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CoachRTM
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Interesting. My wife and I see almost everything Disney related and are huge fans.

We talked about it afterwards and we're on the same page - it was good, but wasn't one of our favorites.

The "message" didn't feel earned to us, and there was never really any stakes. There was never any other option to happen other than what did.... and that never felt in jeopardy. There was one moment that was a slight surprise (those that have watched will know), but other than that, the story just seemed kind of meh. Never really brought out any emotion from anyone we watched it with. Just kind of felt hollow.

Don't want to get into the spoilers yet this close to the release, so that's as far as I want to go.
CoachRTM
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AG
FightinTexasAg15
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Fun movie. It's visually stunning. The animation is really awesome
Definitely Not A Cop
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FightinTexasAg15 said:

Fun movie. It's visually stunning. The animation is really awesome



Yeah, they have figured out hair, eyes, and water. It was incredible.
Fat Bib Fortuna
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If you haven't watched the end credits, please do, your jaw will drop when you read how they made this movie.

This movie was made remotely by 400 different people. No time in the studio at all.


Saxsoon
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Fat Bib Fortuna said:

If you haven't watched the end credits, please do, your jaw will drop when you read how they made this movie.

This movie was made remotely by 400 different people. No time in the studio at all.



WTF, absolutely incredible. I left the theater early.
Fighting Texas Aggie Class of 2012
jarz94
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Did anyone else get creepy uncanny valley/polar express vibes from some of the animation of the characters? Specifically the father and the baby.
SoulSlaveAG2005
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Took 3 kids (7,3,5)

They all loved it. I enjoyed it as well for a Disney movie, it was good.

Animation and score were synced perfectly
jeffk
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Whole family really enjoyed it. Beautiful world and story. Really cool to see how they incorporated aspects from a variety of East and SE Asian cultural groups into the characters and landscape.
Fenrir
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Fat Bib Fortuna said:

If you haven't watched the end credits, please do, your jaw will drop when you read how they made this movie.

This movie was made remotely by 400 different people. No time in the studio at all.





Fyi the after credits thing is only at theaters, did not show up on Disney plus .

Kids absolutely loved it. Not sure they have ever sat that still for any movie before. Story and flow felt more in the vein of a How to Train Your Dragon movie than a typical Disney movie which is completely fine with me.
AgLiving06
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My kids seemed to like the trailer. Any idea when it will stream normally on Disney?
sburg2007
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I think I read June. It's premier access until early May then gone completely.
Dad
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AgLiving06 said:

My kids seemed to like the trailer. Any idea when it will stream normally on Disney?

Take them to the movies. They will love it.
sburg2007
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Wife took my four year old yesterday to the theater. She said she was enthralled the entire time. Wife said she really enjoyed as well. I can't wait to see it!
C@LAg
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film will arrive on all major digital platforms on April 2, and on 4K Ultra HD, Blu-ray and DVD beginning May 18.
TyHolden
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C@LAg said:

film will arrive on all major digital platforms on April 2, and on 4K Ultra HD, Blu-ray and DVD beginning May 18.
no vhs? Wtf?
c-jags
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Saxsoon said:


Kelly Marie Tran was wonderful with Raya and she was a badass in this.



I was actually really happy for KMT on this. She did really great.

Poor girl got so much undeserved hate for just taking a role in a huge franchise. I'll crap on R Johnson and K Kennedy for what they did did in tLJ, but Tran didn't deserve any of that.

Quote:

Loved the messaging of an eye for an eye the world goes blind.


maybe I'm weird but I absolutely blamed the girl from Fang for the whole thing. Action 6 years in the past and at the beginning of the climax. I'm all about forgiveness and all, but I felt like they were trying to frame Raya as having partial guilt in the situation and that just rang hollow.

That all being said, I know it stole from other epics but it was a good original story and I liked it more than any cartoon I've seen in a while. Maybe since Moana.
Quad Dog
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Tangled was one of the most expensive animated movies ever. Disney used it's budget to invest in their animation technology to get the hair right. That paid off in the snow/fluids of Frozen.
Quad Dog
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We liked this, the animation was great. My daughter instantly asked if there was going to be a part 2.
I did think there was a little too much exposition at times.
Fat Bib Fortuna
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Fenrir said:

Fat Bib Fortuna said:

If you haven't watched the end credits, please do, your jaw will drop when you read how they made this movie.

This movie was made remotely by 400 different people. No time in the studio at all.





Fyi the after credits thing is only at theaters, did not show up on Disney plus .


That's not true, it's in the credits, not after.
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