In prior films, these deaths mostly act as backstory and character motivation. Disney’s princess films have always been about grief, as practically all of the princesses have lost a family member (or multiple) by the start of their movies. Raya and the Last Dragon is also one of Disney’s best films about grief.

Scrapping romance gives Raya and the Last Dragon more space to give platonic relationships their due. Each fight reveals something new about their rocky past, and how they might make amends. This is also true of Raya’s confrontations with childhood-friend-turned-villain Namaari (who is also a princess). As Raya and dragon Sisu barrel through the regions of Kumandra (Tail, Talon, Spine, Fang, and Heart), their relationship deepens. The waypoints along Raya’s hero’s journey each challenge her to be vulnerable with others - in addition to posing physical challenges, like swinging between ravines - giving the supporting cast real opportunities to shine, and Raya plenty of opportunities to outwit her opponents. By the end of the film, I had fallen in love with the character Raya had become and was fully invested in the friends she had made.Ħ Images Raya and the Last Dragon’s framing around themes of trust breathes new life into the Disney animated action-adventure format. Where Elsa and Moana both spent their films growing into power, individuality, and freedom - each with their respective, earworm power ballads - Raya’s hero’s journey is marked by moments where she is challenged to make new friends, and rely on them to fight for her cause. The film advances the groundwork laid by Frozen and Moana, which ushered in a modern era of princesses that weren’t romance-focused, but rather independent and intent on saving their people and their world. Raya’s epic quest kicks off when the dragon gem shatters, unleashing the drune back into the world. But the dragons remained frozen in time, with the exception of Sisu, the last living dragon. The last living dragons pooled their power into the dragon gem, which revived the humans.

When the villainous drune attacked-an enemy capable of turning all to stone-dragons fought to defend themselves and humans alike. The once prosperous land of Kumandra used to be brimming with dragons, creatures whose existence was tied to water and life itself. Raya and the Last Dragon, Disney’s first film starring a Southeast Asian princess, opens with its own lore.

The last dragon movie